adidas Metalbone 2026 Padel Racket

Take a high ball at the net and swing through it. Reviewers describe heavy volleys, easy acceleration on the smash and clean bandejas and víboras, and Padelful's numbers agree: power 9.1, rebound 9.4. The racket adds pace to whatever you give it, which is lovely when your timing is good.

It gives little back when your timing is bad. Padelful's reviewers note that defence needs early preparation, off-centre contact is punished, and comfort on mishits is limited. PadelScout calls it not the most comfortable or forgiving option; another reviewer found it demanding but very stable. Put those together and you get a racket for people who already hit cleanly.

Here is the plain version. If a ball struck an inch low feels like a minor disaster rather than a small mistake, the Metalbone will make you notice every one of them.

The sheet lists 345 to 360 g and a second figure, 0 to 11.2 g. That is the removable weights in adidas' system, so a fully loaded racket lands at about 371 g. The low starting weight is the reason some players think of the Metalbone as a quick diamond despite the head-heavy balance. adidas has not published a balance point in millimetres that we could find.

The name has changed too. Until 2025 adidas numbered its generations, so the 2024 racket was the Metalbone 3.3 and the 2025 racket the Metalbone 3.4. From 2026 the year is the name, although a few shops still write the 2026 racket as a 3.5. If you see a listing for a 3.4, it is last season's racket.

Four Metalbones are worth comparing. The Metalbone HRD+ uses the same 16K face with a harder core and, according to two sources, a more direct, explosive response. The Metalbone Carbon swaps to a 6K face and a heavier 360 to 375 g frame, with better rebound and a weaker sweet spot. The round Metalbone Ctrl gives up some power for a sweet spot of 9.1.

The chart shows the trade. If you are choosing between the standard Metalbone and the Carbon, you are choosing between the better control and sweet spot on the 16K face, and the extra weight behind the ball on the 6K.

Players who rely on defence or baseline play, who want a soft touch, or whose contact is inconsistent. Padelful's testers say as much, and the numbers back them. A head-heavy diamond also loads the arm, so a history of elbow trouble is a reason to look at a round racket. The older Adipower 10th Anniversary is a lighter-listed diamond with the same head-heavy idea, though its weight is disputed. The older fibreglass Metalbone 09 is the 2025 version. A junior diamond version, the Metalbone Youth 3.3, came out in 2024. The limited Metalbone Pro Edition carries the same specs on paper. For a diamond with adjustable weights, there is the ASC-faced Arrow Hit. Our guide to choosing a padel racket explains the shapes if you are unsure.

Add weight slowly: a gram on a 345 g racket changes the swing more than the same gram on a heavier one. A racket protector goes on before the first session, and adidas' own antishock tape is an easy start. A fresh overgrip such as the adidas 3-pack matters on a powerful racket, and the padel grips page has the others.

Fresh adidas Speed RX balls keep the face honest, and our padel balls page explains how long a tube lasts. Carry it in any of our padel bags, and play in padel shoes built for sand-filled turf.

Browse the other attackers on our diamond padel rackets page, the advanced padel rackets page for the players' end of the range, and the whole padel racket range. The Vertex 05 is the nearest Spanish rival, with a 12K face.