Pickleball Star Gabe Tardio Gets Signature G1 Court Shoe from Stria Sport
USA-based footwear brand Stria Sport has officially launched UPA star Gabe Tardio’s signature shoe designed specifically for pickleball.
Tardio competes at the singles and doubles categories in the PPA and is ranked no. 12 and no. 3, respectively. He also plays for Major League Pickleball’s St. Louis franchise and is widely regarded as one of the sport’s top stars. The 19-year-old debuted the shoe, called the “G1 Court Shoe,” at last week’s Select Medical Orange County Cup in San Clemente, California, and will compete in them moving forward.
Stria will also launch the sneaker commercially this year, starting with a limited pre-sale of its “Arctic” colorway beginning 4 July 2025 followed by additional colorways later.
“The top players in basketball have signature shoes. We’re bringing that to pickleball,” Stria Sport Founder Eric Porter told Sport Business Journal. “Gabe’s an outstanding player and we’re super excited for the partnership. We feel like he’s worthy of having his own shoe.”
Stria is known originally for its basketball apparel, with over 90 pro hoopers having already worn the company’s performance sneakers in international leagues like EuroLeague and the Australian NBL and even in the Olympics last year. The brand ultimately transitioned to pickleball as well due to fans clamouring for Stria to manufacture pickleball shoes.
“We were getting emails from customers saying, ‘We love your shoe but we’ve been wearing it for pickleball. Have you ever made a pickleball shoe?’” Porter said. “We were like, ‘Let’s take the qualities of our basketball shoe and create a pickleball court shoe that works.’”
The G1 Court Shoe is Stria’s first pickleball-specific shoe, and it emphasizes ankle support through a built-in ankle collar and heel counter to stabilise high-impact movements and balance through the use of a wider-than-typical base. The shoe also has an outer mesh for added breathability—a critical requirement for those intense, protracted matches.
Tardio, according to Stria, was heavily involved in the overall design of the G1 Court Shoe as he provided regular feedback both on the design of the shoe, its construction, and the features incorporated. This involvement isn’t surprising, as having a signature shoe is a momentous milestone for any athlete and will reportedly provide the 19-year-old royalties from sales.
“It’s a pretty substantial milestone that an athlete can have a signature shoe, as opposed to some of the more household brands that were exploring Gabe,” Godfather of Pickleball founder David Hathaway told Sport Business Journal. “We had many offers for him with several major shoe manufacturers. This was an opportunity that we thought for him, at this stage of his career would be not only good publicity for his brand … but also the opportunity to make outsized returns if those shoes sold well.”
Between pickleball’s soaring popularity and Tardio’s increasing fame, it isn’t far-fetched that the G1 Court Shoe will be a hit among pickleball players worldwide.
