You’ve chosen the perfect pickleball paddle for your skill level. You’ve found a great pickleball court near you. You’ve bought sporty clothes and a comfortable pair of shoes to play in. So you’re all set to hit the courts, right? 

Not just yet…

It’s easy to think that your old gym socks will be perfect for playing pickleball. So much focus is put on advanced sports shoes that socks are often overlooked, despite the fact that they’re in direct contact with your skin. 

To ensure you’re performing at your best, and that you’re comfortable while doing so, you need a pair of specialist sport socks. You’ll be amazed by the difference. 

In this article we’re going to analyze everything you need to know when choosing a pair of pickleball socks, and highlight the key factors to look for when you’re making your choice.  

How to Choose The Best Socks for Pickleball

Comfort

Prioritize comfort over everything! How can you play your best if all you can think about is how sore, itchy or damp your feet are? 

You’re going to be wearing your pickleball socks during hours of intense play, and they are the front line in defending your feet against the constant impact of the courts. Make sure your socks are well-fitted—snug without being too tight—and that your feet feel great in them when you put them on. 

Breathability

Choosing pickleball socks that are breathable is an absolute must. When you’re running around the courts, your feet will quickly get hot. That heat needs to be able to dissipate effectively through the fabric of your sock.

Wet, sweaty feet are not only uncomfortable, but combining moisture and friction on your skin is a surefire way to get blisters. Blisters on the feet are painful and slow to heal, and can cause you to miss out on court time.  

Breathable pickleball socks are designed to promote airflow and allow the heat from your skin to easily disperse. The best sports socks will also be moisture wicking.  

The magic of moisture-wicking fabrics is that they pull the sweat away from your skin to their outer surface, which in turn dries super quickly. They do this by being “permeable,” or breathable, as discussed above, and by promoting capillary action to suck moisture up through the small spaces in the fabric.

Circulation

You know when you see people on planes wearing compression socks? That’s all to do with promoting good blood circulation while you’re in the air. A great pair of pickleball socks will use the same principle to boost blood flow in your legs. 

During exercise, your blood tends to pool in your lower legs and cause swelling. Compression socks encourage this blood up the leg towards the heart, which means increased oxygen in your muscles. More oxygen in your muscles makes for better performance and increased stamina on the courts. 

Support

The next thing to look out for when choosing pickleball socks is support. This support should be provided in two main areas—the ankle and the arch. 

Pickleball is pretty tough on the ankles. Quick side-to-side movements and sudden stopping and changes in direction put a lot of stress on the joints in your legs. Choosing a pickleball sock that offers support around the ankle can minimize this repetitive impact and lessen the strain on your ankles as you play.

Sore or delicate ankles seriously affect your performance, so any extra support that a sport sock provides is a boost to your performance on the court. 

The arches of your foot allow it to act as a lever to transmit the power of your leg muscles. They also function like a spring to store and then release mechanical energy. Suffice to say, strong arches are crucial to your pickleball playing ability. 

Good arch support lessens wear and tear and allows pressure to be distributed evenly across your feet and legs. This also improves your balance and stability and helps to avoid injury and discomfort in the foot. 

Sock Length

The next factor to keep in mind when choosing the perfect pickleball sock for your needs is sock length. There are four common lengths to choose from: no-show (low-tab), quarter length, crew and knee-high. 

No-show socks are just as they sound, so small that they don’t show over your trainer. Some of these incorporate tabs to stop them from rubbing on the back and tongue of your shoe. 

Quarter socks are the next size up, reaching just above the ankle. 

Crew socks usually reach about half way up the calf, and are the most common height of sock. 

Knee high socks, also known as ‘over-the-calf’ socks reach all the way up to the knee joint. These provide for extra compression and blood circulation, as described above, and keep the legs warm in cooler conditions. 

Durability

Pickleball socks take quite a hammering, so make sure you choose a sock that can deal with the wear and tear of court life. A normal pair of socks will soon give out in the high-friction areas of the heel and the ball of your foot. 

Look for socks made from strong and durable fabric throughout with extra padding in those high impact areas. 

Style

Last but certainly not least, choose a pair of pickleball socks that suits your style. Whether you prefer a toned-down monotone look or prefer a splash of color, you’ll find an option for every look. 

Don’t be afraid to wear bright colors. Pickleball is a sport that embraces eccentricity, and colorful clothes are all part of the fun. 

Here at Lasso, we make socks that are engineered for movement. As a biomedical sciences graduate, our founder was frustrated by the lack of scientific innovation in the area of sports and injury-recovery socks. So he set out to develop the most high-tech sock on the market. 

Described as the “The Tesla of Socks”, Lasso’s pickleball socks combine cutting-edge medical research and sports technology to improve performance, injury prevention and recovery. 

Our patented compression patterns mimic the benefits of kinesiology tape at three points on the foot: the figure of 8 wrap around the arches, the ankle wrap and the stirrup wrap on the lower calf. This helps to naturally align your food and ankle, to improve foot load distribution and prevent strain, pain and stress to the lower body. 

All of our socks are designed to wick moisture away from the skin and keep your feet cool and dry, even after a long session on the pickleball court. 

Leigh and Anna-Leigh waters, the mother and daughter pickleball powerhouse team from Florida have been using our pickleball socks to help them to victory for the last couple of years.  Both athletes play aggressively on the court and that high-speed type of play takes a toll on your ankles and feet. “Pickleball requires a ton of quick lateral side-to-side movement, and Lasso socks help protect our ankles as well as our feet," explains Leigh. 

Lasso are also proud to have partnered with USA Pickleball as their Official Performance Sock suppliers. 

Step Up Your Game

Great pickleball socks, as we’re sure you’ll now appreciate, are an essential part of your gear, and should be chosen wisely. We hope this article has given you some tips on what to keep in mind when you choose which socks to buy, and that we’ve explained the importance of wearing the correct footwear on the courts

If you have any comments or questions, reach out to us on our socials, we’d love to hear from you. 

Comfortable, dry and well-supported feet are crucial to your prowess on the courts, and we want you to keep on winning. So get out there and knock their socks off!