adidas Speed RX Padel Balls, Tube of 3

The FIP, padel's governing body, sets the ball at 6.35 to 6.77 cm across and 56 to 59.4 g. Retailers list the Speed RX at 58 g and 6.75 cm, comfortably inside both limits. The felt is a wool and nylon blend described as lightweight and flexible, around a high-density rubber core, and the balls come pressurised in a sealed tube.

What adidas does not publish, as far as we could find, is a pressure or a bounce figure, so we do not quote one. Decathlon describes the Speed RX as FIP-approved. We could not find it on the FIP's own list, so treat that as a retailer claim, not ours. If your league insists on an approved ball, ask the organiser which model it uses.

A pressurised padel ball starts losing pressure the moment you open the tube. For a weekly game that means a session or two of good bounce, then a gradual slide to something that sits down on the court and rewards no one. A ball that lives in a hot car boot goes flat sooner.

The FIP's own test gives you a way to check. Dropped from 2.54 m onto a hard floor, a new ball should rebound between 135 and 145 cm. You do not need a tape measure to see the difference: put a ball from a sealed tube beside one from last week and drop them together. If the old one peaks well below, change the tube. A ball pressuriser stretches a tube's life, and our padel balls page covers the details.

A tube holds three balls and one session's worth of life. Clubs that want an adidas ball in bulk can look at the Pro Bounce drawer of 24 cans. UK shops also sell tri-packs of three tubes and cases of 24 tubes, which is 72 balls. We list the Speed RX dozen under a separate name; check what it contains before you order. For comparison, Bullpadel's Next Pro tube is the competition ball from the brand that most UK clubs play on.

Buy a tube to try them. If your group plays weekly and agrees on the ball, a case is cheaper per ball and saves a trip, but only if you can store it somewhere cool and unopened.

Players whose club or league plays on a different ball. Most UK clubs name a ball, and a mismatch is annoying for everyone. It is also not a ball for hard-court tennis, which is a different game with a different felt and pressure.

The Speed RX matches adidas rackets by name. A soft first racket such as the RX Series or Match Light suits a lively ball, and a heavier control racket like the Metalbone Carbon Ctrl pairs well with it. Browse the whole padel racket range, or the beginner padel racket page if you are starting out.

Keep a tube in your padel bag, and add a fresh overgrip from our padel grips page to keep the racket honest. Our guide to choosing a padel racket explains the rest.