Reviews Babolat SFX 4

No lifespan in hours has been published. On our grid, the SFX 4 scores 7.2/10 for durability. Eighteen models in our database of 37 do better, fourteen do worse.

It is a mid-table score, and a respectable one for a shoe at €95. The Nike Vapor 12, sold at around €159, has exactly the same.

The rubber carries a well-known name. Michelin and Babolat have worked together on shoes since 2003, and the rubbers and the tread patterns alike are developed at the Michelin technology centre in Ladoux, France, according to Babolat. The whole range benefits.

The whole range does not get the same thing out of it. The Propulse Fury 3 scores 9.0/10 with thickened lugs and dense zones at the wear points. The lightened Jet Mach 4 drops to 6.4. The SFX 4 sits between the two. The sources consulted describe no particular reinforcement on its outsole.

No pair is judged without the lifespan of its outsole. That of the SFX 4 is enough for the player it targets.

That player is the one who wants comfort, plays one to three hours a week and does not slide on hard courts. For that player, the clock that matters is the foam's. The AAPSM puts the wear of a midsole at between 45 and 60 hours of tennis: at two hours a week, that makes five to seven months. A rubber rated 7.2 generally goes that distance.

A heavy player or an intensive slider does not have the same margin. The ranking of durable tennis shoes includes no model below 8.2/10, and the article on outsole rubbers compared sets Michelin against the rubbers of Nike, Asics and Adidas.

It scores 7.7/10 on our grid. Twenty-eight models in our database do better overall, which keeps it far from the overall ranking.

The overall score does it a disservice. The detail tells of a specialised shoe.

Comfort is at 8.6/10. Only six models do better in the database, and all of them cost more, if only by €2. Grip is at 7.8, stability at 7.6, durability and lightness at 7.2 each.

In other words, the SFX 4 does one thing well and the rest adequately. It welcomes the foot. It does not claim to spring back like a Jet Mach 4, which Babolat reserves for speed players, nor to take punishment like a Propulse Fury 3.

The Tennis Warehouse product page gives 15.0 oz, around 425 g, in men's US 10.5. That is the weight of a Nike Vapor Pro 3, for a clearly less lively shoe.

The spec sheet is thin. The outsole is a Michelin, the fit carries the name Superior Fit eXperience. The cushioning, the upper, the drop and the release year are not disclosed in the sources consulted. I prefer to write that than to fill in the boxes.

It has its place in one of our rankings: eighth in the beginner ranking, reserved for models at €120 or less.

My view: it is a defensible purchase for a wide foot that wants a comfortable pair without going over €100. For a standard foot, the Nike GP Challenge Pro is better rated everywhere for €2 more, and I do not see what the Babolat sets against it.

The Babolat page places this model within the range.

It saves you looking for a width. The SFX 4 is built wide as standard, with a roomy forefoot: no letter to check on the product page, no 2E version to order separately.

That is less trivial than it seems. True widths exist, the Asics Gel-Resolution X and the New Balance 996v6 and CT-Rally v2 in 2E, the Adidas Barricade 14 in Wide, according to the Tennis Warehouse wide shoes page. But they are mostly stocked by specialist retailers, and the same colourway often exists in both widths. With the SFX 4, every pair on the shelf is wide.

At Nike, no wide version has been identified. The GP Challenge Pro has a widened base, which gives a firmer footing without changing the width of the last.

Wide as standard does not mean wide for everyone. Babolat publishes no measurement, and none of the sources consulted puts a figure on the width of the forefoot. A very wide foot will need a 4E, which only the New Balance 806 offers among the models mentioned here.

Trying on therefore remains the rule. Keep about a thumb's width between the longest toe and the tip of the shoe, at the end of the day, with your tennis socks, according to Vionic. Do a firm side shuffle: the little toe must not hit the side wall.

The benefit goes beyond comfort. A squeezed foot pushes the upper outwards on every push-off, and the mesh ends up wearing through while the outsole still has its tread. A suitable last makes the whole shoe last.

For an established pain, a bunion or orthotics, see a podiatrist.

The guide which tennis shoes to choose for wide feet compares eight models on this criterion.

A Nike in both cases, if your foot fits in it. The SFX 4 keeps only two arguments, width and price.

The Nike GP Challenge 1.5 has the best comfort in our database: 9.4/10, against 8.6. It scores 9.1/10 overall, 8.6 for durability, 9.0 for stability and 9.0 for grip, against 7.7, 7.2, 7.6 and 7.8. Its high-abrasion rubber is denser under the medial forefoot, according to the Tennis Warehouse product page. It weighs 456 g, which is 31 g more, and costs around €125, which is €30 more. Its fit is standard, with a locked-in hold.

The Nike GP Challenge Pro is the direct rival, at almost the same price: around €97. It scores 8.8/10 overall, 8.8 for comfort, 8.2 for durability, 8.6 for stability and 8.8 for grip. Its hard rubber wears down by only 0.6 mm in the abrasion test by RunRepeat. Its widened base suits a slightly wide foot. One reservation: its mesh damages easily, according to the reviews recorded by RunRepeat.

The gap in scores is clear, 1.1 point overall against the GP Challenge Pro. It comes mostly from grip and stability, two criteria that count less for a recreational doubles player than for a competitor.

The SFX 4 keeps its ground: the genuinely wide foot, the one that spills over a standard last even when widened. For that foot, a better-rated Nike that is too narrow is not a better shoe.

Among the other brands, the New Balance Fresh Foam X CT-Rally v2 scores 8.8/10 for comfort in 2E width, for around €132.

The guide for seniors compares these models on cushioning and support, and the comparison tool lines them up score by score.

Two versions exist, all-court and clay, and the second dominates in Belgium. The product pages recorded show the clay version at Tennis-Point.be, on Babolat.com and at Decathlon.be, the all-court version at TennisDirect.be.

The reason lies in the clubs. More than eight Belgian courts in ten are clay, according to the RTBF.

On clay, the SFX 4 is in its element. Clay wears the outsole far less than hard courts, notes Tennis Companion. The score of 7.2/10 for durability weighs little there, and it is the cushioning that sets the end of the pair. Take the clay version, whose herringbone tread clears the clay.

On hard courts, the all-court version does the job for a recreational player. A player who brakes hard or slides on resin will wear out the rubber faster than the foam: that is the profile for which a score of 8.2 or more is worth the price gap.

On carpet, neither is suitable. You need a completely smooth, non-marking outsole, according to Decathlon Belgium: too much tread blocks the foot. The guide which tennis shoes to choose for indoor carpet sorts them by surface.

The weight deserves a final word. At 425 g in men's US 10.5, the SFX 4 is not heavy in absolute terms, but its lightness score, 7.2/10, says that it does not let itself be forgotten. Over a three-set singles match, a quick player will feel it. In doubles or in club play, much less.

The article on the two pairs a Belgian player needs details the split between summer and winter.

Around €95 as the average price recorded in Belgium between June and September 2026. The official price in Europe is not disclosed.

The price that matters is the price per hour of play. On the basis of 45 to 60 hours before the cushioning wears out, an SFX 4 at €95 works out at €1.60 to €2.10 per hour.

It is the lowest calculation in our database for a shoe rated 8.6 or more for comfort. A Nike GP Challenge Pro at €97 gives €1.60 to €2.15 per hour, practically the same thing. A GP Challenge 1.5 at €125 rises to €2.10 to €2.80, a New Balance CT-Rally v2 at €132 to €2.20 to €2.95.

At equal price, the Nike GP Challenge Pro has better scores. The SFX 4 therefore does not win the calculation, it equals it, and it adds width. For the foot that needs it, that is enough. For the others, it is not.

On the warranty side, there is nothing to count. Babolat does cover an outsole for 6 months, but on a single model: the Propulse Fury All Court, according to the brand's page. The SFX 4 is not part of it, despite its Michelin rubber.

In Belgium, the 2-year legal guarantee applies. It covers manufacturing defects, not an outsole worn by play. Tennis Warehouse Europe for its part refers to the manufacturer's warranty, in the same terms.

The model has been recorded at Tennis-Point.be, TennisDirect.be, Babolat.com and Decathlon.be. Read the title of the product page: the clay version is not made for hard courts.

The article on cost per hour of play applies this calculation to nine models.