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When choosing a padel racket, there are different elements to consider. The main ones are the weight, shape and composition of the racket. If you are look
Today, we will take a detailed look at the composition of the racket and, more specifically, the different types of foam that can be found in padel rackets.
There are 2 types of foam mainly used in the composition of a padel racket: EVA foam and FOAM foam.
Racket made with FOAM foam
You should know that FOAM foam is a soft rubber. It will allow the racket to offer more feel, more playing comfort and more power on most shots. However, with this foam, the padel racket has less control than with EVA foam.
This type of foam is recommended for people with tendonitis problems. Indeed, one of the major advantages of this foam is that it has a much greater shock and vibration absorption capacity than EVA. Here are some examples of comfortable, easy-to-play rackets with FOAM that you can easily adopt: Head Evo Sanyo, Babolat Reflex, Wilson Balde Elite and the Head Alpha Elite.
As with the strings of a tennis racket, the softer the foam, the more the racket benefits from an elastic effect to make the ball rebound faster than it arrived when it hits the racket. This is why FOAM foams have characteristics that give the padel racket better ball output and therefore greater power.
Racket made with EVA foam
EVA foams are stiffer than FOAM foams. They provide more control when striking the ball but less feel and playing comfort. These padel rackets are harder on impact, and the stiffer the EVA rubber, the more it feels like playing with a wooden board. These rackets with EVA foam are less powerful than their FOAM counterparts. Indeed, during a normal ball strike, the racket will not have that trampoline effect that enables it to generate speed in the ball.
Some padel rackets are made up of several EVA layers to reduce the racket's stiffness:
- The inner layer of the core: generally softer and less dense, it is mainly used for less powerful ball strikes. Its purpose is to make the racket pleasant to play with on these lower-intensity shots by providing more feel and playing comfort.
- The outer layer of the core: generally more compact and rigid, is used for more intense ball strikes and provides better ball output. This layer is very useful when hitting very hard and flat.
Rackets with EVA foam are generally represented by each brand's high-end rackets. These include the Wilson Bela Pro, the Babolat Air Viper and the Technifibre Wall Master 375. The Bullpadel Vertex 03 and Vertex 03 CTR are two examples of rackets with several layers of EVA foam.
Which foam is the most powerful??
Having read this article, you will naturally tell me that you need a racket with FOAM foam to gain power. But it is a little more complex than that…
But beware! The elasticity that allows FOAM foam to be powerful has its limits.
Indeed, are you wondering why it is harder to get the ball out of the court with a soft racket than with a stiff racket?
It is generally improper use of a racket with FOAM foam that is linked to this feeling.
Yes indeed! With FOAM foam, it is counterproductive to hit the ball with all your strength in a smash. By doing so, you will “break” the elasticity of the FOAM foam and make the ball come out much less quickly than expected. Romain from Padelonomics explains it very well in this video.
With this type of racket, it is advisable to have better technique to put more spin than power into the ball in order to achieve that famous "smash par 3"
In conclusion, if you are looking for power in all your shots but smashes are not your priority, we recommend choosing a racket with FOAM foam.
On the other hand, if you are a big “smasher” and feel the need to hit the ball very hard to get it out of the court or make it come back into your side of the court, we recommend choosing EVA / MULTIEVA foam.
Joffrey GILANT, the "butcher" of Esprit Padel
