Written to answer the question you actually have, including the times the answer is “buy the cheaper one”. Every guide states what we know from a manufacturer specification and what we don't, and the rackets shown inside them are priced live from our shelf.
Shape, weight, balance, core and face material — the five things that decide whether a racket suits you.
Four things decide whether a racket suits you: shape, weight, balance and core firmness. Everything else is detail. If you are new, start with a ro...
6 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
Round is the most forgiving and the easiest to control. Diamond hits the hardest and punishes anything off-centre. Teardrop sits between them and s...
4 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
For a first racket, look for a round or hybrid head, a soft core, a weight at or under 365g and a fibreglass or soft graphite face. Expect to spend...
4 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
Control rackets keep the ball in play and make defence easier. Power rackets finish points and make defence harder. Most players benefit from contr...
3 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
Weight is how much the racket weighs. Balance is where that weight sits. Balance changes how heavy a racket feels far more than the number on the s...
4 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
Fibreglass flexes more, feels softer and costs less. Carbon is stiffer, more responsive and more durable. The weave numbers — 3K, 12K, 18K, 24K — d...
4 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
Two things are genuinely essential: an overgrip and a frame protector. Together they cost around $35 and they are the difference between a racket t...
4 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
A pressurised padel ball plays properly for roughly two to four hours of competitive play, or about a month of casual social play. Pressure escapes...
4 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
Padel is in the Pan Pacific Masters Games for the first time: 13–15 November 2026 at Padel Gold Coast, Carrara, open to anyone 35 and over with no ...
7 min read · reviewed 15 September 2026
Padel rackets have no strings, so more impact reaches your arm. Equipment choices genuinely reduce that load — softer core, round head, low balance...
6 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
Almost everyone who takes up padel in Australia arrives from tennis. The racket has no strings, the ball is softer, the walls are in play and the s...
5 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
A padel racket in Australia runs from about $140 to about $570. Under $200 buys a real frame from a real brand. Past roughly $450 you are paying fo...
6 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
The rackets we would actually point you at, and how to make the one you own last.
Diamond shapes, hard cores and the smash-first shortlist — grouped by budget, with live prices and an arm-friendly section.
4 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
Round shapes and big sweet spots — the consistency shortlist, split between tour frames and club-player picks.
4 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
Cracks, dead spots and the real lifespan of a carbon frame — plus the four habits that buy you months more.
4 min read · reviewed 12 September 2026
Five quick questions, scored against every racket we stock — takes 60 seconds.
