Reviews On THE ROGER Pro Fire

On does not say, and nobody has measured it. On our grid, THE ROGER Pro Fire scores 7.2/10 for durability: it is the more hard-wearing of the two On tennis shoes, and an average score in our database of 37 models, where 18 shoes do better.

That is the paradox of this model. The Pro Fire is designed for players who slide a lot, but its protection is on the upper, not on the rubber. According to the Tennisnerd presentation, reinforcements and a midfoot cage, on the inner side, protect the shoe from abrasion in low slides. The outsole, for its part, is not described in the sources consulted. No rubber name, no toe reinforcement announced.

Yet sliding on hard court wears two areas at once: the inner flank and the rubber under the forefoot, as the Tennis Warehouse review of the Nike Vapor Cage 4 points out. The Pro Fire answers the first well. For the second, we do not know.

No pair is judged without the lifespan of its outsole, and here it has to be judged without a safety net. No measured wear test has been published. No outsole warranty has been identified, either from On or from a retailer: the model is not among the shoes covered for 6 months by Tennis Warehouse. In Belgium, the 2-year legal guarantee covers defects, not wear.

The cushioning follows the common rule. The AAPSM puts the wear of a midsole at between 45 and 60 hours of tennis, which is 11 to 15 weeks at four hours a week.

The article on outsole rubbers compared shows what the other brands state about their rubber.

It scores 8.0/10 on our grid. Launched in late 2025, it is On's second performance tennis shoe, alongside THE ROGER Pro 3, in the range developed with Roger Federer.

Its strong point is comfort: 8.4/10. Grip is at 8.2, stability at 8.0, lightness at 7.6 and durability at 7.2. None of these scores reaches the top of our database. It does not appear in any of our seven rankings, including the overall ranking, where the tenth model is at 8.3.

What is most striking is what is missing. The weight is not disclosed in the sources consulted. Neither is the drop. The outsole is not described, nor is the fit, and On does not publish an official price for Europe.

Five missing data points on a shoe recorded at around €197 in Belgium is a lot.

My opinion comes down to that. The Pro Fire is not a bad shoe, nothing in the sources suggests so. But I cannot tell you what it weighs, and a buyer who puts nearly €200 into a pair deserves that information. Until measurements are published, its score rests on fewer elements than that of a Nike or an Asics that has gone through the RunRepeat lab.

It has an audience: the player already won over by On, who slides on hard court and damages uppers. For everyone else, the comparison with the hard-wearing Nikes, further down, is harsh.

The On page presents the brand and its two models.

A stiffer plate than on the Pro 3 and an upper armoured on the side you slide on. That is all the sources allow us to state.

On builds its shoes around the Speedboard, a plate placed in the sole. On THE ROGER Pro Fire, it is 100% carbon. The cushioning combines Helion foam and CloudTec, the brand's cushioning technology. The On product page and the Tennisnerd presentation describe this package without giving any measurement.

The upper makes the difference with the Pro 3. Protective reinforcements and a midfoot cage are placed on the inner side, where the shoe rubs the court when the player brakes with a straight leg.

Does it show in the scores? Partly. The Pro Fire gains 0.8 point of durability over the Pro 3, 7.2 against 6.4. It gives up 0.4 point of comfort, 8.4 against 8.8, and 0.2 point in grip, stability and lightness.

A carbon plate is no guarantee of superior stability in our database. The Pro Fire is at 8.0/10 on this criterion. The Nike GP Challenge 1.5, with a TPU plate, is at 9.0. The Nike Vapor Pro 3, with no plate announced, at 8.8.

One precedent calls for caution on the rubber. A Gear Patrol review reported an outsole that wore faster than expected on hard court, but it concerned the first generation of the Roger Pro, not this model. Nothing allows us to apply it to the Pro Fire, and nothing allows us to rule it out.

One of the three Nikes, unless you are set on the On brand.

The Nike Air Zoom Vapor Cage 4 is the most direct answer to the same problem. Its outsole wraps up over the toe cap and the inner flank, the two areas a slider scrapes. It scores 9.4/10 for durability against 7.2, and 9.2 for stability against 8.0. Tennis Warehouse gives it 4.5/5 for the outsole and for the toe cap alike. One reservation: it is a generation older than the 2025 models, so check its availability in Belgium before counting on it.

The Nike GP Challenge 1.5 is the current option. 9.1/10 overall against 8.0, 8.6 for durability, 9.0 for stability, 9.4 for comfort against 8.4. Its rubber is denser under the inner forefoot and a reinforcement protects the toe on the big-toe side. It costs around €125, which is €72 less than the Pro Fire.

The Nike Vapor Pro 3 is the lightest of the three, 425 g in men's US 10.5. 9.0/10 overall, 8.6 for durability, 8.9 for grip. RunRepeat rates its durability ‘fantastic’, wear areas included. It costs around €117, which is €80 less.

The Pro Fire matches the Vapor Cage 4 and the Vapor Pro 3 for comfort, at 8.4, and only beats the Vapor Cage 4 on the lightness score, 7.6 against 7.2. Its selling point remains the reinforced upper and the On construction.

At Asics, the Gel-Resolution X holds 9.0/10 for durability for around €130. At Adidas, the Barricade 13 is also at 9.0.

The guide for heavy players and the comparison tool line these models up score by score.

The Pro Fire if you slide on hard court, the Pro 3 if you play mostly on clay.

THE ROGER Pro 3 is the higher rated of the two, 8.2/10 against 8.0, and the more comfortable, 8.8 against 8.4, thanks to its Helion HF foam. The Tennis Warehouse product page gives it 428 g in men's US 10.5 and a drop of 8 mm. Its weakness is known: 6.4/10 for durability.

The Pro Fire corrects this point, with 7.2/10 and a reinforced upper. It loses a little everywhere else. The price gap is small: around €197 for the Pro Fire and €187 for the Pro 3 in average prices recorded in Belgium, the Pro 3 being listed at €210 in the catalogue.

The surface decides. More than eight Belgian courts out of ten are clay, according to RTBF. On this surface, the rubber wears little and you slide without scraping the upper as on hard court. The reinforcements of the Pro Fire are less useful there, and the comfort of the Pro 3 is more useful.

In winter, it is the opposite. Indoors on a hard surface, a player who brakes by sliding wears the shoe from the inner side, and the Pro Fire is made for that. On carpet, neither of the two is suitable: you need a completely smooth outsole.

The Pro Fire is listed for all-court and clay. The product pages recorded in Belgium, at Tennis-Point.be, Passasports and TennisDirect.be, mostly concern the all-court version, for men and for women. Read the product title before ordering.

One last precaution: THE ROGER Advantage, sold by the same brand, is a lifestyle sneaker and not a court shoe.

Around €197 as the average price recorded in Belgium between June and September 2026. On does not disclose an official European price for this model in the sources consulted. It is the second highest price in our database, behind THE ROGER Pro 3 at €210 in the catalogue.

The price that matters is the price per hour of play. Based on 45 to 60 hours before the cushioning wears out, a Pro Fire at €197 comes to €3.30 to €4.40 per hour.

The hard-wearing Nikes cost 35 to 40% less per hour. A Vapor Pro 3 at €117 comes to €1.95 to €2.60, a GP Challenge 1.5 at €125 to €2.10 to €2.80. An Asics Gel-Resolution X at €130 gives €2.15 to €2.90.

Over a season, the gap becomes concrete. A player who wears out two pairs a year spends €394 on the Pro Fire, €234 on the Vapor Pro 3. The difference, €160, pays for a third pair of Nikes.

This calculation also assumes that the outsole lasts as long as the cushioning. With 7.2/10 for durability and no warranty, that is less certain for a heavy slider than for a clay player. If the rubber gives out first, the hour of play costs even more.

Where to buy it? THE ROGER range is presented on the Belgian On site, and the Pro Fire has been recorded at Tennis-Point.be, Passasports and TennisDirect.be.

One piece of advice: try it on in a shop. With no published weight or width, trying it on is the only spec sheet available.

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