Racket review

Adidas Metalbone 2026 Review

A head-heavy power diamond for advanced net attackers, built to amplify pace you already bring, with a comfort-focused core that makes it kinder on the arm than most diamonds this aggressive.

Adidas Metalbone 2026 Review padel racket
SpecificationsLive catalog
Shape
Diamond
Weight
367g (customisable)
Balance
High (head-heavy)
Core
EVA Soft Performance
Surface
16K Aluminized Carbon, Spin Blade
Frame
Carbon fibre (octagonal)
Level
Advanced
Best for
Aggressive net-dominators
Playing characterHigh balance
Control
Power
from€299.95
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Verdict

The verdict

The Adidas Metalbone is Ale Galán's racket, the frame one of the game's most dominant players uses to bully the net, and it is built for exactly that. Diamond-shaped and head-heavy, it exists to amplify pace, not create it. This is an advanced racket for a player who already hits hard and wants the frame to hit harder.

What sets it apart from the usual power diamond is the core. Adidas pairs the aggressive geometry with a comfort-focused EVA Soft Performance rubber, so it lands with more give than a full head-heavy diamond normally offers. It is still a demanding racket. It is just not the punishing brick the shape suggests.

Be clear about what it wants, though. The diamond head and high balance give almost nothing back on a passive shot, and off-centre hits are punished harder than a teardrop would forgive. It rewards a player who brings power and clean contact, and offers nothing to one who waits for it to help.

The build · materials

The build

The core

At the centre is an EVA Soft Performance core. On a diamond this aggressive you would brace for a brick, and this is the surprise: the softer rubber cushions the hit just enough to keep a long session from hammering your elbow, while still firing the ball back fast. It is the single thing that makes the Metalbone livable for more than a handful of players.

The surface

The face is 16K Aluminized Carbon, a high-count carbon weave with an aluminised finish, stiff and fast off the strings for a direct ball exit. Over it sits a Spin Blade decal, a raised, rough pattern that grips the ball to cut and shape spin under, over, and across it. The result is a fast, reactive, spin-friendly hitting surface that suits a player who attacks with pace and bite.

Frame and balance

The mould is a head-heavy diamond, stacking mass high for maximum drive and net weight. An octagonal carbon tube frame adds rigidity where a rounder tube would flex, so the head stays stable and unbending when you swing hard, which is what a diamond wants to be. The carbon fibre body also minimises twisting on off-centre impacts.

Handle and tuning

Two extras are aimed squarely at an attacker. Adidas extends the handle for more leverage on the two-handed backhand and reach on the smash, and a Weight & Balance System lets you add mass and shift the balance yourself, dialling the head heavier for power or lighter for quicker hands. The frame you buy is a starting point, not a fixed setup.

How it plays · on court

How it plays

At the net

The net is where Galán lives, and where this racket makes sense. Volleys come off heavy and fast, and you can lean into the ball without the head twisting, so you put weight and pressure on the opponent with a short, firm punch. Reactions are fine when your hands are set, but this is a frame that dominates the net rather than one that scrambles out of trouble.

On the attack

The smash is the headline. The head weight and firm face send the ball out flat and heavy, and it is easy to finish above the net without overhitting. The rough surface grips enough to keep a bandeja and víbora biting and low, so you hold the pressure even when you are not going for the kill. This is a frame that turns your attack into the other team's problem.

From the baseline

Defending is the trade, and it is where a diamond asks the most. There is little free rebound, so a passive block sits short and a lob needs a committed push to reach the back glass. You can control the ball when you commit to the stroke and meet it early, but the frame will not rescue a late or scrambled shot the way a rounder, softer racket would. If your game leans on the racket for help under pressure, the Metalbone will expose it fast.

Comfort and the arm

Here is the nuance that matters. The soft core does take some sting out of a frame that would otherwise be brutal, so it is kinder than a hard-cored diamond. But it is still a stiff, head-heavy racket, and on a diamond it is the mass as much as the stiffness that loads the elbow, volley after volley. Off-centre hits are unforgiving too. The soft core softens the blow; it does not remove it.

Who it's for

Who it's for (and who should skip it)

Buy it if

  • You're an advanced, aggressive player who dominates from the net
  • You already generate your own pace and want a frame that amplifies it
  • You want tour-level diamond power that's a little kinder on the arm than most

Look elsewhere if

  • You're a beginner or improver, or you need the racket to supply the power
  • Your game is control, defence, and absorbing pace
  • Your elbow or shoulder is sensitive and you want a forgiving, comfortable frame

Not sure it's your match? The free 2-minute quiz reads your level, style, and budget and tells you which racket is.

The bottom line

The bottom line

So: if you already bring the power and want a frame that turns it into pressure at the net, the Metalbone is a genuine tour weapon, and the softer core makes it one you can play twice a week without wrecking your arm. If you build points with control and defence, or you want the racket to do some of the work, it is the wrong tool. Not sure it's your match? The free two-minute quiz reads your level, style, and budget and tells you which racket is.

Frequently asked

Frequently asked

No. The Adidas Metalbone is an advanced attacking racket: a head-heavy diamond with a stiff 16K carbon face that needs you to bring your own power and clean contact. A beginner will get little help and a punished arm. Start with a round, soft-cored frame first.

It is a power racket. The diamond shape and head-heavy balance are built to drive the ball fast and add weight to volleys and smashes. There is control when you commit to the stroke, but placement and defence ask sound technique. It amplifies power far more than it forgives.

The Adidas Metalbone sits in the premium tier, around €299.95. We track it live across our retailers below, so you see the in-stock price in your currency rather than guess.

The standard Metalbone uses an EVA Soft Performance core for a touch more comfort, where the HRD runs a firmer, harder core for an even more direct, punishing hit. Both are head-heavy diamonds for advanced attackers; the HRD is the harder and more demanding of the two.

It pairs an EVA Soft Performance core with a 16K Aluminized Carbon face and Adidas's Spin Blade texture, over an octagonal carbon-fibre frame. The soft core adds comfort, the aluminised carbon fires the ball back fast, and the Spin Blade grips it for spin.

Yes, the smash is its strongest shot. The head-heavy diamond balance and stiff carbon face drive the ball fast and flat above the net, and it is easy to finish without overhitting. This is the shot the whole frame is built around.

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