Head Radical Elite Padel Racket 2024

Padelful's ratings make the character plain: 9.7 for control, 9.0 for sweet spot, 8.7 for rebound, 8.6 for manoeuvrability and only 6.9 for power, with a medium-hard feel and an overall 8.6. Its reviewer praises the precision and the generous sweet spot, and says outright that it doesn't prioritise power.

That combination makes sense when you look at the build. A fibreglass face gives a softer touch than carbon, Control Foam keeps the ball from flying off it, and a low, head-light balance keeps it quick in the hands. HEAD adds its Auxetic construction for feel and a Soft Butt Cap to cut vibration. You place the ball rather than blast it.

Three things vary from shop to shop. Weight: Tennis Nuts and Padelful list 365 g, Padel Market 355 g; HEAD's usual tolerance is 10 g either way, so read it as 355 to 365 g. Balance: Tennis Nuts lists low, head light, and Padel Market medium; neither gives millimetres. Texture: most listings, including Tennis Nuts, describe a smooth fibreglass face, though one shop says rough. We go with smooth.

One more point if you're searching: HEAD also sells a Radical Elite pickleball paddle. This is the padel racket, a solid teardrop with a foam core.

HEAD renewed the Radical range for 2026. The nearest relative is the fibreglass Radical Team, at 360 g with a 255 mm balance on the same Control Foam. Step up to carbon and you get the 355 g Radical Motion or the 370 g Radical Pro, both with more power on Padelful (7.5 and 7.9) and a firmer, more direct feel.

If you want a fibreglass control racket and the 2024 cosmetics don't bother you, the Elite gives up nothing important. If you want to grow into a carbon frame, start at the Motion. And if you like the soft Elite feel but want more punch overhead, the Extreme Elite 2023 is its fibreglass diamond cousin.

Attackers. With 6.9 for power, the Elite will not finish many points from the back of the court, and players who live on the smash will feel it. The teardrop padel rackets page has livelier teardrops, and the best padel rackets for intermediate players page sets it against other club rackets.

Fit a fresh overgrip (the HEAD Padel Pro is the one HEAD makes for padel) from padel grips so the handle stays put in a control game, and run a strip from the racket protector range along the top of the frame. A control racket pairs well with a control ball: the Head Pro+ dozen is HEAD's thinner-walled tournament ball, and the padel balls page explains when the livelier Pro S+ suits better.

Add a bag from padel bags and a court shoe from padel shoes. Every racket we stock is under padel rackets, the cheap padel rackets page covers other budget frames, and our guide on how to choose a padel racket explains shape and balance.