crooked tongues magazine News Features

A balls-out design from Nike, both literally and figuratively, the Nike Air Max Courtballistec 2.3 feels about as elaborate as it gets in 2010. Our good friend Nick served up a spot of cultural context for this shoe a few weeks back on High Snobiety, but we felt it still warranted some exposure on these pages too. Plus Wimbledon's approaching, and we're sure there'll be a new makeup on our screens. Nike's tennis line has been the birthplace of some of our favourite designs - Air Aces, the Air Trainer 1 (not necessarily tennis, but perfect for the sport and well-endorsed by John McEnroe and Andre Agassi) and the first couple of chapters in the Agassi-endorsed Tech Challenge line, down to the LWP Challenge Court, Zoom Beyond, Air Duration, Air Resistance, Air Max2 Sweep, Air Max2 Spa and Oscillate. Extra points for those clay court variants with the altered sole. Lately little made for the sport has caught our eye. Those mightily weird releases with the interchangeable soles were interesting, but hardly attractive. Federer's apparel has been more of a focal point than the footwear, but his nemesis Rafael Nadal? He's got some serious Nikes.

The Spaniard, currently world number 1, is sporting what's arguably (though some of the Elite Pack boots on World Cup players might rival it) the most technical shoe on the market. 2.3 in the Courtballistec line goes way, way beyond what we've seen before. Maybe it's the hair and attitude, but Nike seem to be attempting the elevation of Nadal to Agassi-esque levels. Check that patterning and colouring on both pairs here—in a world where Lunar and Zoom dominates, the visible Air feels old world here too. But that, and the DragOn X toe design are as throwback as this gets. We could break a pair of Techs out the box and wear them casually like it was nothing. These? Not a casual shoe. Despite being lighter than their predecessor, and regardless of the misleading LunarLite talk, they're pretty heavy. Nadal's aggressive mode-of-play necessitates a rugged design, and in solving that performance issue, this model shines - the rubber mesh coating, the outrigger, sockliner fit, faintly asymmetrical lacing and midfoot shank, visible through the outsole for extra flashiness all make these a fine stablemate for recent basketball, football and running performance creations.

On the white/green/blues, the bull logo on the heel is a franchise in the making, and while we really could live without that high street 'Max Air' lettering to reinforce the Courtballistec 2.3's Air Max status, this is still a surprisingly comfortable and flexible release, even if it's not designed with day-to-day wear in mind. We're inclined to believe that future installments in this series could be mindblowing. 2011 should be a big one for Nike Tennis. These are available at NikeTown now, and a good pick for posers and occasional players alike.

See all Nike shoes instore now
See all court shoes instore now