Head Extreme One padel racket: what do we think? 

While all padel manufacturers are outdoing themselves to develop rackets with more and more technologies to best satisfy the ever-growing number of padeleros, Head has quietly developed a rather unique racket. Featuring only one central hole unlike the many holes in others, the Head Extreme One sparks players' curiosity thanks to its rather unusual design. This innovation represents a real revolution in the field, as rackets have always had multiple holes in the face. 

What are the benefits of this single-hole racket? 

According to Head, this racket is a real success because it has managed to eliminate the drawbacks of holes without removing the benefits. The main reason is increased durability. By removing the holes, cracks between them become impossible. This means you can keep your racket for longer. Furthermore, without holes, the hitting surface is increased and allows for an enlarged sweetspot without reducing power. Ideal for big hitters who sometimes overlook ball placement. 

One of the main challenges was to recreate the spin effects generated by holes without adding weight to the racket. With numerous 3D printing technologies, the Extreme One should deliver a good level of spin.

With the Extreme range, the Austrian brand has redesigned their Delta range with diamond-shaped, fairly powerful rackets. The Extreme One is one of them, while aiming to remain lightweight, something quite rare in padel. 

So why one hole? Why not zero? Because international regulations require rackets to have at least one hole in the face for palas to be accepted in tournaments. 

Head Extreme One racket, test version

What do players think? 

Before the racket was released, many players had preconceived ideas about this pala, both positive and negative. Some saw this new technology as groundbreaking and were excited to discover a new way of playing and understanding rackets, while others feared the feel would be totally different and that the weight would be poorly balanced. Either way, this new racket is stirring up passions, both on social media and in clubs where word of mouth is often king. 

In any case, most players wonder whether this trend will survive or if the craze will pass quickly and we will soon return to rackets with holes. If feedback is good, it would not be impossible to see this type of pala from other brands again. 

What do we think at Esprit Padel Shop? 

With all the buzz surrounding this racket, we just had to test it to give you our verdict. After just 30 short minutes of play, here is our verdict.

First of all, the initial feel is not strange, you get (pretty much) the same sensation as with holes. As for spin, you find the usual feel, not too much change there. However, on ball impact, you feel excellent comfort and surprising control, despite the diamond shape. The balls go exactly where you want and the margin for error is quite large. On the other hand, a slight downside regarding explosiveness, which is sometimes lacking, despite Head's desire to make it a powerful racket. Responsiveness is not always there and sometimes the balls do not come off as fast as you would like. This test should nevertheless be taken with a pinch of salt because playing time was quite short and it was carried out by just one player. 

Either way, this model is generating plenty of buzz and we will have to wait for its release and a few matches to really see what this racket is made of.