How to find a beginner racquet

Searching for your first padel racquet is a truly daunting task due to the sheer enormity of brands and the overwhelming number of entry-level models that each offers. Add to that the lack of any good discovery service, and we have a serious challenge in purchasing our first padel racquet.

Here at padel.fyi, we are obsessed with making the right choice for every purchase, so we’ve done loads of research checking over 70 reviews of entry-level rackets. So we’ve put together a list of the best rackets in reddit’s most-upvoted racket recommendation posts.

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What makes a good beginner racket

The best beginner rackets don’t cost too much, reduce mishits, and prevent injury. A table summarizing how to find a racket that meets those requirements is below.

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Narrow your options by identifying what kind of beginner you are

In order to provide you with the best recommendations, we would like to break the concept of beginner down further into:

1. New beginners, who
   - play 2 or fewer times per month and
   - have limited exposure to racquet sports
2. “Old beginners”, who
   - play 4 or more times per month
   - have experience in tennis, squash, ping pong, badminton or other racquet sports

The first 3 rackets are suitable for "new beginners" and the following 2 are suitable for "old beginners”.

Tip for scoring deals

Many manufacturers new versions of the same racket annually with minor visual changes only, allowing you to scoop up great deals on last year’s racquets. We have listed the current year’s suggested price as well as the lowest deal we could find, including previous years' versions.

Why trust us?

Padel FYI is the Metacritic for padel rackets. To help you find the best padel racket, I have cataloged 360 reviews of 106 of the most popular padel rackets to create the most comprehensive padel racket database.

We're also linking to deals from the most popular shops across the globe to help you find the best place to get your gear!