Padel racket glossary
The technical terms you will find on the racket pages, briefly explained.
Updated on 24 October 2026 · by Luca Bicchieri, PadelMetrix
- Balance: Balance is the distance of the racket's centre of gravity from the end of the handle, expressed in millimetres or centimetres.
- Swingweight: Swingweight measures how "heavy" the racket feels while you swing it, that is, its inertia around the grip point.
- Sweet spot: The sweet spot is the area of the face where contact with the ball gives the best response: more control, less vibration and cleaner ball output.
- EVA rubber: EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) is the most widely used rubber for padel racket cores.
- Foam: Foam is a material used as a core instead of EVA, generally softer and more elastic.
- 3K, 12K, 18K carbon: The K figure indicates how many thousand filaments make up each carbon fibre tow used in the face: 3K means 3,000 filaments.
- Fiberglass: Fiberglass is a face and frame material that is more flexible and cheaper than carbon.
- Diamond racket: A diamond racket has a head that is wider at the top and weight shifted towards the tip.
- Round racket: A round racket has a circular head and weight shifted towards the handle.
- Teardrop racket: A teardrop racket has a shape between round and diamond, with the weight slightly towards the head.
- Rough face: A rough face (sanded or with 3D relief) increases friction between racket and ball.
- Official dimensions: The International Padel Federation rules set the racket limits: maximum length 45.5 cm, maximum width 26 cm and maximum thickness 38 mm.