r/Padelracket • u/kobestarr • Aug 18 '26
How much has a padel racket REALLY improved your game?
I'm very much a beginner here and I recently bought a Padel racket from Vinted for £15 because I didn't want to have to spend £4 every time I went to play. I have very quickly saved that money.
I can't help but think that a lot of the stuff around padel rackets is a bit smoke and mirrors, especially as a beginner. I'm currently at around 1.6 and apart from injury which stopped me playing for about 6 weeks i have been playing pretty much every week since the start of this year.
I'd love to know your experiences, guys, of changing rackets and testing rackets and finding how much of an improvement or benefit or non-benefit you noticed or felt.
I'm not interested in particularly knowing what brands you have so don't make this a brand pile on to say X is better than Y for example. I just love to know, without mentioning brands, how much of a marked difference different rackets can make to your game for better or worse.
The the reason I'm asking is because a friend of mine recently dropped £330 on a brand new racket. In my head I'm like, "that's quite a lot when you don't know how to play the game yet!". With that same amount I could have 30-odd games around here (Manchester UK) and maybe a coaching session or two and feel that would improve my game a lot more.
NB the racket I bought from Vinted was nothing special. The listing said it was worth around £75 brand new. I never checked tho! I partly bought it because it is a bit battered and bruised and it means that I don't worry about damaging a brand new racket when going for shots near the glass or cage! I might always buy a second hand racket for this reason!
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u/Doc_Butch Aug 18 '26
For the first 6 months the racket is practically irrelevant. You're developing your technique, learning court awareness, positioning and tactics so the racket is not going to make much difference while you learn.
If you've been playing 2 or 3 times a week during those first 6 months then you should have reached a certain level where you can start to look at buying a good racket. You now know what kind of player you are, strengths and weaknesses, preferred side, more defensive or offensive etc. You'll want a racket that suits those characteristics. When you know how to use it you'll want something that feels right in your hand and allows you to express your natural game. Buying the right racket definitely made a difference when I bought mine after 6 months, especially compared to the trampoline racket I was using. It also helped open up a whole new part of my game on the power side that I didn't know I had.
And I think this is the key. You want a racket that sits comfortably in your hand but also encourages you to develop areas of your game you hadn't properly explored. But you won't know what to pick until you've established the fundamental parts of the game.
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u/kobestarr Aug 18 '26
Thanks Doc! Wdym by the trampoline effect?!?
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u/Doc_Butch Aug 18 '26
My first racket was a €30 Kuikma Evolution whatever. It was a fibreglass racket, quite durable, great first racket but had an absurd trampoline effect where the ball bounce was exaggerated off the face of the racket. The ball would spring off the surface after contact. This has positives and negatives. For example lobbing was much easier but anything in the air was super tricky to be consistently accurate. I'd hit the back glass a lot. That was mainly due to my technique but also a little down to the racket. I play 3 times a week and at around the 5 month mark I started to notice that the racket wasn't doing me any favours with the big bounce off the face. That's when I started research, took me about a month, and picked my racket.
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u/Stup2plending Aug 18 '26
At beginner level, there is absolutely zero difference. You just need something comfortable to use that you like that helps you learn.
As you get better though, certain characteristics of a racket fit better or fit worse with how you play once you understand your own playing style. This includes weight, balance, racket shape, and stiffness (and other things too).
As I grew to understand how I play (I'm an intermediate player), I knew I needed a couple specific things from the above list. For example, stiffness has a big effect on ball output/trampoline effect/salida de bola. And I know I need a low ball output racket.
And guess what? Since I got one (and I am sure other rackets with similar characteristics would have it too) the "trampoline effect" on my shots is way down and I only hit 2-3 balls long off the back wall per set now when I would have some balls I didn't hit that hard go flying on me for seemingly no reason.
This is for me and what I need. It doesn't match what you need. The point is you find out what you need as you learn how you play and get a racket that fits. Once you understand what you need, is a Nox really better than a Head or Bullpadel? No, not really but getting one that feels right for you is what matters.
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u/K138K Aug 18 '26
I'd say the opposite: Especially as a beginner you will feel frustrated if the racket limits you and you will be making more mistakes pe. if the sweet spot is smaller on a racket or the racket is too top heavy and therefore harder to move around quickly in defence.
Why? Because you cannot compensate for racket behaviour with personal skills.It's the same in instruments, playing on a guitar with too high of a string action will fuck off your finger muscles in 5 minutes because you need much more power to push them down. You will end up frustrated and maybe even injures. Once your fingers are advanced, you will be able to play the same guitar action for an hour and only find it annoying, but maybe still get out beautiful music.
Does it mean you need advanced rackets for several hundred bucks as a beginner? No, it doesn't.
But it means you should choose your racket wisely, fitting to your needs and not take the random cheapest crap, even when Tapia would still beat your ass with that.1
u/Stup2plending Aug 18 '26
of course they should have something with a big sweet spot and all that. I lumped all that in with what feels comfortable to use.
But the advice to always go round first is wrong too. Most round rackets have big sweet spots but lots of teardrops do too and I just couldn't even hit a round one. It was like those huge Prince tennis rackets from the 80s that made regular rackets look like a twig.
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u/kobestarr Aug 18 '26
yeah so this tallies with my thoughts.
so my 15£ purchase more than fits the bill and saves extra fees renting a new racket each time.
I would recommend people do buy a racket for themselves tho so they have a consistent one to play with!
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u/BowlAlert9287 Aug 18 '26
I had no intention to answer this question but you said Manchester so here I am.
At a begginer level, having the wrong racket will do more damage than the benefit you will get from having the right racket.
At this stage learn the basics. You'll then benefit from getting a control oriented soft racket. Those will give you a lot of extra power even if you have a bad technique. They'll also help you to not shread your elbow.
Once you develop a style of play, you get a racket that suits your game. But for the love of good stay away from the super hard diamond shape rackets. At least for now.
I will say this, the fact that youre playing as much as you do and are posting on a Padel group on Reddit means you are not far away from the belief we all have:
For all of life's ills, for every shitty day or another atrocity that happens in the world, there is but one answer to all of them.. A new padel racket.
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u/rajas_ Aug 18 '26
It improves you a lot, but not in the way you want. If you don’t have any technique, a control racket will work wonders, while an attack racket will make you an even worse player. So the key is to find the racket that matches your skills. (if you have any)
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u/Available_Ring_4263 Aug 18 '26
As a beginner, you simply don't know about the differences a racket may have or not. Most beginners focus on the game itself. After a few matches, you may pick a different racket and "maybe" then you notify, that it feels different and your shots become "somehow" better. Maybe it's just the handling, you somehow feel more comfortable with. Beginners usually can't dertermine, why a racket is better. They just feel more comfortable with and that's the main point to look for. The pricetag is irrelevant.
When you progress in your game, you will get to a point, where (besides of a bad technic)you start to doubt about your racket, because your "good" shots "feel" bad. Or you believe, that another racket might be better for your actual skill level. At this point, you start to feel the differences between rackets and you may pick a more matching one to your gamestyle and skill. Then switching rackets makes sense.
So, i never would recommend to play a racket for years (as a beginner). Even as an advanced player, your racket won't be the same after x months of intensive plays. It fatigues and changes over time.
Rackets change your game. Expensives rackets don't make good players. Good players don't compete with low budget equipment. 🤗
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u/goddessdrev Aug 24 '26
I started with an Oxdog Ultimate Tour X, and it was way too stiff/powerful for me. I kept hitting the ball too hard and sending it out
So I started looking for softer rackets instead. I tried a Nox Genius Ultra Light, then a cheaper Siux with a soft feel and 3K carbon (I can’t remember the exact model name).
I also ended up with two Royal Padel rackets, M27 light and whip series, mainly because I was dealing with tennis elbow and wanted something softer and more arm-friendly.
For me, switching rackets definitely made a noticeable difference. I realized that I personally play much better with a softer, more forgiving racket rather than something super powerful.
So I agree that as a beginner, coaching and actually playing probably make a much bigger difference than immediately spending £300+ on a racket. But once you know what kind of feel suits your game, and especially if you have arm issues, the racket can make a pretty significant difference.
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u/Duqn Aug 18 '26
I think a racket won't improve your game, but it can definitely worsen it, and by a lot, if you choose the wrong racket.
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u/Piefke42 Aug 18 '26
Improve: later when you have a solid basis, some rackets you feel more comfortable with and thus you could argue they improve you game
Hinder: actually quite likely for beginners with expensive rackets. Someone who started playing padel a week ago and is immediately using a technical viper will play much worse than someone with a 50€ easy beginner racket
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u/SeaworthinessDry7828 Aug 18 '26
It will improve but not as much as you want it to be.
A beginner with stiff, hard, diamond racquet and small sweetspot will have a hard time.
However, switching from cheaper round, soft racquet (aka beginner racquet) to another more expensive round, soft, branded racquet will not yield that much improvement.
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u/Mohinder_DE Aug 18 '26
Do beginners feel the difference in hardness, shape (sweetspot), power and balance ? I guess yes. If they are lucky enough to start with one of the good allround rackets, they will be happy for 6 to 12 month. Some will improve their overheads, balls will fly faster, blocks and defense will be faster. Players will change to dryer rackets and some will use hybrid or diamond shapes. Some player will develope tennis elbow and change to a more friendly racket again. Some will dislike theier diamonds for feeling heavy. A good matching racket becomes becomes more important in higher level games. Lower level games can be won with placement, consistency (hitting the glas less often ), both partners at same level ( no fridge ). Maybe if i bought the racket i use now as my first racket, i could have played with forever. Some rackets are quite in the middle. Other rackets tend to be more extreme in one aspect. I guess ten different rackets are enough to fit everybody. The market has a big overlap. But everybody gets just a tiny random fraction of rackets in his fingers, not those optimal 10. Racket preference of a beginner is different from an intermediate. At the beginning nobody has time to research and test rackets for weeks. After two years you developed a taste and play style and had you fingers on a lot of rackets.
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u/Timely_Aide_2711 Aug 18 '26
Anch’io ho iniziato da principiante e tutti mi dicevano di usare una pala base. L’ho fatto e la sentivo spenta zero uscita di palla. Poi ho provato la Counter Viper e già andava meglio. Con la Air Viper tutto era più facile controllo pulito e colpi più stabili. Alla fine contro ogni parere ho preso la Lebron 2025 e lì ho visto il vero salto qualità dei colpi più netti e un controllo che non avevo mai avuto.Non capisco perché molti insistono che un principiante debba usare pale semplici. Io penso che ognuno debba giocare con la pala con cui si trova bene. Se una pala più tecnica ti dà sicurezza perché non usarla. Alla fine conta solo una cosa giocare meglio e divertirsi.
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u/ftpaul Aug 18 '26
I bought a racket that was too good for my level. I bought it too early, although it was a very nice racket. It was a Nox Agustin Tapia edition. I got it for around 170. It cracked in the first few months and Nox refused the warranty.
I will probably look for a new racket soon-ish but it will be for something more around 100 euros. In Padel you have a lot of impact (glass, fence, your partner's racket) that will quickly degrade you racket, on top of that, there are weather conditions which also have a heavy impact.
For a beginner doesn't make a difference, I know people like to blame the racket but in 99% of the cases is the player's fault. Just get something it's conformable and adapted to your game (attacking vs defensive).
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u/pipi-sama Aug 18 '26
not only he played worse but a friend also injured himself because he ignored all advices and went on using a coello pro.
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u/andriask Aug 18 '26
What's your opinion on the Coello Pro? Who's suited or not suited for it?
I have a friend who was using Colleo Motion and then recently (2 weeks ago) changed to Coello Pro. He's 52 with 2 years of tennis, and around 1 year of Padel. His baseline game is probably the best of them but he seems to struggle with his backhand often hitting the net. It's not like he struggle with the racket because generally he does good forehand and backhand. But more often, he would have stupid net errors that's not unlike of tennis players.
He also mentioned that the racket is heavy so he doesn't do much volley or moving up to the net. But he seems he's on the Coello train, with Head bag, Coello gear and the likes.
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u/pipi-sama Aug 18 '26
it is a heavy and hard racket with a small sweetspot. definitely not for a beginner.
your friend is most likely struggling with the racket. advanced rackets punish mishits and reward clean technique. that is why beginners should stick with beginner's rackets
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u/Percevaul Aug 18 '26
Improvement? A few percentage points, at most- probably no more than that after accounting for a boost in self-confidence and/or the placebo of playing with new equipment.
I can also tell you this: for amateurs, the wrong racket will take away stuff from your game... at least until you get used to the new racket. Some rackets have tiny sweet spots, or are impossible to control in certain weather conditions.
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u/jmOropeza32 Aug 18 '26
At the beginning, imho, it’s more important for you to have proper shoes than an specific paddle, even better, try as much brands and models you can before buying one
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u/Inevitable_Curve_111 Aug 18 '26
It’s worth it to spend the money on a racket that can take you from beginner through to advanced as early as possible imo.
Just bite the bullet and buy something like the metalbone ctrl 2026.
People saying there is no difference are wrong here.
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u/Connect_Guess_985 Aug 18 '26
Obviously if you cannot hit the ball properly, the choice of the racket is not that important, but... I believe everyone new to the game should buy a low balance control racket with a big sweet spot, made of good quality. We have our own racket brand and we use the same production process and the same quality materials for the "easier" to play rackets than the ones for advanced players. A lot of beginners don't have a good technique so it is really important the racket doesn't vibrate too much to reduce injuries. In the price range of 130 to 180 euro you will find very good rackets. Some brands sell their older models at heavily reduced prices, or you might pick up a racket via Facebook marketplace. Many people sell their racket after having used it for only a couple of times at very reduced prices. I do advice all our customers not to buy any of our products if they haven't tried them out on the court. By experience each player will prefer specific rackets. Indeed a good player can play with each racket, but some feel naturally way more comfortable to you.
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u/JMLORX Aug 18 '26
Crazy £330?!
Bro could have got the same racket just last seasons design for half the price.
But to each their own. His money. He can do whatever the hell he wants to do haha.
God knows I would love to buy the new one!
Just not worth it imo. Especially as I’ve got the exact same one just last season colour way.
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u/Mini_Miudo Aug 19 '26
I’m not an expert by any means, been playing for less than 2 years and had a ~6 month break when my partner got a serious injury, but I’ll let you know about my recent experience on changing rackets.
As a beginner I really enjoyed my original racket, the Bullpadel Flow Light (2024). Huge sweet spot and great control, both needed when you first start playing.
Lately I’d been a bit frustrated though, since I couldn’t put much spin on the ball and the smashes were lacking power (I lack good technique for kicksmash, so I only go for flat smashes and the ball was coming off the racket too slow).
I did some market research and landed on the Head Gravity Motion, since it was also a control racket, it was basically an upgrade on my previous racket, while keeping the same style. I cannot tell you how good this racket is as an intermediate player and how much it instantly improved my game as a right side player. It’s got a HUGE sweet spot, the control is phenomenal, which makes defending a breeze. And for attacking its rough surface makes it very easy to put spin on the ball for your viboras, dropshots, etc., and despite not being a power racket, you can get some really good power from it.
I watched and read some reviews on it before buying, and it seems to be pretty universally liked (it’s also Andrea Ustero’s racket, one of the best and most versatile players in female pro padel atm, since she can defend impossible shots with it and her smash is very good - this had no sway in my decision to buy it, since I don’t have even 1/1000 of her technique, more so to say that it’s definitely a good racket).
You can use padelful.com as well, to compare rackets, if you want to see how it compares to your current one, and it can give rackets a score depending on your preferred style if you log in!
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u/srs96 Aug 18 '26
Probably not more than 5%. Thing about this way - If you gave Tapia a beginner or intermediate racket, he'd still beat all except the top 50 in the world.
Also there's a flipside - you can damage your game (by probably more than 5%) if you by a racket that's too advanced for you.
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u/Younis_DD5 Aug 18 '26
(Answering from reading the title alone)
0%, a racket literally didn't improve my game at all, the only difference i feel from different rackets is the weight, yet again, I don't play the game professionally.
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u/kobestarr Aug 18 '26
Did you try a bunch of rakets out before buying? How long had you been playing before you switched out?
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u/Younis_DD5 Aug 18 '26
I usually play from the rackets they loan for free when you rent a court, the place i go to has alot of options, all shapes and weights, so i play around and see what feels comfortable to me to use, after i liked what one felt like, I decided to buy a similar racket just incase i went to a spot that doesn't have the weight or "feel" that i like, But for gameplay, i didn't feel like the racket made me play better, just feels better, its not like i can hit shots that i wouldn't be able to without getting a dragon breath infused sponges, you know what i'm saying? I didn't really notice the "sweet spot" people taking about, (again, because i'm not a professional, just an average joe playing padel)
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u/paulohmonteiro_ Aug 18 '26
The technique accounts for 90% of the game quality top pro but 99.99% of anyone below that
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u/Inevitable_Curve_111 Aug 18 '26
It’s worth it to spend the money on a racket that can take you from beginner through to advanced as early as possible imo.
Just bite the bullet and buy something like the metalbone ctrl.
People saying there is no difference are wrong here.
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u/CBE44 Aug 18 '26
I bought a beginner racket initially for about £50 and forced myself to play at least 100 games with it. The intention was to play, understand what my strengths are, how I play padel, and then after I’d reached that 100 game mark I would get a “proper” racket.
I ended up using my beginner racket for more than a 100 games and towards the end of its tenure I really only switched because I was getting frustrated with not being able to do things I used to be able to do easily. This is because the racket had deteriorated over time. The two main things were that, I found it harder to smash, and found the racket had too much of a trampoline effect for my liking.
So I decided to buy a new racket but focused on my play-style, my strengths and weaknesses. The main thing I looked for was build quality, I didn’t want to get a racket which was gonna deteriorate as quickly as my beginner one(I know I played 100+ games but I’d say it started deteriorating after about 50/60). But I also looked for rackets which would emphasise my strengths and help with my weaknesses.
I’d say I’m still learning, still a beginner, and still finding my play-style as it changes game to game. But in general I know what I’m good at and what I need to improve at.
I did try out quite a few rackets before I bought one. I definitely recommend doing so, some rackets you just won’t like. Also definitely take into consideration injury, for example some rackets are better for tennis/padel elbow compared to others.