How to Lace Badminton Shoes (The Right Way)

Today we’re going to show you how to tie your Badminton laces, the right way. Whether you have wide or narrow feet, toe pain or constantly feel like your feet are slipping inside your shoes, we have you covered.

So how do you lace Badminton shoes? The simple answer is to use a lacing technique that gives you as tight a fit as possible without being uncomfortable. It’s better for your shoes to be a little tight than too loose and risk getting blisters or an injury.

We’ll cover some of the most useful lacing techniques for Badminton shoes. Let’s get to it.

Heel slipping

One of the most common problems people get is their heel or general foot slipping in their shoe. This can be really uncomfortable and distracting when playing. Blisters can form and it can be solved by using this lacing technique.

This lacing technique basically tightens up the area around the top of the laces. This creates a tighter lock around your ankle keeping your heel and foot in place.

Instructions:

1. Lace the shoe from the bottom using a regular diagonal crisscross lacing
2. Once you reach the second to last eyelets you want to vertically up to the next eyelet
3. Cross over the laces and thread them under the vertical lace
4. Bring them back over the top and tie together

For a visual guide see the video below:

Toe pains

If you’re getting sore toes from them being pushed together too much then this next lacing technique is for you.

Cramped toes can be painful either because your nails are digging into your other toes or because they’re rubbing together too much. Using this lacing technique allows more space for your toes to sit naturally instead of being packed together.

Instructions:

1. Start with equal length laces at the bottom two eyelets
2. Take one side of the lace and send it all the way to the opposite top lace of the shoe
3. Thread the other side of the lace-up diagonally to the next adjacent eyelet
4. Then back across horizontally to the original side
5. Repeat until you reach the top and then tie together

For a visual guide see the video below:

Wide feet

A lot of people complain that Badminton shoes are too narrow fitting. So even if you don’t have wide feet this lacing technique will be useful for you to make your shoes feel more comfortable.

This lacing technique skips eyelets in the shoe. This creates fewer pressure points around the lacing and giving you feet more room. I wouldn’t recommend skipping more than one eyelet in a row. If your shoes need to be loosened that much then you might actually be a larger shoe size.

Instructions:

1. Lace the shoe from the bottom using a regular diagonal crisscross lacing
2. After the first cross over you then want to skip an eyelet when you next cross them over
3. Repeat until you reach the top eyelet
4. Lace them through and tie together

For a visual guide see the video below:

Narrow feet

If you have the problem of Badminton shoes not fitting tightly enough or you know you have narrow feet then this technique will help you.

Having loose-fitting Badminton shoes is a no go. Much like the heel slippage problem, this can lead to blisters or potential accident if you shoe concaves when moving laterally.

This technique creates a tighter concentrated fit around the midpart of the foot. The laces will pull your shoe together more tightly creating a better fit.

Instructions:

1. Lace the shoe from the bottom using a regular diagonal crisscross lacing
2. You want to crisscross normally all the way up except skip the fourth eyelet when crisscrossing
3. Continue lacing normally
4. Tie laces at the top

For a visual guide see the video below:

Too tight on top

If you have high arches or a high midfoot then this technique will ease your pain when wearing Badminton shoes. Badminton shoes are designed to fit very snug and some people experience tightness or pain on the top of their foot.

This lacing technique is designed to spread out the pressure created by the shoelaces by lacing laterally rather than diagonally. You’ll get less rubbing and a more comfortable and stable fit.

Instructions:

1. Start off with both laces equal laced through the first two eyelets
2. Take one side and thread it up vertically to the next eyelet
3. Take the other side and thread it up but skip one eyelet
4. Thread each side across horizontally to the next eyelet
5. Take the first side a thread it up vertically skipping one eyelet
6. Thread it horizontally across to the opposite eyelet
7. Take the second side and thread it up to the eyelet you just used for the other side
8. Thread it across horizontally and you’ll have two laces going through the same two eyelets at this point
9. Carry on with this same side by threading it up to the very top eyelet and out
10. Take the remaining lace and thread it up one eyelet and across horizontally
11. Then finally diagonally thread it to the last unused eyelet
12. Tie the shoes together

For a visual guide see the video below:

Bonus tip! How Lee Yong Dae ties his laces

This isn’t as much a tip for how to lace your shoes but more on how to tie your laces so they won’t come undone during Badminton.

Elite professional Badminton player, Lee Yong Dae, shows how he ties his laces. It’s a variant of a normal bow which is more compact which means you laces won’t dangle about as much.

Wrapping things up

We hope this guide on how to lace your Badminton shoes was helpful.

We’d love to hear from you!

• Which lacing technique works best for you?
• Do you use a lacing technique we haven’t covered?

Either way, let us know by leaving a comment below! 

THIS ARTICLE WAS BROUGHT YOU BY LIAM WALSH OF
BADMINTON'S BEST

Click here for more blog releases