Head Radical Team Light 2026 Padel Racket

Weight is the first thing most new players notice and the last thing they think to check. At 340 g the Team Light is the lightest Radical HEAD makes, and that shows up everywhere a racket has to move fast: reaction volleys, a low block at your feet, the scramble back to the glass. Padelful's review lists quick handling in transitions and stable, tidy volley exchanges as its strengths, and gives it 9.0 for rebound, so the ball comes off the face easily on defence.

The balance reads 270 mm on HEAD's sheet, which is further up the frame than the 255 mm Radical Team. On a heavier racket that would feel top-heavy. Spread across 340 g, it mostly gives a light racket enough weight in the head to keep the ball moving.

Less mass means less free power, and Padelful is plain about it: limited smash finishing power, a lack of stiffness on attack, and drives from the back that need your own effort. Its power score is 6.5. Control and sweet spot also come out lower than on the heavier Radical Team, which is the usual trade for a lighter frame: it moves more on off-centre contact.

For a newer player that's often the right trade. You'll hit more balls on time with a racket you can swing, and that matters more in your first year than a bigger sweet spot you're too late to use.

HEAD's sheet, as Tennis Warehouse Europe lists it, calls the Team Light round, which is the outline we'd expect on a racket built for easy control and a central sweet spot. Padelful's review lists it as a teardrop. We've gone with HEAD, and the spec table says so. The same sheet also gives the frame as Graphene inside where Padelful lists fibreglass, and pitches it at beginners in one line and casual and intermediate players in another.

The closest match on paper is the Gravity Team Light from 2024: the same 340 g, round, fibreglass and Control Foam, with the same 270 mm balance. If you want lighter still, the One Ultralight is about 300 g with a 12K carbon face. Going the other way, the Radical Team 2026 adds 20 g, a teardrop head and a bigger sweet spot, and the Radical Motion is the lightest carbon Radical at 355 g. Last season's fibreglass Radical Elite is heavier again at about 365 g.

Players who already hit hard will find it light on punch, especially overhead. If that's you, the Radical Team or a carbon teardrop will hold up better under a full swing, and the best padel racket for intermediate page is the next step. Everyone else starting out can compare it with other easy rackets on best padel racket for beginners and the round frames on control padel racket.

Fit an overgrip before the first game; HEAD's soft Xtreme Soft three-pack suits a comfort racket, and padel grips lists the others. Tape the frame with something from the racket protector range. A steady club ball like the Head Padel One tube suits new players, and padel balls covers the faster ones.

A small bag such as the Head Tour S holds a racket and the basics, with more on padel bags; shoes are on padel shoes. The full range is under padel rackets, other low-cost options are on cheap padel rackets, and the guide to choosing a padel racket explains weight and shape.