New Balance doesn’t get talked about much in UK padel circles, which makes it easy to assume the brand is doing what Nike does and selling tennis shoes to padel players. It isn’t. New Balance sells padel versions of its FuelCell 796 court shoe in the UK, and they’re worth knowing about if you’re shopping under £100.
We’ve covered this question for Nike and found no dedicated padel shoe behind the marketing. New Balance is a different story.
Does New Balance make a padel-specific shoe
Yes – the FuelCell 796 v5 Padel and the older 796 v4 Padel are sold at UK retailers as padel models, with “Padel” in the product name.
The 796 itself is a court-shoe platform: US retailers sell the 796v4 in tennis and pickleball versions too. What makes the padel versions padel shoes is the outsole. Pro:Direct Sport describes the 796 v5 Padel as having “an outsole specifically developed for padel and clay-court movement”, with FuelCell foam in the midsole and a lightweight synthetic and mesh upper.
The 796 v4 Padel, one generation back, pairs a FuelCell foam midsole with an NDurance rubber outsole and an NDure upper, according to Tennis Planet’s listing, which describes the outsole as flexible and non-marking and gives an 8mm drop. Pro:Direct Sport calls the same shoe’s outsole “full-length omni-court”.
That puts New Balance closer to how adidas and ASICS approach padel – named padel models with their own outsoles – than to Nike’s route.
UK pricing and where to buy
Prices checked on 18 October 2026:
| Model | Retailer | Price | RRP |
|---|---|---|---|
| FuelCell 796 v5 Padel (men’s) | Pro:Direct Sport | £75 | £90 |
| FuelCell 796 v5 Padel (women’s) | Pro:Direct Sport | £81 | £90 |
| 796 v4 Padel (women’s) | Pro:Direct Sport | £60 | £90 |
| FuelCell 796v4 Padel (women’s) | Tennis Planet | £63.95 | £75.95 |
That’s a similar price bracket to ASICS’s mid-range padel shoes such as the Game FF Padel, which Pro:Direct Sport had at £68 (RRP £80) on the same day.
New Balance’s UK padel footprint is small. None of the specialist padel shops we checked – PDH Sports, Padel Market, Padel Shack, Everything Padel, Express Padel, All Things Padel, Padel HQ, Tennis-Point and Central Sports – listed a New Balance padel shoe on 18 October 2026, and we couldn’t check New Balance’s own UK site (it blocks automated checks). Pro:Direct Sport and Tennis Planet are the places to look. Stock and colourways move around, so check both before you commit to a size.
How New Balance compares to Nike and the specialists
New Balance’s padel line sits above Nike on padel-specific construction, and below adidas and ASICS on range depth.
Our Nike padel shoes guide found no Nike shoe built for padel. New Balance clears that bar: the 796 v5 Padel has an outsole developed for padel and clay, per Pro:Direct Sport.
Where New Balance falls short of adidas and ASICS is choice. UK shops list several adidas padel models, from the Courtquick to the Crazyquick Boost, and seven ASICS padel lines, from the Gel-Dedicate to the Gel-Resolution X (18 October 2026). New Balance has one padel model in two generations – a much smaller catalogue if the 796 doesn’t suit your foot shape or playing style.
Who should consider New Balance for padel
New Balance is worth a look if you want a padel-specific outsole at a mid-range price, and don’t need a wide choice of models to try.
If you’re a recreational player who plays once or twice a week and doesn’t want to spend £120 to find out whether padel-specific soles make a difference, the 796 v5 Padel at around £75–£81 (or the older v4 for less) is a sensible way in. The padel listings we found show one standard width (Tennis Planet lists the women’s v4 as B width), so if fit is a concern, buy from a shop with easy returns. If you want the widest possible range of padel-specific models to compare, adidas or ASICS give you more to choose from.
For the full picture across brands, our UK padel shoes guide covers sole types and price points more broadly, and our roundup of the best padel trainers has our current picks across every price bracket.