Racket review

Adidas Metalbone Carbon Ctrl 2026 Review

Updated August 31, 2026

A Metalbone frame tuned for control: round, soft, and 355g, built for the advanced player who wins on placement rather than raw pace.

Adidas Metalbone Carbon Ctrl 2026 Review padel racket
SpecificationsLive catalog
Shape
Round
Weight
355g
Balance
Medium
Core
EVA Soft, soft
Surface
Carbon
Frame
Carbon
Level
Advanced
Best for
The advanced control player
Playing characterEven balance
Control
Power
from€138.95
Buy at padelproshop.comIn stock
Verdict

The verdict

The Adidas Metalbone Carbon Ctrl takes a name most players associate with attacking padel and points the engineering somewhere quieter. This is a round frame, soft through the middle, sitting at 355g with an even balance, and it is built for the advanced player whose game runs on placement and patience rather than a bludgeoning smash. If you rally to open the court and then pick your spot, this racket is on your side.

It asks for something in return. The soft core gives you comfort and touch, but it will not hand you free pace, so you supply the power with a full swing and clean contact. Come to it expecting a cannon and you will feel shortchanged. Come to it wanting a frame that lets you construct a point and keep your arm fresh into a third set, and it delivers exactly that. This is a control tool for a player who already knows what they want to do with the ball.

The build · materials

The build

A soft core built for touch

Adidas builds this Metalbone on an EVA Soft foam, and the softness is the whole design brief. A soft core sinks under the ball at contact and holds it a fraction longer, which is what gives a drop or a reset its margin and takes the shock out of a long session before it reaches your elbow. The cost is stored energy: a soft foam returns less of your swing than a firm one, so the pace on the ball is pace you put there yourself.

A carbon face that keeps you honest

Over that yielding middle sits a carbon hitting face. Carbon is the stiff, stable skin the soft foam underneath cannot be, and here it does the aiming work: it holds its shape at contact so the ball leaves where you pointed it, and it firms up the response on a flat, committed strike. This is the pairing that makes the racket make sense. The core cushions and the face directs, so touch and accuracy come from the same frame.

A round head and even balance

The mold is a round head with the weight sitting even in the hand, and that geometry is the forgiveness story. A round shape pulls the sweet spot low and central, close to where contact actually happens under pressure, so an off-center hit loses less than it would on a tip-heavy frame. The even 355g balance keeps the head from feeling like a weight you drag, which matters most in the fast exchanges at the net.

How it plays · on court

How it plays

At the net, quick and controllable

This is where the light, even feel earns its keep. The head comes around fast enough to meet a ball that jumps at you late, and the volley goes where you aim it without spraying, because the frame steers more than it launches. You will not blast a winner off the block. You place it into the gap you built and let the next ball be the finisher. For a player who volleys to set up rather than to end the point, that trade works.

From the baseline, the racket that defends

Under pressure at the back of the court this frame is calm. Drops and resets land short and low because the soft middle absorbs the incoming pace instead of firing it back, so a hard ball comes off soft and dies where you want it. Defensive lobs settle to a length with a controlled swing rather than a lucky one. The racket does the softening, and you do the placing.

On the attack, you bring the pace

The smash and the vibora are honest about what this frame is. Line up an overhead with your feet set and it goes in heavy and accurate, but the depth and the sting come from your swing speed, not from the foam kicking the ball out. The vibora carves and places well; it will not detonate. Treat this as a racket that finishes points you have already won with position, not one that manufactures winners from nothing.

Comfort and the arm

This is the frame's quiet advantage. A soft core swallows the vibration a stiffer racket sends straight up into the wrist and elbow, so a long match leaves your arm noticeably fresher. If you play often or your elbow has grumbled before, that cushioning is a real reason to look here. The honest flip side is the same softness: an advanced hitter chasing maximum power will feel the frame hold something back.

Who it's for

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

Buy it if

  • You are an advanced player who wins on placement, drops, and construction rather than raw power.
  • You generate your own pace with a full, grooved swing and want the frame to steer, not launch.
  • Your arm is a factor and you want a soft, comfortable frame that stays kind across long sessions.

Look elsewhere if

  • You are a beginner or still building your technique, because a control frame that gives no free power will feel like hard work.
  • You are a finisher who wants the ball to explode off the face, since the soft core deliberately holds pace back.
  • You want a head-heavy attacking racket for maximum smash weight, which is the opposite of this even, round build.

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

There is no best racket, only the best racket for you, and the Metalbone Carbon Ctrl is a clear fit for the advanced player who defends, resets, and wins on placement while keeping their arm fresh. If that is not quite your game, or you want the free power this frame deliberately withholds, our free 2-minute quiz reads your level, style, and budget and points you to the racket that is actually yours.

Frequently asked

Frequently asked

No. The Metalbone Carbon Ctrl is an advanced control frame, so it hands over no free power and rewards a clean, grooved swing a newer player is still building. A round, soft racket around 350g aimed at improvers will teach you more and frustrate you less. Come back to this one once your technique holds up under pressure.

It is a control racket, and the name tells you so. Where the standard Metalbone line leans into attack, this Carbon Ctrl variant runs a soft EVA core and a round head tuned for placement, touch, and comfort. You bring the power with your own swing; the frame supplies the accuracy and the margin.

See the live price comparison above for the current figure across our retailers, localized to your currency. It sits among the more affordable advanced carbon frames, which is a large part of its appeal. Availability moves, so the buy block shows what is in stock right now rather than a fixed number.

It pairs an EVA Soft core with a carbon hitting face. The soft foam cushions contact for touch and arm comfort, while the stiff carbon skin over it keeps the ball leaving the frame where you aimed. That combination is what lets one racket feel gentle in the hand and still play accurately.

The Carbon Ctrl is the control-tuned member of the Metalbone family: round head, soft core, even 355g balance, built for placement. The attack-focused Metalbone frames chase power and head weight instead. If you want the franchise's engineering pointed at accuracy and comfort rather than a heavier smash, this is the variant to pick.

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