1. Weight The weight of the padel rackets in our test is between 335 and 370 grams. If you’re a beginner or junior, it’s wise to go for a lighter racket. A heavier racket is more suitable for a more advanced player who wants to exploit the power of the weight.
2. Control It’s the shape and material of a padel racket that determines how much or little control the player has. A rounded shape provides the best control, and most of the rackets in our test are of that shape. In general, it can be said that a hard impact surface produces more control than a soft one. Some models in the test have a textured impact surface, which makes it possible to get good spin on the ball.
3. Speed The same laws of nature apply here as with control. A diamond-shaped, heavier racket gives significantly better speed than a lightweight round shaped racket. Often the more expensive rackets are made of a rigid carbon material and a plastic called EVA, which has characteristics that give the ball good speed.
4. Price Padel rackets are usually divided into three different price levels. Beginner, amateur and advanced. This means that the most expensive racket is rarely the best for a beginner. The reason for this is that advanced rackets become far too difficult to manoeuvre for a beginner and you can’t take advantage of the characteristics you pay extra for, such as speed and power.
5. Balance Round shaped rackets usually have the weight placed from the centre down toward the handle. This gives the player better control. The opposite is a diamond-shaped racket that has a higher balance point, with the weight further out on the racket. This gives greater speed and power to the ball.
6. Material Cheaper rackets for beginners are often made from lighter materials such as graphite and fibreglass. The more expensive models usually have a harder core of EVA foam (ethylene vinyl acetate). EVA is a kind of rubber mixture and the composition determines how hard the core is. The higher price class often has an impact surface in carbon fibre, and in some cases carbon, which gives a lot of power to the stroke.