Our philosophy

As Momo Gonzales once said, the right padel racket best accentuates your strengths. In order to choose the right racket, first, determine what type of padel player you are. Note that each benefit of a racket comes with an equal drawback. To best help you make your decision, we have compiled our favorite rackets for each category of padel player based on the racket attributes we consider most important for that player profile.

We also want to remind you that a racket only meets the level of the player. Arguably, the most valuable contribution a racket makes to our game is the placebo effect. “I have a racket that I feel comfortable with, therefore, I feel confident.” While I wish I could drop 400 euros and play like Lebron, so far that hasn't worked for me.  We'll probably make less money by saying this, but we are here to share our love for padel with the world, not to bleed you of your pesetas.

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Beginners

{{racket-card="/racket-reviews/ml10-pro-cup"}}

Who this is for

Most of our readers have some experience in racket sports, and as a result, their abilities in padel will grow quickly with regular court time. If you are comfortable contacting the ball, but the walls are scary, this is you. These beginners should look for a racket with the following characteristics:

• ‍Power: Satisfactory
• ‍Control: Satisfactory
• ‍Sweet spot: Great (large and low)
• ‍Maneuverability: Great• Touch: Medium-Soft
• ‍Balance: Low
• ‍Budget <€200

Why this is our pick

The ML10 is the best-selling padel racket. Of all time. It is named after the all-star Argentinian, Miguel Lamperti.

It has a low balance, making it easy to play with. There are a lot of variations of this racket - we recommend the soft, fiberglass, less expensive variations for beginners because the softness will feel comfortable, increase the size of the sweet spot, and provide a helpful ball output at low speeds.

It is versatile enough to deliver you moderate control and power on the court. Its round shape and soft core will provide you with a great sweet spot and a comfortable touch. More expensive rackets may be tempting, but they will be harder to play with.

Any of these will be great in helping you learn the game. Don't overthink it - go for the one that has the best deal. Padel rackets, sadly, have short lifespans. It will wear out by the time you will need something different from your racket. The foam will become compressed and the walls will do damage as you learn how to play with them. Choose a round ML10 or one of the other suggestions above and spend your time on the court learning the foundations.

Best intermediate control racket

{{racket-card="/racket-reviews/vertex-04-hybrid"}}

Why this is our pick

The Vertex 04 Hybrid is the hybrid counterpart to Bullpadel’s flagship Vertex model played with by Juan “el gato” Tello. This racket has a medium touch, a medium balance, and all of the premium finishings of top-of-the-line Bullpadel rackets:• Custom Weight: weight and balance customization• MultiEVA core: sandwich of hard and soft foam• Hesa core under grip• Vibration reduction inserts• Sandblasted surfaceIts hybrid shape is similar to a teardrop and gives it a medium balance, which increases maneuverability compared to the relatively easy to maneuver Bullpadel diamonds. This allowed our reviewers to reach their shots with plenty of time to impact the ball exactly as desired.

Its round shape and MultiEVA core result in a medium touch with plenty of ball output. The round shape and medium touch result in a very large, forgiving sweet spot.  It is, above all, easy to play with and will help players surprise their opponents by allowing them to pass tough balls back over the net while under pressure in defense.

If you’re looking for a harder, more maneuverable alternative, consider Federico Chingotto’s signature Bullpadel Neuron.

Best intermediate versatile racket

{{racket-card="/racket-reviews/ultimate-tour"}}

What to look for

• ‍Power: Good
• ‍Control: Good
• ‍Sweet spot: Good (center-high)
• ‍Maneuverability: Good
• ‍Touch: Medium
• ‍Balance: Medium

The Swedes have entered the chat.

Swedish Oxdog has brought another level of research and development to padel racket design.

With decades of experience making carbon fiber floor ball sticks, Oxdog has successfully transferred this knowledge to padel rackets, creating some of the finest rackets we’ve touched seen. Like a Maserati from the first touch, one of our reviewers remarked, “Initially I thought something was wrong with it because it was so quiet,” regarding the Silent Speed technology, which efficiently transfers energy to the ball - instead of losing it to audible vibrations. Oxdog's Ultimate Tour is easy to use and offers a punch on volleys

Why this is our pick

The Ultimate Tour is a comfortable, agile, diamond-shaped racket with a medium touch.Despite being a diamond, it is easy to maneuver and has a medium balance of 26 centimeters.Our reviewers found that it provided a versatile balance between control, power, and maneuverability.An alternative worth considering is the Starvie Astrum, which has a nice sweet spot, despite being relatively hard, and slightly less weight in the head due to its round shape.

Best intermediate power racket

{{racket-card="/racket-reviews/metalbone-3-3"}}

What to look for

• ‍Power: Great
• ‍Control: Satisfactory
• Sweet spot: Satisfactory (high and medium-sized)
• ‍Maneuverability: Satisfactory
• ‍Touch: Medium
• ‍Balance: Medium-high

Why this is our pick

The Adidas Metalbone is one of the most popular rackets on the market. And for good reason.It has a high balance, a hard surface, and a low-density foam core - Adidas's EVA Soft Energy. The combination of the soft core and the hard surface give it a medium hardness.Its medium hardness makes it significantly more playable than its harder sibling, the Metalbone HRD+, which we do not recommend for intermediate players. The only change is that the hard version has Adidas's EVA High Memory.

This version, the standard Metalbone, delivers essentially the same performance as the 2023 version.Ale Galan plays with either the Metalbone 3.3 or the Metalbone HRD+ depending on court conditions. Like many players, he often switches to a harder core to counteract the softening of the core resulting from high temperatures.An alternative worth considering is the Bullpadel Vertex.

Best advanced control racket

{{racket-card="/racket-reviews/kenta-pro"}}

What to look for

• ‍Power: Satisfactory
• ‍Control: Amazing
• ‍Sweet spot: Medium-high sweet spot
• ‍Maneuverability: Satisfactory
• ‍Touch: Medium-hard
• ‍Balance: Medium

Why this is our pick

Hard, fast, precise.If that’s what you’re looking for in your padel racket, Starvie's newest addition to their lineup, the Kenta line, will surely win you over. Note that we’ve selected the Pro variation for advanced control players due to the precision attained from the hard EVA, but we only recommend this racket for advanced players who like a firm touch - this racket is, as dura, dura.

The Kenta is the replacement of the Raptor Evo that used to be one of the most popular rackets, but faced a decline in recent years. The Kenta has, however, blown away reviewers this year. Like most of its models, Starvie offers this racket in three versions, which correspond to the different hardnesses, or densities of the foam cores:

1. Kenta Pro: the hardest with the Pro 50 EVA core (this model)
2. Kenta: the intermediate model with the Soft 30 EVA core
3. Kenta Speed: the softest model with the Ultra Speed Soft EVA core

The hard core is paired with a rigid frame, and a double 3K carbon fiber surface for a hard touch. I could see players using this as a summer alternate for the standard Kenta.It gave us great control for precise placement around the court. It has a medium (26.5cm) balance, which gives it fantastic maneuverability. However, it did result in a relatively small sweet spot due to its hard touch. Starvie’s Noene partnership helped a lot in reducing the vibrations from their rackets this year - very impressed with that partnership as it address a major complaint of Starvie’s durable, yet uncomfortable offerings of previous years.

Best advanced versatile racket

{{racket-card="/racket-reviews/bela-pro-v2-5"}}

What to look for

• ‍Power: Great
• ‍Control: Great
• ‍Sweet spot: Medium-high sweet spot
• ‍Maneuverability: Satisfactory
• ‍Touch: Medium-hard
• ‍Balance: Medium

Why this is our pick

I read so many negative reviews of the Bela Pro prior to using it I was expecting an uncomfortable brick with a miniscule sweet spot, however, I found myself loving the combination of power and versatility that it delivered. It definitely leans heavier toward power than control with its weight and balance, but I didn’t find it as difficult to use as expected, and I loved the weight I was able to easily deliver with volleys and top spin smashes.

If this sounds too intimidating…

Consider the easier to use Adipower CTRL 3.3, which is largely unchanged from its make up last year, which was one my top 3 rackets of 2023. It has a larger sweet spot and lower balance with a similar emphasis on spin and comfort.

Best advanced power racket

{{racket-card="/racket-reviews/triton-pro-2024"}}

What to look for

• ‍Power: Amazing
• ‍Control: Good
• ‍Sweet spot: High sweet spot
• ‍Maneuverability: Below average
• ‍Touch: Medium-hard
• ‍Balance: High

Why this is our pick

The Starvie Triton Pro is basically the most powerful racket in the game and has blown reviewers away once more for its incredible sensation of the ball and awesome power. Like most Starvies, it has an amazing roughness for spin. Its double layer of carbon fiber combined with its hard EVA mean that you have a ton of power and control at the sacrifice of a small sweet spot. Take note of selecting a model with a desired weight as a 380g 28cm model.

Please only consider this racket if you are extremely strong and have great technique - otherwise, you’ll probably hurt yourself and want to return it.

Noteworthy alternative

Slightly easier to use, the Volt 1000 is the Portuguese brand's top of the line power racket. It is a black, diamond-shaped high balance power monster. I really enjoyed it in the aerial game. I recommend it to those who are looking for something slightly more reactive and aggressive than the Head Extreme Pro. It was not as hard as I expected. With a high sweet spot and a long handle, I achieved amazing leverage in my overhead game.

People also ask

Best Racket for Players with Tennis Elbow

{{racket-card="/racket-reviews/bela-lt-v2-5"}}

I found the lightweight soft version of this year’s Bela a wonderful combination of maneuverable, and comfortable without being too light and hollow.

Why trust us?

Padel FYI is the Metacritic for padel rackets. To help you find the best padel racket, I have cataloged 360 reviews of 106 of the most popular padel rackets to create the most comprehensive padel racket database.

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