Head Evo Speed Padel Racket 2025

Pick it up and the first thing you notice is how little it weighs. At 350 g it is about as light as a full-size adult racket gets before you reach the specialist lightweights, which means your wrist isn't working hard to get it into position at the net. Padelful singles out exactly that, rating the 2025 edition highest for control (7.1) and noting how easily it moves around in quick exchanges.

Fibreglass over soft foam gives a cushioned, slightly springy contact. The ball sits on the face a fraction longer than it would on carbon, so lobs and slow balls to the feet feel controllable even when your timing is off. Rebound scores 6.9, which is that springiness talking: it does some of the work on soft shots.

Power is where it runs out of road, and Padelful rates it lowest of the five (5.6). Smashes won't leave the court, and a hard flat drive from the back loses its pace on the way through. For a first racket that is a reasonable trade. Most points at this level are lost to errors, not won by winners.

Shops describe the balance as even, medium and occasionally low, which isn't much help. Head's own sheet, as reproduced by Tennis Warehouse, gives a number: 270 mm from the butt of the handle. On Head's scale that is towards the head end. The Radical Team sits at 255 mm and the Vibe at 265 mm, while the heavy Speed Pro X is only 2 mm further up at 272 mm.

So why does it feel easy rather than top-heavy? Because there is so little mass in total. A light racket with its balance slightly up the frame gives you a bit of free swing weight on the volley without tiring the arm, and that is the whole trick of the Evo Speed. A 370 g racket at the same balance is a very different animal.

Most listings skip this part. On Head's published sheets the Evo Extreme and the Evo Speed are identical: 350 g, 270 mm, oversized teardrop, Soft Foam, fibreglass, 38 mm. We looked for a measured difference and couldn't find one, so if you are torn between the two, choose the one you like the look of and stop worrying.

The Head Vibe 2026 is the more interesting alternative. It weighs the same but swaps in Power Foam and carries its balance 5 mm lower, so it feels a touch more lively off the face and a touch less weighted in the head; the Vibe 2025 is the same racket in last season's colours. The Coello Vibe adds 5 g and Arturo Coello's name. Then there is the Speed Team, the next Speed racket up: 15 g heavier, on livelier Power Foam with Graphene in the frame.

Head renews its families in alternate years, and Speed was refreshed for 2025, so this is the current Speed range rather than last season's leftovers. Everything in it is a teardrop. What changes as you climb is the face material and the feel.

The Speed Motion is where carbon arrives, mixed with fibreglass, and it was Ari Sánchez's racket in 2025 before she moved to adidas. The Speed One is lighter than the Evo Speed at 345 g but built on 2D-layered carbon for quicker, firmer hands. At the top, the Speed Pro and Pro X are stiff 370 to 375 g frames for players who generate their own pace. There is a Speed Junior at 310 g for children who want the same look as a parent.

For the right beginner, yes. That means someone a few sessions in, often with a tennis or squash background, who already swings through the ball and wants a little help from the frame. Head pitches it as comfort and easy power for new players, and the light weight makes long sessions kinder on the shoulder.

Give it a season or two of regular play. Once you are hitting bandejas on purpose and the smash still sits up, that is the signal to look at the intermediate padel rackets page or the Speed Team above.

Most new players use the standard grip, and a thin overgrip is the cheap way to adjust it. Wrap a Head Xtreme Soft overgrip over the factory grip for tack and a slightly fuller handle, and change it when it goes shiny. The padel grips page explains tacky against dry wraps if your hands sweat.

Fibreglass frames chip when they meet the floor or the glass, which beginners do a lot. A strip of Head Antishock Skin tape or a guard from the racket protector range costs far less than a new frame. Keep it in a Head CCT racket cover or, if you carry shoes and a water bottle too, a Head Tour padel bag; more choice on the padel bag page.

Then balls and shoes. A tube of Head Pro S+ is a good match for a soft racket, and our padel balls guide covers how quickly a tube goes flat. Trainers built for running slide on sand-filled turf, so look at padel shoes before your second month. If you move heavily, the supportive ASICS Resolution X Padel is worth a look.

Still deciding? The best padel rackets for beginners page compares the Evo Speed with other first rackets, the cheap padel rackets page lines up the budget band, and teardrop padel rackets covers the shape. Our guide on how to choose a padel racket works through weight and balance from scratch, and every model we stock sits under padel rackets.