Reviews On THE ROGER Pro 3

Nobody has measured it. THE ROGER Pro 3 scores 6.4/10 for durability in our editorial ratings, and no quantified wear test has been published for this model.

What we know comes from the design. The outsole is a modified herringbone rubber, designed to let the foot slide on hard courts. On promotes its foam and its plate, not a reinforced rubber: our sources mention neither a high-abrasion compound nor a toe reinforcement.

One clue exists, to be handled with care. A Gear Patrol review reported an outsole that wears faster than expected on hard courts. It covered the first generation of the Roger Pro, not the Pro 3. It is a signal about the range, not a measurement of the current model.

No pair is judged without the lifespan of its outsole, above all at this price. In our ratings, the Pro 3 is behind its sister THE ROGER Pro Fire (7.2), behind the Nike Vapor 12 (7.2) and far from the Nike Vapor Pro 3 (8.6).

There is no safety net either. No outsole warranty has been identified, from On or from a retailer: the model is not among those that the American retailer Tennis Warehouse covers for 6 months. In Belgium, the 2-year legal guarantee covers a defect, not worn rubber.

The cushioning, for its part, follows the common rule. The AAPSM considers a midsole worn out after 45 to 60 hours of tennis. At three hours a week, that is 15 to 20 weeks.

So keep an eye on the tread under the forefoot. If it has disappeared before hour 45, you will have paid €210 for a rubber, not for a foam.

It is a very comfortable and very expensive speed shoe: 8.2/10 overall, 8.8/10 for comfort, 8.4 for grip, 8.2 for stability, 7.8 for lightness and 6.4 for durability.

Everything starts from the midsole. Helion HF foam is presented by On as a hyper-foam, a first in tennis. It works with the Speedboard, the brand's own plate. The launch is detailed by Tennisnerd.

The figures on the spec sheet are those of a low and rather heavy shoe. The drop is 8 mm. The weight is 15.1 oz, or around 428 g, in a men's US 10.5 according to the Tennis Warehouse listing. That is 10 g less than the Pro 2. The women's version weighs 313 g.

What is missing: the upper material is not given in the sources consulted, and the release year could not be verified. The fit is given as standard.

It appears in one of our seven rankings. With 8.8/10, it is fifth in the ranking of comfortable tennis shoes, behind four models, three of them Nike. It is also the most expensive and the least hard-wearing of that selection.

Who is it for? For the fast player, who likes a low foot and a lively foam, and for whom price is not the first criterion. The model was co-developed with Roger Federer, which matters to some of its buyers. Not for the player who wears through outsoles in three months: that player would pay top price for the weak point of the shoe.

The On page places the model within the brand's range.

The Nike Vapor 12 for performance, the Nike Vapor Pro 3 for lifespan, THE ROGER Pro 3 if you are set on its foam. For durability, the three score 7.2, 8.6 and 6.4/10.

The Nike Vapor 12 is the direct benchmark: same category, same ambition. In our ratings, it beats the On shoe on four criteria. Overall score 9.2 against 8.2. Grip 9.4 against 8.4. Stability 8.8 against 8.2. Lightness 9.3 against 7.8. Durability 7.2 against 6.4. Comfort is level, 8.8.

It weighs 414 g in a men's US 10.5, which is 14 g less, and costs around €159 in Belgium against €187. Its limit is known: according to the Tennis Warehouse review, Nike removed a large part of the rubber to make it lighter, and the outsole goes smooth in the usual places. Its drop is 9.9 mm, higher than the 8 mm of the On shoe.

The Nike Vapor Pro 3 changes the equation. Around €117, or €70 less than the On shoe. 9.0/10 overall, 8.6 for durability, and a rubber that wraps up to the toe according to RunRepeat. Its 8.6 mm drop is close to that of the Pro 3, and so is its weight: 425 g. It gives up ground on comfort, 8.4 against 8.8.

What is left for THE ROGER Pro 3? The lowest drop of the three and a foam its rivals do not have. It is an argument about feel, not about figures.

The head-to-head Nike Vapor 12 vs Asics Solution Speed FF 4 details the top of the category, and the comparison tool lines these models up criterion by criterion.

The Pro 3 for comfort and speed, the Pro Fire if you slide a lot on hard courts.

THE ROGER Pro 3 is the better rated of the two: 8.2/10 overall against 8.0, 8.8 for comfort against 8.4, 8.4 for grip against 8.2, 8.2 for stability against 8.0, 7.8 for lightness against 7.6. Its Helion HF foam is the brand's most recent.

THE ROGER Pro Fire wins on a single criterion, and it is the one that costs money: durability, 7.2/10 against 6.4. It was designed for heavy sliders. According to the presentation by Tennisnerd, its upper is reinforced on the inner side, where the shoe rubs the court in a low slide, and its Speedboard is 100% carbon, with Helion and CloudTec cushioning.

The prices are close. The Pro 3 is listed at €210 at list price and recorded at around €187 in Belgium. The Pro Fire is recorded at around €197. A gap of ten euros will not make the choice.

Playing style will. You play fast, moving forward, mostly on clay: the Pro 3. You defend far behind the baseline and you slide on hard courts all winter: the Pro Fire, whose upper and durability score are made for that.

Neither of the two models has an identified outsole warranty. Neither makes our ranking of durable shoes, where no model is below 8.2/10. If lifespan is your first criterion, the answer is not at On: the Nike GP Challenge 1.5 and the Vapor Pro 3 score 8.6/10 for €60 to €70 less than the Pro 3 at recorded prices.

On clay. More than eight Belgian courts out of ten are clay according to RTBF, and it is the surface that wears rubber the least. For a €210 shoe rated 6.4/10 for durability, that changes the calculation.

The model exists in two versions: all-court and clay. On sells a Pro 3 Clay, and the retailer listings recorded in Belgium at Passasports and TennisDirect.be are men's Clay versions. The one recorded at Tennis-Point.be is an all-court version. Check the surface stated before you order: the two outsoles are not interchangeable.

On clay, the Clay version works in good conditions. The rubber rubs little, the foot slides, and it is the foam that will set the end of the pair's life, at around 45 to 60 hours.

On hard courts, it is the opposite. The all-court outsole is designed to slide, and a slide on a hard court grates the forefoot and the inner side with every step. It is on this surface that the review of the first Roger Pro noted faster wear than expected. The article clay or hard court: where do your outsoles wear the most? puts figures on this gap.

Indoors, it all depends on the surface. On indoor hard courts, the all-court version is suitable, with the same reservation. On carpet, you need a smooth, non-marking outsole: our sources do not report a Pro 3 designed for this surface.

For a Belgian competitor, the most economical split is simple. The Pro 3 Clay in summer, on the gentlest surface. A more hard-wearing pair in winter, indoors.

€210 at list price on On's European sites, and around €187 in average prices checked in Belgium between June and September 2026. It is the highest price of the 37 models in our database.

The price that matters is the price per hour of play. Over 45 to 60 hours of cushioning, a Pro 3 at €187 comes to €3.10 to €4.15 per hour. At list price, €3.50 to €4.65. A Nike Vapor 12 at €159 comes to €2.65 to €3.55, a Nike Vapor Pro 3 at €117 to €1.95 to €2.60.

The gap widens if the rubber gives out before the foam. A Pro 3 whose outsole is smooth at 35 hours comes to around €5.35 per hour. At that rate, two hours of tennis a week cost more than €40 a month in shoes.

The price is explained by what On sells: a recent foam, a plate, a name. It is not explained by the outsole. That is the difference with a shoe like the Vapor Pro 3, whose lower price buys a higher durability score.

My rule for this model. You play mostly on clay and you want this comfort: the Pro 3 holds its own, because the surface spares its rubber. You play on hard courts or indoors several times a week: the Vapor 12 does just as well for comfort for €28 less, and the Vapor Pro 3 lasts longer for €70 less.

Where can you find it? On sells direct on its Belgian site. The retailer listings recorded in Belgium are at Tennis-Point.be, Passasports and TennisDirect.be. The overall ranking places the model against the rest of the market.