Which padel racket should a beginner buy?

You do not need an expensive racket. You do need one that suits the way a beginner actually plays, which is not the same thing as a cheap one.

The gap between a £60 racket and a £120 racket is real. The gap between a £120 racket and a £280 racket is much smaller, and most of it is aimed at players who are already hitting the ball cleanly. If you are new, spending £250 buys you a racket that will punish the shots you are currently mishitting.

The shape is the decision that matters

Padel rackets come in three broad shapes and the shape tells you where the sweet spot sits.

• Round rackets have the balance low, near your hand, and the sweet spot in the middle of the face. They are forgiving. Off-centre hits still go somewhere useful.
• Diamond rackets have the balance high, towards the top. More mass behind the smash, a sweet spot that sits higher up, and considerably less forgiveness when you miss it.
• Teardrop sits between the two, which is why so many rackets are teardrops.

For a first racket, buy round. Almost every coach will tell you the same thing and they are right, because the most common beginner problem is not a lack of power, it is inconsistent contact. A round racket hides that. A diamond racket advertises it.

The counterargument, which I think is worth taking seriously, is that some people find round rackets boring and stop enjoying the game. If you have played a lot of tennis and you already time the ball well, a soft teardrop is a reasonable first racket. But it is a small group, and if you are unsure you are probably not in it.

Browse round rackets

Weight, and why the number on the box misleads

Most padel rackets weigh between 355 and 385 grams. That range sounds narrow and it is, but where the weight sits changes the feel far more than the total. A 375 gram round racket with a low balance can feel lighter in the hand than a 360 gram diamond.

So do not shop by weight alone. If you are smaller, or you have any history of elbow or shoulder trouble, look at the lighter end and the low balance together.

Core and face, in one paragraph each

The core is the foam inside. Soft EVA and FOAM cores absorb more, feel more comfortable, and give you a little longer on the ball. Hard EVA gives more power and a crisper response, and is less pleasant on the arm. Beginners want soft or medium.

The face is fibreglass or carbon. Fibreglass flexes more, which makes it feel softer and cheaper to produce. Carbon is stiffer and more durable, and it is what you pay for in the higher price brackets. A fibreglass face on a beginner racket is not a compromise, it is the correct choice.

What to spend

Somewhere between £70 and £130 covers almost everything sensible. Below £50 you are into rackets that will delaminate or go dead within a season. Above £150 you are buying performance you cannot yet use.

The best value in the whole market is last season's model of a mid-range racket. When a brand launches its new range the old one drops by 30 to 50 per cent, and the differences between generations are frequently cosmetic. Our price drops page tracks exactly that.

The bit nobody mentions

Buy an overgrip and learn to put it on. Padel grips arrive thin, and grip size affects elbow comfort more than most of the specs above. Two overgrips on a small handle costs about £4 and will do more for your arm than a £100 upgrade.

Also buy a wrist cord and use it. Rackets that hit the back glass at speed do not survive, and no warranty covers it.

If you want a shortcut

Run the quiz. It asks five questions and matches against the specs of every racket we track. It will not be perfect, because no spec sheet knows how you swing, but it narrows 340 rackets down to three.