La GanaRacket Finder
Search brand or model
Reading a spec sheet

How to read a racket

Every racket in this catalogue carries three numbers out of ten — power, control and forgiving — plus a level range and sometimes a “softer build” badge. None of those are opinions, and none of them are about you. They come out of a short piece of arithmetic on five published specifications, and this page shows you the whole of it, so that eventually you can look at a spec sheet in a shop and work it out without us.

Power
Control
Forgiving
Start here

What is actually on a spec sheet

Before any scoring: the parts, the words shops use for them, and which of those words the catalogue pays attention to.
Scroll sideways to read it
The parts of a padel racketA racket seen face-on with its parts labelled: the head carries the hitting face and its holes; the throat joins the head to the handle; the grip is what you hold. A dimension line down the left marks the regulation maximum overall length of 45.5 centimetres. Beside it, an edge-on cross-section marks the regulation maximum thickness of 38 millimetres.MAX 45.5 CMHEAD — the hitting faceTHROATGRIPMAX38 MMEDGE-ON

Five things about a racket move its scores in this catalogue, and they are all on the spec sheet: shape, balance, core, face material and weight. Everything else a shop prints — the paint job, the marketing name of the frame’s technology, the pro whose signature is on it — moves nothing here, because it is not something we can check.

Thickness is a good example. The regulation caps it, nearly every racket sits at the cap, and shops publish it inconsistently. So the catalogue records it when it can and scores nothing on it. A specification that does not change any advice does not belong in the maths.

The rules cap how long and how thick a racket may be — 45.5 cm and 38 mm are the regulation maximums, not a description of any particular frame. Because almost every racket sits at or near those limits, neither number tells you much, which is why the catalogue does not score on them. What it does score on is everything labelled below.
Input 1 of 5

Shape decides most of it

Shape is the largest single influence on all three scores — it sets the starting numbers that everything else then nudges. What a head shape really controls is where the sweet spot sits and how big it is, and every other consequence follows from that.
Round
The forgiving one
Round head with its sweet spot markedThe Round head outline. Its sweet spot is drawn as a hatched ellipse — large, low, centred on the shaft — sitting about 38% of the way from the throat to the top of the head. Base scores: power 4, control 9, forgiveness 9 out of 10.
SWEET SPOT · LARGE, LOW, CENTRED ON THE SHAFT
Power
4
Control
9
Forgiving
9

A round head puts the widest part of the face low, near the middle of the frame — close to where a developing player actually makes contact. That is the whole story behind its base numbers: the highest control and forgiveness of the three shapes, and the lowest power.

If you are still learning where the ball meets the face, start here.

See Round rackets
Teardrop
The compromise
Teardrop head with its sweet spot markedThe Teardrop head outline. Its sweet spot is drawn as a hatched ellipse — medium, slightly above centre — sitting about 53% of the way from the throat to the top of the head. Base scores: power 7, control 7, forgiveness 6 out of 10.
SWEET SPOT · MEDIUM, SLIGHTLY ABOVE CENTRE
Power
7
Control
7
Forgiving
6

A teardrop keeps some of the round head’s width but pushes mass upward, so the sweet spot sits a little above centre. Its base triple sits between the other two on every axis — that is what "all-round" means here, arithmetically rather than as a marketing word.

The default recommendation once your contact point is reliable.

See Teardrop rackets
Diamond
The demanding one
Diamond head with its sweet spot markedThe Diamond head outline. Its sweet spot is drawn as a hatched ellipse — small, high in the head — sitting about 70% of the way from the throat to the top of the head. Base scores: power 9, control 5, forgiveness 3 out of 10.
SWEET SPOT · SMALL, HIGH IN THE HEAD
Power
9
Control
5
Forgiving
3

A diamond head carries its mass at the top. Struck cleanly on that high, small spot the ball leaves fast; struck 3 cm lower it does not. The base triple is blunt about the trade: the highest power of the three shapes and the lowest forgiveness.

Worth it only if you already find the middle of the face under pressure.

See Diamond rackets
Same outline, same scale, same viewBox for all three — only the hatched ellipse moves. The tick on the right-hand rule marks its height between the throat and the top of the head. The bars under each head are that shape’s base scores, before balance, core, face and weight are added.
Input 2 of 5

Balance is where the weight sits

Two rackets can weigh the same to the gram and feel nothing alike, because the mass is in a different place. Balance is the second-strongest input in the model, and it is the one most students have never thought about.
Low balance pointA racket lying on its side, handle at the left. The balance point is marked about 36% of the way from the butt of the handle to the tip of the head.
Low

Mass sits back towards your hand. The racket turns quickly, which is why the model gives it control and forgiveness and takes power away.

Medium balance pointA racket lying on its side, handle at the left. The balance point is marked about 50% of the way from the butt of the handle to the tip of the head.
Medium

The reference point. Medium balance is the one setting that changes nothing — every other value is scored as a move away from here.

Medium-high balance pointA racket lying on its side, handle at the left. The balance point is marked about 62% of the way from the butt of the handle to the tip of the head.
Medium-high

Half a step towards the head. Exactly half the effect of a high balance in the model, in both directions.

High balance pointA racket lying on its side, handle at the left. The balance point is marked about 74% of the way from the butt of the handle to the tip of the head.
High

Mass sits out in the head, so the frame swings like a longer lever: more speed at the tip, more effort to redirect it late.

The catalogue records balance as one of these four positions, not as a millimetre figure — shops rarely publish the number, so the model works with the category. Medium is the reference: it is the only setting that adds nothing to any axis.
Input 3 of 5

Core is the feel — and your elbow

The core is the foam or EVA rubber sandwiched between the two faces. It is the input that decides how much of the strike the frame absorbs, and one of the five the softer-build filter reads.
Foam
Foam under loadCross-section of a ball pressing into a Foam core. The surface deforms 100% as deeply as the softest core in the model does under the same load.SOFT CORE

The softest core the catalogue records. It deforms most on contact, which is why it earns the single largest forgiveness bonus anywhere in the model — and gives up power for it.

EVA Soft
EVA Soft under loadCross-section of a ball pressing into a EVA Soft core. The surface deforms 70% as deeply as the softest core in the model does under the same load.SOFT CORE

Soft EVA gives less than foam but still cushions the strike. Together with foam it is one of the two cores the softer-build filter accepts.

EVA Medium
EVA Medium under loadCross-section of a ball pressing into a EVA Medium core. The surface deforms 35% as deeply as the softest core in the model does under the same load.FIRM

The reference core: no adjustment in either direction.

EVA Hard
EVA Hard under loadCross-section of a ball pressing into a EVA Hard core. The surface deforms 10% as deeply as the softest core in the model does under the same load.FIRM

A hard core barely deforms, so more of your swing goes into the ball and less into the frame. It costs forgiveness, and it keeps a racket out of the softer-build filter however gentle the rest of the spec sheet looks.

◀ More comfort, more forgivenessMore punch, less margin ▶
Left to right: most give to least. A core that deforms absorbs the strike, and that is why the two softest cores are the only ones the softer-build filter accepts. A core that barely deforms returns the energy to the ball instead. Nothing here is free: every step towards punch is a step away from forgiveness.
Input 4 of 5

Face material is stiffness, not quality

Fibreglass, 3K, 12K, 18K. Shops present these as a ladder from cheap to premium. In the scoring model they are a scale from flexible to stiff, and stiff is not better — it is a different trade. It is also the one input a listing is allowed to leave out: plenty of shops never print it, and a racket with no face on record is still listed here, scored without that term rather than guessed at.
Fibreglass
Fibreglass weave and flexA patch of Fibreglass drawn with 3 threads in each direction, over a curve showing how far the face bows under the ball. This is the flexes most of the four face materials in the model.FLEXES MOST

Fibreglass is the most flexible face material here. The face bends around the ball instead of rejecting it, which the model scores as control and forgiveness at the cost of power.

Carbon 3K
Carbon 3K weave and flexA patch of Carbon 3K drawn with 5 threads in each direction, over a curve showing how far the face bows under the ball. This is the stiffer, still tolerant of the four face materials in the model.STIFFER, STILL TOLERANT

The lightest carbon weave. It is the only face setting that adds something without taking anything away — a small control bonus, power and forgiveness untouched.

Carbon 12K
Carbon 12K weave and flexA patch of Carbon 12K drawn with 9 threads in each direction, over a curve showing how far the face bows under the ball. This is the stiff of the four face materials in the model.STIFF

A denser weave means a stiffer face. The K number counts filaments per tow, not quality: higher is not better, it is firmer.

Carbon 18K
Carbon 18K weave and flexA patch of Carbon 18K drawn with 14 threads in each direction, over a curve showing how far the face bows under the ball. This is the stiffest of the four face materials in the model.STIFFEST

The stiffest face the catalogue records, and the one face material that keeps a racket out of the softer-build filter no matter how soft its core is.

Not published
Face material not publishedAn empty patch drawn with a dashed outline and no weave, standing for a racket whose shop never printed the face material. There is no flex curve because the catalogue has nothing to draw.?NOT PUBLISHED

Plenty of shops never print what the face is made of. The catalogue does not guess: the racket keeps its place, and the face contributes nothing at all to the three scores — it is not quietly counted as fibreglass, or as any other material. Face is also the weakest of the five inputs, which is why a racket is worth listing without it. It cannot carry the softer-build label, though, because that label promises to read the published build, and here a fifth of the build was never published.

The number in “12K” counts filaments in each carbon tow. It is a measure of weave density, not of quality or price tier — a denser weave makes a stiffer face, which is a trade, not an upgrade. Read the two rows together: as the threads crowd, the red flex curve flattens. The fifth card is the one to remember: face material is the only scoring input a shop is allowed to leave out, and when it does, it adds nothing rather than quietly counting as the cheapest option.
Input 5 of 5

Weight matters less than it feels like it should

Weight is the specification people fixate on and the one the model leans on least. It is worth being honest about that rather than dressing it up.
Scroll sideways to read it
How average weight becomes a bandA weight scale from 330 to 400 grams, cut into 3 bands at 355 and 370 grams. The average of a racket’s published weight range decides which band it falls into.LIGHTMIDHEAVY355 g370 g330345360375390400AVERAGE OF THE PUBLISHED WEIGHT RANGE, IN GRAMS
Light
up to 355 g

Quicker to move, less mass arriving at the ball.

Mid
over 355 g, up to 370 g

Where most rackets sit. No adjustment at all.

Heavy
over 370 g

More mass behind the shot, more work to swing it.

How much weight actually moves the needle
Scroll sideways to read it
Weight compared with shape, as a range of score pointsOn power, shape spans 5 points across its three values while weight spans 1. On control, shape spans 4 points across its three values while weight spans 1. On forgiving, shape spans 6 points across its three values while weight spans 1.POWERshape 5weight 1CONTROLshape 4weight 1FORGIVINGshape 6weight 1

Coloured bar: the range shape covers on that axis. Grey bar: the range weight covers. Weight is the smallest dial in the model. If a racket feels wrong in your hand it is far more likely to be the shape or the balance than the grams — though grams are still what your elbow notices after two hours.

The model does not read grams directly. It takes the midpoint of the published weight range and drops it into one of three bands, and only then applies an adjustment. Two rackets 14 g apart can land in the same band and score identically on weight.
The arithmetic

How the three scores are actually built

Take the shape’s starting triple. Add the adjustment for balance, then core, then face, then weight. Clamp whatever comes out to the 0–10 range, round it, and that is the number on the card. There is no weighting, no secret term, and no human thumb on the scale.
A worked example
Scroll sideways to read it
Every number in the three right-hand columns is read straight from the scoring tables — the same tables the catalogue uses.
InputThis racketPowerControlForgiving
ShapeTeardrop776
BalanceMedium-high+0.5−0.5−0.5
CoreEVA Medium000
FaceCarbon 12K+0.50−0.5
Weight365–375 g (avg 370 g)000
Raw total86.55
Clamped to 0–10, then rounded8/107/105/10
The Power column, drawn
How the power score is built upStarting from the shape’s base of 7, each input shifts the running power total: balance +0.5, core 0, face +0.5, weight 0. That gives a raw total of 8, which is then clamped to the 0–10 range and rounded, giving 8.CEILING 107SHAPE+0.5BALANCE0CORE+0.5FACE0WEIGHT8RAW→ 8/10
Watch the control column: a raw 6.5 is rounded up, not down. Halves always round up, which is why two rackets that differ by a single half-point modifier can end up a full point apart on the card.
A second example, where the ceiling bites
Scroll sideways to read it
Every number in the three right-hand columns is read straight from the scoring tables — the same tables the catalogue uses.
InputThis racketPowerControlForgiving
ShapeRound499
BalanceLow−1+1+1
CoreEVA Soft−0.5+1+1
FaceFibreglass−1+1+1
Weight355–370 g (avg 362.5 g)000
Raw total1.51212
Clamped to 0–10, then rounded2/1010/1010/10
The Control column, drawn
How the control score is built upStarting from the shape’s base of 9, each input shifts the running control total: balance +1, core +1, face +1, weight 0. That gives a raw total of 12, which is then clamped to the 0–10 range and rounded, giving 10.CEILING 109SHAPE+1BALANCE+1CORE+1FACE0WEIGHT12RAW→ 10/10
Here the raw control and forgiveness totals both run past 10 and get cut back to 10. That is worth knowing: two rackets can both show 10 for control while one of them was several points further past the ceiling than the other. At the extremes the scores compress, and the card cannot show you that. The comparison view is the better tool once you are choosing between two rackets that both max out an axis.
A third example, where two specs were never published
Scroll sideways to read it
Every number in the three right-hand columns is read straight from the scoring tables — the same tables the catalogue uses.
InputThis racketPowerControlForgiving
ShapeTeardrop776
BalanceNot published000
CoreEVA Medium000
FaceCarbon 12K+0.50−0.5
WeightNot published000
Raw total7.575.5
Clamped to 0–10, then rounded8/107/106/10
The Power column, drawn
How the power score is built upStarting from the shape’s base of 7, each input shifts the running power total: balance 0, core 0, face +0.5, weight 0. That gives a raw total of 7.5, which is then clamped to the 0–10 range and rounded, giving 8.CEILING 107SHAPE0BALANCE0CORE+0.5FACE0WEIGHT7.5RAW→ 8/10
Weight and balance are blank because no shop we track prints them for this racket. Both rows contribute a flat zero — the catalogue does not fill the gap with a guess, and it does not quietly score the racket as if it were mid-weight and medium-balanced.

Now the uncomfortable part, said out loud. Zero is also what a medium balance and a mid weight contribute, because those are the model’s neutral settings. So the racket above lands on exactly the same three numbers as an identical racket whose weight and balance we did know and which happened to be mid and medium. That is a coincidence of arithmetic, and there is no honest way around it: any other value would be a spec we invented. What we can do is refuse to let the coincidence pass as knowledge — so every card, spec sheet and comparison row names the specs nobody published, the softer-build label is withheld whenever one of the specs it reads is missing, and the racket is never presented as being as well known as one with a full sheet. A blank is a blank, not an average.

The badges

Where the playstyle and level badges come from

The badges are not a second opinion layered on top of the scores — they are read straight off them. Playstyle compares power against control; the level range reads the forgiving score, with one extra condition on the core.
Scroll sideways to read it
How the playstyle label is decidedAn axis showing power minus control, from minus 10 to plus 10. When control beats power by 2 or more the racket is labelled control; when power beats control by 2 or more it is labelled power; anything in between is all-round.CONTROLALL-ROUNDPOWER-2+2-10-50+5+10POWER SCORE MINUS CONTROL SCOREWorked example: 8 − 7 = +1 → All-roundClamped example: 2 − 10 = -8 → Control
  • Worked example — power 8, control 7: labelled All-round.
  • Clamped example — power 2, control 10: labelled Control.
The label falls out of the gap between two scores, nothing else. A racket can score 8 for power and still be labelled all-round, because what the rule asks is whether power beats control by 2 or more — not whether power is high.
With a soft core
Levels suggested at each forgiveness score, for a EVA Soft coreBeginner is suggested at forgiveness 8, 9, 10. Improver is suggested at forgiveness 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Intermediate is suggested at forgiveness 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Advanced is suggested at forgiveness 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.012345678910FORGIVINGBeginnerImproverIntermediateAdvancedCORE: FOAM OR EVA SOFT
With a firmer core
Levels suggested at each forgiveness score, for a EVA Medium coreBeginner is never suggested with a EVA Medium core. Improver is suggested at forgiveness 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Intermediate is suggested at forgiveness 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Advanced is suggested at forgiveness 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.012345678910FORGIVINGBeginnerImproverIntermediateAdvancedCORE: EVA MEDIUM OR EVA HARD

Note what the grid does not say. A racket listed for “intermediate, advanced” is not a better racket than one listed for beginners — it is a less forgiving one. Levels here describe how much margin the frame gives you, not how good it is.

One more thing worth noticing, because it surprises people: past a forgiving score of 7 the advanced tick disappears from both grids. The model reads a very forgiving frame as one an advanced player would find too soft to finish with, not as one that suits everybody. That is a judgement call, and it is a sharp one — a racket scoring 7 is offered to advanced players and a racket scoring 8 is not. See what the catalogue offers a beginner.

Read a column: pick a forgiveness score along the top, and the ticks below it are the levels the catalogue will suggest. Compare the two grids and one row moves — beginner. A racket can be as forgiving as the model allows and still not be offered to a beginner if its core is firm, because a beginner mishits often and a firm core passes more of that shock back up the handle.

A gap of 2 is a deliberately blunt threshold. It means the all-round label is wide, which is honest: most rackets genuinely are compromises, and calling a racket with power 7 and control 6 a “power racket” would be reading precision into the spec sheet that is not there. Browse the control rackets or the power ones to see how the labels land.

The filter people misread

Softer build, and what it deliberately does not say

This filter used to be called “arm-friendly”, and that name was wrong. A boolean can be honest about how a racket is built — shape, core, weight, balance and face are all printed on the spec sheet. It cannot be honest about what that racket will do to a particular arm, which depends on swingweight, frame stiffness, damping, your grip, your technique, how much you play and whether the elbow is already hurt. None of that is in the catalogue, so the label no longer pretends it is. The narrower claim is the one we can stand behind — which is also why a racket whose shop never printed the face material does not get the label. Reading the published build means reading all of it.
5 conditions, all of them required
The 5 conditions a racket must meet to be listed as softer buildA racket is listed as softer build only when all 5 of these hold at once: Not a diamond — Round or Teardrop; Soft core, published — Published by the shop, and Foam or EVA Soft; Not heavy, and published — Published by the shop, and an average of 370 g or less; Balance back, and published — Published by the shop, and Low or Medium; Face published, and not the stiffest — Published by the shop, and anything except Carbon 18K. 5 worked examples follow: Passes all five passes, Soft everything, diamond head fails, Same racket as the first, 15 g heavier on average fails, Soft core, stiffest face fails, Same racket as the first, but the shop never printed the face fails.NOT A DIAMONDRound or TeardropCONDITION 1ANDSOFT CORE,PUBLISHEDPublished by the shop,and Foam or EVA SoftCONDITION 2ANDNOT HEAVY, ANDPUBLISHEDPublished by the shop,and an average of 370 gor lessCONDITION 3ANDBALANCE BACK, ANDPUBLISHEDPublished by the shop,and Low or MediumCONDITION 4ANDFACE PUBLISHED,AND NOT THESTIFFESTPublished by the shop,and anything exceptCarbon 18KCONDITION 5SOFTER BUILDNOT LISTEDNOT LISTEDNOT LISTEDNOT LISTED
  • Passes all five — Round · EVA Soft · 355–365 g · Medium balance · Carbon 3K.
  • Soft everything, diamond head — Diamond · Foam · 355–365 g · Medium balance · Fibreglass.
  • Same racket as the first, 15 g heavier on average — Round · EVA Soft · 370–380 g · Medium balance · Carbon 3K.
  • Soft core, stiffest face — Round · EVA Soft · 355–365 g · Medium balance · Carbon 18K.
  • Same racket as the first, but the shop never printed the face — Round · EVA Soft · 355–365 g · Medium balance · Not published.
Not a diamond
Round or Teardrop
Soft core, published
Published by the shop, and Foam or EVA Soft
Not heavy, and published
Published by the shop, and an average of 370 g or less
Balance back, and published
Published by the shop, and Low or Medium
Face published, and not the stiffest
Published by the shop, and anything except Carbon 18K
And the 4 things it cannot see
  • Swingweight — how heavy the frame feels once it is moving, which no shop publishes.
  • How the frame damps vibration, and how well it is actually built.
  • Grip size and grip build-up, which change what your forearm has to do.
  • How much you play, how you hit, and whether the elbow is already hurt.
Show only the softer builds
Softer build is a fact about the frame, not a score and not a verdict on you. This reads the published build — head shape, core, weight, balance and face — and nothing else. It describes the racket, not what it will do to your arm: it cannot see swingweight, frame stiffness, damping, your grip, your technique or how much you play. If elbow or wrist pain has persisted, talk to a coach or a physio before you change racket.
Honest limits

What this page cannot tell you

Everything above is a model. Models are useful because they leave things out, and it is worth knowing what these ones leave out.
  • It scores the spec sheet, not the racket. Two frames with identical published specs can feel different in the hand. The model cannot see build quality, how the frame damps vibration, or how the grip fits you.
  • The inputs are as good as the shops’ listings. Where retailers disagree about a racket’s core or balance, the catalogue records a lower confidence for it. A score built on a guessed input is still a guess.
  • Some rackets are listed with the face material missing. Shops publish it less often than any other scoring input, so requiring it would have thrown away a large slice of the entry- and mid-range stock this site exists for. Where it is missing the spec table says “Not published”, the face contributes nothing to the three scores instead of being guessed at, and the racket cannot carry the softer build label. It is the weakest of the five inputs — worth at most a point on any axis, against five for shape — which is what makes listing the racket the better trade.
  • The bands are coarse on purpose. Four balance categories, three weight bands, four cores. Real rackets vary continuously; the model rounds them into boxes, because the published data is not precise enough to justify anything finer.
  • Ten out of ten is a ceiling, not a summit. As the second worked example shows, the clamp hides how far past the top an extreme racket goes.
  • Nothing here is medical advice. Softer build reads five published specs and stops there. If your elbow already hurts, a coach or a physio will get further with you than a filter will, and a different racket is rarely the first thing to change.
  • Hitting with one beats reading about it. If your club has demo rackets, half an hour with a shape you have never played is worth more than this entire page.
Now go and read some real ones
Every card in the catalogue shows the five inputs you have just learned to read, next to the three numbers they produce. Check a few by hand — the arithmetic is short enough to do in your head.
Gentle starting pointsOpen the catalogue