Babolat Air Vertuo 2.6 Padel Racket

Babolat's UK page lists a 38 mm teardrop with an even balance, a fibreglass surface with its Holes Pattern System, a carbon frame and a Black EVA core, with a Syntec Team grip and Vibrabsorb damping. The weight is 345 g give or take 10, and Babolat describes a balanced racket for control, manoeuvrability, comfort and power without naming a level.

The 2.6 is a version number rather than a year. It is the 2026 racket, following the Air Vertuo 2.5, and Babolat will number the next one on from it.

One disagreement to note. Padelful lists the shape as a diamond, and one European shop calls it a hybrid. The even balance and the soft fibreglass face sit more naturally with a teardrop, so we follow Babolat's own sheet.

Fibreglass over a Black EVA core makes a soft, springy face. Padelful's reviewer points to the easy ball exit, the quick hands at the net and a bandeja that launches naturally, and the numbers back it up: 9.0 for rebound and 9.1 for manoeuvrability are both among the highest scores on the Babolat line.

The price is precision. Control (6.9) and sweet spot (7.3) are modest, and Padelful notes that it is less stable on fast balls and gives limited help when you want to hit hard. If you take big swings expecting the racket to hold its line, it will not.

Next to the Air Veron 2.6, which scores 8.0 for control and 8.4 for rebound with the same 9.1 for handling, the Vertuo gives up a lot of precision for a softer feel.

Babolat's Air family is its teardrop line, and the Vertuo is the soft middle rung. Below it the Air Crest is the budget entry, above it the Veron balances power and handling, and the Air Viper 2.6 is the powerful one. If you would rather have a round racket, the Counter Vertuo 2.6 is the same recipe in a control shape.

Anyone who wants precision. If you build points from the back and care about placement, the control padel rackets page lists rounder, steadier frames, and the best padel racket for intermediate players page covers the middle of the market.

A soft racket likes a tacky grip. An overgrip such as the Babolat VS overgrip is the usual first upgrade, and our padel grips page explains when to replace one. Frame tape from the racket protector range is worth fitting before the first match.

A lively face does most of its work with fresh balls, so a tube of Babolat Court balls is a sensible start, and the padel balls page explains how quickly they fade. The padel bags page has somewhere to keep it, and shoes are on our padel shoes page.

For the wider picture, see the full padel racket range and our guide to choosing a padel racket.