Adidas RX Series Light 2026 Review
By Andres Jovem · Updated October 7, 2026
A soft, light round frame that spares the arm and keeps your hands quick, trading top-end pace for a cushioned, forgiving strike.
The verdict
The Adidas RX Series Light is soft, light at 345 to 360g, evenly balanced, and built to be kind to the elbow across three sets. Its round head and light weight are pitched at control in defense, and the strike lands cushioned and forgiving rather than firm and fast. That is the deliberate trade Adidas made here: instead of the stiff core and tip-loaded mass most attacking frames carry, this one softens contact and keeps the swing quick, so you steer the ball without a jolt up the forearm.
This is the racket for a player whose arm votes on every purchase and who would rather place the ball than blast it. If you already hit through the court and want a stiff finisher that rewards a violent swing, this is not it, and the next section says so plainly. For everyone else who wants forgiveness and comfort over a hard-hitting top end, it is one of the gentler moves you can make.
The build
A core Adidas tunes for cushion
The foam here is EVA Soft Performance, and its job is to take the sting out of the strike. Where a firm core sends the shock of contact straight up the shaft, this one flexes under the ball and holds most of that energy in the head, so you can finish three sets without the forearm keeping score. The catch is at the top end. Softer foam trades some of the ball speed a dense core would bank, so pace on this frame is something you earn through clean timing rather than something the racket hands you for free.
A smooth fiberglass face that widens the margin
The hitting layer is fiberglass with a smooth finish, chosen for flex over stiffness. It gives under the ball where a rigid carbon weave would stay firm, which is what pulls a slightly mishit strike back toward the middle of the face and keeps the feel warm rather than sharp. Spin is the one place the smooth finish asks something of you. Without a coarse texture to drag across the ball, brushed shots leave with less bite than a gritty carbon skin would put on them, so a topspin víbora is more effort here than on a rougher frame. For an arm-first buyer that is a fair swap.
A round head kept quick by its balance
The mold is round, which parks the sweet spot low and central, right where most contact happens, so a strike that drifts off the middle still goes roughly where you aimed. The balance sits even, with the weight neither out in the tip nor pulled into the handle, and at 345 to 360g the whole racket is light in the hand, so the head answers quickly instead of dragging when a ball rushes you. A carbon frame under the paint holds the shape from flexing out of true when you catch one off-center. What you give up is leverage: there is no stretched head or loaded tip to help on a wide ball or an overhead.
How it plays
At the net, quick and undemanding
Because the head stays light, the racket comes around fast when a ball jumps at your body. You can reset your hands between volleys and still get the face there in time, which is what keeps a scramble at the net from turning into a lost point. Punch a volley and it goes where you aim it, clean and controlled, though it lands solid rather than putting the point away on its own. You place the volley; the racket does not finish it for you.
From the baseline, a safety net you can lean on
Behind the baseline is where the softness pays for itself. Dig a ball off the back wall and contact lands padded, so deep returns float back with almost no effort from you. Blocks and resets come off predictable and low-risk, which keeps you in a rally you might otherwise dump into the net. The frame holds your defense together, and it asks very little of the arm to do it.
On the attack, help but no hammer
Line up an overhead with your feet set and a clean swing sends a controlled smash in with decent depth, though the round head adds little leverage of its own. What you will not find is a put-away that ends the point through sheer pace. The ball leaves cushioned and a touch muted, so an overhead sits down in the court rather than exploding off it, and the shot feels planted enough that you steer it instead of ripping it. Treat this as a frame that opens the attack, not one that closes it.
Comfort and the arm
This is the reason to buy it. Ball after ball, the strike reaches your hand already softened, so the elbow and shoulder take far less of the jolt that firmer frames drive back up the arm. Play a long match and the difference shows in what you do not feel afterward. If padel elbow is why you are shopping, this frame is on your side. The honest flip side is that the same cushioning is the ceiling. A stronger player will feel the power tail off and start wanting more from the ball before long.
Who it's for (and who should skip it)
Buy it if
- You want a light, round frame that keeps your hands quick and never answers a mishit with a jolt.
- Your arm flares up on firmer rackets and comfort is your first filter.
- You win points on placement and steady defense rather than raw power.
Look elsewhere if
- You are a strong hitter who wants a firm, powerful frame that rewards a big swing. This one is tuned soft and light and will feel underpowered in your hand.
- You live on the víbora and bandeja and want a rough face that grabs the ball for heavy spin.
- You want a racket that finishes points on pace. The cushioned strike deliberately caps the top end, so the power will not be there when you go for the kill.
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
If your arm is the deciding vote and you want a light round frame that forgives, the RX Series Light is a soft landing: control and comfort without the harshness. Strong hitters chasing power should keep shopping. Not sure it is your match? The free 2-minute quiz reads your level, style, and budget and points you to the one that is.
Where to buy
Prices shown in Euro, converted and approximate. You check out in the store's own currency.
Frequently asked
Possibly. The Adidas RX Series Light is a soft, forgiving round frame at 345 to 360g, the kind of build a newer player usually gets along with, though retail listings disagree on which level Adidas aims it at. If your priority is an easy swing and a kind arm, it fits that brief, and the round head keeps the sweet spot where early contact tends to land.
It leans control, with a comfort bias. The soft EVA Soft Performance core and smooth fiberglass face cushion the ball and prioritize a gentle, predictable hit over raw pace, so power comes from your timing rather than the frame. The round head and even balance keep it quick and forgiving, and this is a placement racket, not a hammer.
For a strong attacking player, no. A soft core and a light 345 to 360g build deliberately soften the top end, so a smash lands with depth but not point-ending pace, and the smooth face limits spin on the víbora. A finisher who generates their own speed will want a firmer, heavier frame and should look elsewhere.
It pairs an EVA Soft Performance core with a smooth fiberglass hitting face, wrapped in a carbon frame. The soft foam and flexing fiberglass are what make it easy on the arm, cushioning contact and widening the margin on off-center hits. The tradeoff is less bite for spin than a rough carbon surface would give.
Yes, and that is its main selling point. A soft core, a flexing fiberglass face, and a light, evenly balanced build send noticeably less shock back through the elbow and shoulder than firmer rackets do. If you are shopping because a stiffer racket left your arm sore, this is one of the kinder options in its class.
Pricing sits in the mid range, and the live figure from the retailer we track is in the where-to-buy block below, localized to your currency. We only list a shop that had it in stock when we last checked, so the price you see is one you could buy at. If you want the fit checked against your game first, the free 2-minute quiz weighs your level, style, and budget and tells you whether this is your racket.
The app · free quiz
Not sure which one's you?
Take the free quiz in the app. We'll match a racket to your game, not the other way around.
Find my racketFree quiz. Sign in with email or Google to get your four picks.
Adidas RX Series Light 2026 Review
By Andres Jovem · Updated October 7, 2026
A soft, light round frame that spares the arm and keeps your hands quick, trading top-end pace for a cushioned, forgiving strike.
The verdict
The Adidas RX Series Light is soft, light at 345 to 360g, evenly balanced, and built to be kind to the elbow across three sets. Its round head and light weight are pitched at control in defense, and the strike lands cushioned and forgiving rather than firm and fast. That is the deliberate trade Adidas made here: instead of the stiff core and tip-loaded mass most attacking frames carry, this one softens contact and keeps the swing quick, so you steer the ball without a jolt up the forearm.
This is the racket for a player whose arm votes on every purchase and who would rather place the ball than blast it. If you already hit through the court and want a stiff finisher that rewards a violent swing, this is not it, and the next section says so plainly. For everyone else who wants forgiveness and comfort over a hard-hitting top end, it is one of the gentler moves you can make.
The build
A core Adidas tunes for cushion
The foam here is EVA Soft Performance, and its job is to take the sting out of the strike. Where a firm core sends the shock of contact straight up the shaft, this one flexes under the ball and holds most of that energy in the head, so you can finish three sets without the forearm keeping score. The catch is at the top end. Softer foam trades some of the ball speed a dense core would bank, so pace on this frame is something you earn through clean timing rather than something the racket hands you for free.
A smooth fiberglass face that widens the margin
The hitting layer is fiberglass with a smooth finish, chosen for flex over stiffness. It gives under the ball where a rigid carbon weave would stay firm, which is what pulls a slightly mishit strike back toward the middle of the face and keeps the feel warm rather than sharp. Spin is the one place the smooth finish asks something of you. Without a coarse texture to drag across the ball, brushed shots leave with less bite than a gritty carbon skin would put on them, so a topspin víbora is more effort here than on a rougher frame. For an arm-first buyer that is a fair swap.
A round head kept quick by its balance
The mold is round, which parks the sweet spot low and central, right where most contact happens, so a strike that drifts off the middle still goes roughly where you aimed. The balance sits even, with the weight neither out in the tip nor pulled into the handle, and at 345 to 360g the whole racket is light in the hand, so the head answers quickly instead of dragging when a ball rushes you. A carbon frame under the paint holds the shape from flexing out of true when you catch one off-center. What you give up is leverage: there is no stretched head or loaded tip to help on a wide ball or an overhead.
How it plays
At the net, quick and undemanding
Because the head stays light, the racket comes around fast when a ball jumps at your body. You can reset your hands between volleys and still get the face there in time, which is what keeps a scramble at the net from turning into a lost point. Punch a volley and it goes where you aim it, clean and controlled, though it lands solid rather than putting the point away on its own. You place the volley; the racket does not finish it for you.
From the baseline, a safety net you can lean on
Behind the baseline is where the softness pays for itself. Dig a ball off the back wall and contact lands padded, so deep returns float back with almost no effort from you. Blocks and resets come off predictable and low-risk, which keeps you in a rally you might otherwise dump into the net. The frame holds your defense together, and it asks very little of the arm to do it.
On the attack, help but no hammer
Line up an overhead with your feet set and a clean swing sends a controlled smash in with decent depth, though the round head adds little leverage of its own. What you will not find is a put-away that ends the point through sheer pace. The ball leaves cushioned and a touch muted, so an overhead sits down in the court rather than exploding off it, and the shot feels planted enough that you steer it instead of ripping it. Treat this as a frame that opens the attack, not one that closes it.
Comfort and the arm
This is the reason to buy it. Ball after ball, the strike reaches your hand already softened, so the elbow and shoulder take far less of the jolt that firmer frames drive back up the arm. Play a long match and the difference shows in what you do not feel afterward. If padel elbow is why you are shopping, this frame is on your side. The honest flip side is that the same cushioning is the ceiling. A stronger player will feel the power tail off and start wanting more from the ball before long.
Who it's for (and who should skip it)
Buy it if
- You want a light, round frame that keeps your hands quick and never answers a mishit with a jolt.
- Your arm flares up on firmer rackets and comfort is your first filter.
- You win points on placement and steady defense rather than raw power.
Look elsewhere if
- You are a strong hitter who wants a firm, powerful frame that rewards a big swing. This one is tuned soft and light and will feel underpowered in your hand.
- You live on the víbora and bandeja and want a rough face that grabs the ball for heavy spin.
- You want a racket that finishes points on pace. The cushioned strike deliberately caps the top end, so the power will not be there when you go for the kill.
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
If your arm is the deciding vote and you want a light round frame that forgives, the RX Series Light is a soft landing: control and comfort without the harshness. Strong hitters chasing power should keep shopping. Not sure it is your match? The free 2-minute quiz reads your level, style, and budget and points you to the one that is.
Where to buy
Prices shown in Euro, converted and approximate. You check out in the store's own currency.
Frequently asked
Possibly. The Adidas RX Series Light is a soft, forgiving round frame at 345 to 360g, the kind of build a newer player usually gets along with, though retail listings disagree on which level Adidas aims it at. If your priority is an easy swing and a kind arm, it fits that brief, and the round head keeps the sweet spot where early contact tends to land.
It leans control, with a comfort bias. The soft EVA Soft Performance core and smooth fiberglass face cushion the ball and prioritize a gentle, predictable hit over raw pace, so power comes from your timing rather than the frame. The round head and even balance keep it quick and forgiving, and this is a placement racket, not a hammer.
For a strong attacking player, no. A soft core and a light 345 to 360g build deliberately soften the top end, so a smash lands with depth but not point-ending pace, and the smooth face limits spin on the víbora. A finisher who generates their own speed will want a firmer, heavier frame and should look elsewhere.
It pairs an EVA Soft Performance core with a smooth fiberglass hitting face, wrapped in a carbon frame. The soft foam and flexing fiberglass are what make it easy on the arm, cushioning contact and widening the margin on off-center hits. The tradeoff is less bite for spin than a rough carbon surface would give.
Yes, and that is its main selling point. A soft core, a flexing fiberglass face, and a light, evenly balanced build send noticeably less shock back through the elbow and shoulder than firmer rackets do. If you are shopping because a stiffer racket left your arm sore, this is one of the kinder options in its class.
Pricing sits in the mid range, and the live figure from the retailer we track is in the where-to-buy block below, localized to your currency. We only list a shop that had it in stock when we last checked, so the price you see is one you could buy at. If you want the fit checked against your game first, the free 2-minute quiz weighs your level, style, and budget and tells you whether this is your racket.
The app · free quiz
Not sure which one's you?
Take the free quiz in the app. We'll match a racket to your game, not the other way around.
Find my racketFree quiz. Sign in with email or Google to get your four picks.