The 2026 Badminton World Championships kick off tomorrow in New Delhi. Before the tournament opens, let’s talk about a piece of gear that will definitely catch your eye while watching: the shoes. More precisely, Yonex’s 65Z4—on the competition side, it’s the 4th generation of the 65 series flagship line, a signature model worn for years by top players; on the community side, it’s also one of the most talked-about Yonex products over the past year: recall, toe cracks, counterfeits, 500-yuan group buys—every topic sparks fierce debate. The 2026 World Badminton Championships will be held in New Delhi, India from August 17 to 23.Weibo Today, I’ll lay out all the information worth caring about regarding this pair of shoes in one go, so that those watching the matches know what to look at, and those wanting to buy know where the pitfalls are.
First, why it’s worth looking at the shoes when watching the World Championships
The Chinese team’s first-round matchups and the draws for all five events have been announced, and the first-round opponents for Shi Yuqi and Li Shifeng have already been decided.Weibo The final withdrawal and replacement list was only confirmed the day before the opening, with two Chinese men’s doubles pairs, Hu Keyuan/Lin Xiangyi and Huang Di/Liu Yang, squeezing in at the last minute.Weibo With the tournament atmosphere at its peak, gear topics naturally heat up along with it.
On the Yonex side, the 65Z4’s status needs no introduction: the 4th generation of the 65 series flagship line, worn for years by Axelsen before his retirement, and even today in the community there are people unboxing and collecting the Axelsen colorway. Coinciding with the brand’s 80th anniversary node, a new commemorative colorway has also been revealed. But when you flip through domestic community posts about the 65Z4 over the past year, the most discussed topic is by no means “how good it is to wear”—it’s “is my pair on the recall list,” “why did the toe crack again,” and “is that 500-yuan group buy actually genuine.” The reputation of this shoe is torn in two, and that’s precisely what’s most worth explaining clearly.
The truth about the recall: it’s not a full-line recall, first look at the label batch
Let’s start with the biggest controversy. The recall that broke out last July was not a quality verdict on the entire shoe, but targeted the sole separation risk of certain Japanese-version batches: Yonex’s 65Z4, as the 4th generation of the 65Z series, has really few upgrades, but the upper is softer and more supple, and many friends chose it, but no one expected it to be only half a year.Xiaohongshu The batches organized by the community are concentrated in the model numbers starting with SH2412, SH2501, and SH2502 on the in-shoe label, and taking out your own shoes’ labels to compare is the first step of self-checking.
The difference in after-sales channels is the part users find most agonizing: the Japanese version has an official recall channel, while the domestic CH version mostly relies on dealer returns and exchanges. Multiple users have confirmed that Yonex Shanghai after-sales can be communicated with, and there are also actual cases of users who bought through the JD channel completing returns and compensation. Even now, there are people asking whether the SH2411 batch can be recalled, and the batch anxiety has not completely dissipated. So the conclusion is clear: what was recalled is the sole separation risk of specific batches, not that the 65Z4 as a shoe can’t be worn; new stock from正规 channels after the model change is basically unaffected by this wave, but when buying stock or secondhand, you must first match the batch.
The old problem of toe cracks: not fully resolved even after the model change
What the recall talks about is sole separation, but what the community posts the most about is actually another old problem—cracks at the crease of the toe. This problem did not disappear with the model change; even this July, users are still complaining “why does the new version of z4 still have the old version’s chronic problem,” and real-life photos of cracked toes on the white model are everywhere in the posts. Objectively speaking, the easily cracked position is precisely the bend of the toe assist shape on the toe, and heavy body weight, a dragging-toe playing style, or wide feet forcibly stuffed into the standard last will all accelerate the life decay of this position; it’s not that every pair will definitely crack, but the probability is indeed higher than other models in the same price range.
The voices on the other side are equally loud: those who praise it laud its fast startup, ground grip, lightness of about 300 grams per shoe, and good looks, and there’s even a joke that “it has never won online, but has never lost offline”—meaning that what you see online are all bad reviews, but in offline badminton halls, everyone is wearing a pair. This very split illustrates the 65Z4’s character: it’s a speed-type shoe that puts extreme lightness and ground feel first, sacrificing some durability and forgiveness.
Price: four tiers from 1180 to 500 coexist, the cheaper it gets the more careful you need to be
Currently, the market price of the 65Z4 is roughly in four tiers: the domestic official price is 1180 yuan, the overseas version EX is on sale for around 989 yuan, domestic dealers are around 1150 yuan, and dealer CH version group buys and secondhand can reach 500-550 yuan. The price difference is large, and the water is correspondingly deep. At just over five hundred yuan, basically only overseas versions, stock, and secondhand remain, and mixed in among these are also “originals”: a while ago I bought a pair of 65z4 badminton shoes on Xianyu, claimed to be Southeast Asian version originals, mainly with reduced-spec insoles and slightly worse quality control.Xiaohongshu Add to that counterfeits with QR code hang tags torn off, and the volume of authentication posts for this model on various platforms is not small—popular models inevitably come with counterfeit problems, and the lower the price, the more you need to leave room for the authentication step.
There are also pitfalls in the version labeling: standard last, wide last with suffix W, women’s with suffix L, Japanese version and EX overseas version differ in workmanship and after-sales; what’s even easier to confuse is the lower-tier version 65X4, which looks extremely similar and also has an Axelsen colorway, but the specs are not in the same class—before ordering, make sure to confirm whether the model number is SHB65Z4 or SHB65X4. On the display wall of overseas stores, the standard last, wide last, women’s, and commemorative colors are lined up in a row, and the version family is more convoluted than most people imagine.
Who should buy it, and who should look at other options first
The suitable group is very concentrated: those with body weight around 80kg or less, whose playing style leans toward startup and ground grip, and who have normal foot shape—the 65Z4’s advantages of fast startup, grip, and lightness are prepared precisely for you. Wide feet should directly look for the W wide last version; don’t forcibly stuff them into the standard last and then complain about tight feet accelerating cracks. Those who should look at other options are equally clear: those with heavier body weight or who prioritize cushioning are better suited to look at models with thicker midsoles like the ELZ3 (same line as Liang Weikeng’s battle shoes, in the thousand-yuan class); those with a history of ankle sprains should be cautious about this kind of low-center-of-gravity, hard-ground-feel speed shoe; and those who can’t accept “betting on the toe’s lifespan” should either add to their budget to switch to a model with higher forgiveness, or mentally prepare to treat it as a consumable.
As for how to buy: new batches from official and authorized channels are safe to buy now; for stock and secondhand, first match the batch, and no matter how cheap, don’t touch recalled batches; for users who are already wearing them, if the label is within a recalled batch, go directly to after-sales, and even if it’s not, it’s worth occasionally glancing at the toe crease—if you find cracks early, the after-sales window period is still there.
Closing彩蛋: the gold commemorative color is on the way, first watch the feet at the World Championships
Finally, let’s leave one piece of forward-looking information. At the 80th anniversary node, the gold commemorative colorway has been revealed, and some overseas stores have already put out display sample shoes, and what’s in the frame is the new 65Z4 color itself.Xiaohongshu The community’s predictions and discussions about this pair of colors have been going on for a while, and some bloggers have directly organized it as the new color of the 65Z series 80th anniversary commemorative model.Xiaohongshu The evaluation of the looks is currently polarized, and whether it will be introduced domestically, and when, there is still no official news.
So you might as well wait until you’ve watched the World Championships before deciding: starting tomorrow, first look at what the top players are wearing on their feet, then look at real-life photos of the new colorway and domestic introduction news. The reputation of the 65Z4 has always been worn out and argued out together by top players and ordinary badminton players—this is precisely the reason why, a year and a half after its release, it’s still worth watching and still worth arguing about.
