Siux Optimus 5 Air Padel Racket

Players who find a standard racket tiring (and, for a young child, Siux's junior Beat Kid 2 is the smaller step down). At 340 to 360 g it is up to 15 g lighter than the standard Optimus, and the soft fibreglass construction takes the shock out of contact, which makes it a good match for smaller players, anyone returning from an arm injury and people who play often and do not want a stiff racket.

Retail listings, including Padel Nuestro's, aim it at beginners, and Padelful's review lines up with that: control is the strongest of its scores and the feel is forgiving. It is not the racket for someone who wants to hit through the ball.

The two are close, and the choice is weight and power. The Air scores 8.0 for manoeuvrability against 7.6, and 8.0 for rebound against 7.8, while the standard Optimus 5 scores 7.5 for power against the Air's 6.6. The sweet spot is the same at 7.1.

If you are small, light or sensitive to weight, take the Air. If you want a little more pace and are comfortable with 355 to 375 g, take the standard racket.

A soft, light, easy racket. Control and rebound are its best figures, and the medium-soft feel and the vibration-absorbing core keep it comfortable. The fibreglass construction is hard-wearing, so a few knocks on the glass do less damage than they would to a carbon racket.

The limits are plain. Power of 6.6 means smashes and bandejas depend on your swing, and a sweet spot of 7.1 means mishits lose pace quickly. The listing wording varies too: Padelful calls the shape round, Padel Nuestro a hybrid teardrop-round, and the core is Medium EVA in one place and Medium-Soft EVA in another. We use Padelful's figures and flag the rest.

Anyone who wants pace, spin or a bigger sweet spot. A light fibreglass racket with a power score of 6.6 will feel dead behind a hard smash, and most improving players will outgrow it within a season. The best padel racket for beginners page lists the alternatives at the same level, and the best padel racket for intermediate players page has rackets with more in reserve.

A soft racket benefits from a tacky grip. An overgrip such as the Babolat VS overgrip adds control, and our padel grips page explains when to replace a grip instead. Frame tape from the racket protector range protects the head, though fibreglass is more forgiving of knocks than carbon.

Fresh balls matter most for a racket that adds little speed, so a tube of Babolat Court balls is a sensible companion, and the padel balls page explains how quickly pressure fades. The padel bags page has somewhere to keep it, and sand-dressed courts call for a pair from our padel shoes page.

For the wider picture, the Siux padel rackets page covers the whole line, the full padel racket range is on one page, and our guide to choosing a padel racket explains how weight and balance change the feel.