Babolat Acrab Pro Padel Racket

A UK retailer lists an all-round teardrop at 330 g with a 10 g tolerance, an even balance and a 36 mm thickness, for intermediate and advanced players. The surface is Carbon Flex, a mix of carbon fibre and fibreglass that the listing says gives accessible power, with a moulded texture. Micro-perforations take weight out and, the listing says, enlarge the sweet spot, and the thinner frame is meant to improve agility.

The listing also names a removable wrist strap. It does not name the frame material, the core, the grip size or the year, and we found no Babolat page for the Acrab Pro. Treat the numbers as the retailer's figures, check them with the seller before you buy, and don't read more into them than that.

On paper the Acrab Pro matches the Dyna Energy: teardrop, 330 g, even balance, 36 mm and a Carbon Flex face. Babolat describes the Dyna Energy as one of its lightest rackets and Padelful scores it 8.1 for power, 8.0 for control and 8.4 for manoeuvrability.

Those scores belong to the Dyna Energy, and we have no scores for the Acrab Pro. If you want a tested racket with this recipe, the Dyna Energy is the one with evidence behind it. If you find the Acrab Pro at a good price and the seller can confirm the specification, it may be a similar racket, but we cannot say so.

Ask the seller for the season, the core and the frame material, and for the grip size. A racket with thin evidence is only a bargain if it turns out to match what the listing says. If the listing is a clearance price on an older racket, that is a fair reason to buy, and a better reason is a demo from a club that has one.

If you would rather buy something with scores behind it, our teardrop padel rackets page lists tested alternatives, and the best padel racket for intermediate players list covers the middle of the market.

A light racket benefits from a cushioned grip. An overgrip such as the Babolat VS overgrip adds tack for sweaty hands, and our padel grips page explains the choice. Frame tape from the racket protector range is worth fitting before the first match.

A light racket likes lively balls, so a tube of Babolat Court balls is a sensible start, and the padel balls page covers how fast they fade. The padel bags and padel shoes pages complete the kit, and our guide to choosing a padel racket explains shape and balance.