Stéphane Penso explores the Black Crown 2025: First impressions and analysis

Since he started, Black Crown has established itself as an essential pillar of the padel industry. This family business, specialized in the design of high-end snowshoes, brilliantly combines technological innovation and refined design. Its mission: to make padel accessible to all, without ever compromising the excellence that makes its reputation.

An unconditional love for Black Crown

It's no secret that the Black Crown has held a special place in my heart ever since I discovered the Piton 9 it's been a while now.
Last year, after trying more than a hundred palas, it was almost always towards the Special Pro that I turned to for my competitions – eloquent testimony to the excellence achieved by Black Crown with this model, among others in their range. The Special Pro is, to this day, my absolute reference in terms of comfort, power and handling.

Three references, three experiences

Today, I invite you to discover the world of three new palas signed Black Crown. These rackets cover a wide range of specificities, with technologies specific to each model and combinations of complementary innovations. Each of them is designed to adapt to a specific style of play, thus offering a tailor-made experience for players. Let's discover together what makes these palas so exceptional.

Piton Epic Energy: A revolution in the Piton range

The word “Epic” in the name of a padel racket evokes something grandiose and exceptional. It highlights a reference designed to offer extraordinary performance, combining power, control and precision. Combined with innovative technologies and an impressive design, it promises a memorable and intense playing experience, while reinforcing the image of a bold and high-end brand.
Black Crown innovates in 2025 with its first Piton racket teardrop shaped, marking a break with the traditional round shape of the series. Its refined aesthetic harmoniously combines black, blue and yellow, enhanced by a crown with a handcrafted finish that brings a touch of authenticity to the whole.

Technical specifications:

3K carbon fiber construction + 1 UniCarbon fiber (unidirectional carbon more rigid and resistant) reinforced by two layers of fiberglass, combining lightness and comfort
Innovative Epic Sync technology with an open-sided bridge, optimizing balance and absorbing vibrations
Super Control Black EVA rigid core
Sandy Spin surface promoting spin

The Aero Carbon frame is one of the major innovations of this racket. This 100% carbon technology offers a perfect balance between rigidity and resistance. Its aerodynamic design allows for excellent reliability, generating power and control while ensuring optimal energy transmission with each strike.

Protection and comfort are at the heart of the design, with an effective anti-vibration system that preserves the player's joints. The Piton Epic Energy thus represents a significant evolution in the Piton range, combining technical innovations and advanced ergonomics.
It comes with an elegant box including 3 replacement overgrips and a pair of socks with the image of Black Crown.

Special Invictus – Invictus maneo, fortis and liber. (I remain undefeated, strong and free.)

“Invictus” embodies the idea of unwavering strength, resilience and triumph. With its matte finish and black and yellow color duo, this racket makes an impression with an elegant design where the crown stands out on the frame with style.

Like the Epic Energy, it shares the same technologies and keeps the teardrop shape. The difference lies in its 2 FibraFlex layers, fibers woven and strategically oriented to optimize the mechanical properties of the racket. The term “Flex” in FibraFlex refers to the increased flexibility of the faces, allowing for better shock absorption and optimal distribution of energy during impacts.

Slightly more in the lead than the Epic Energy, the Special Invictus is equipped with a sandy Sandspin coating. This finish offers a slightly scratched appearance, allowing a more subtle take on effects than the Sandy Spin of its sister.

Xtrem Boss: The quintessence of performance

The Patron Xtrem, as its name suggests, embodies excellence and innovation in the range Black Crown. “Patron” symbolizes the leader or the reference, while “Xtrem” evokes power, advanced technology and thrills. Its sober design, combining black, gray and matte blue, hides technologies that make it an exceptional racket.

This reference stands out from the other 2 models by several major innovations:

Its hybrid shape, closer to diamond, is accompanied by the new Power Eva core, designed to offer additional rigidity, thus optimizing power and precision.
The integration of 18K carbon fiber oriented at 45 degrees represents a significant advance: this specific arrangement of the fibers improves performance, allowing optimal shock absorption and maximum energy restitution.
Finally, the 2 layers of FibraFlex as well as the VibraLow system integrated into the frame, reduce vibrations on impact, offering increased comfort, a better feeling during blows and additional joint protection.

The SandSpin surface and the UniCarbon layer complete this technological arsenal, guaranteeing grip and durability.

The Xtrem Boss thus symbolizes the vision of Black Crown : pushing the boundaries of innovation to offer demanding players a racket combining exceptional performance and optimal playing comfort.

These three models feature a traditional drilling plan, classic handles, as well as a fleece wrist strap for optimal comfort.

Stake

What is immediately striking is the distinctive behavior of each of these rackets under identical playing conditions.

The Epic Energy stands out for its exceptional handling and a certain rigidity. Its volleys are clean and precise, which makes it a valuable asset in both offensive and defensive phases, even if a little more ball output would have been beneficial.

The Special Invictus is the most flexible of the trio, offering optimal comfort and a particularly generous sweet spot. Its harmonious balance allows it to perform effectively in defensive schemes while remaining a formidable ally in attack.

Finally, the Patron Xtrem is positioned as the most offensive of the three, thanks to superior rigidity and a much more head-heavy balance compared to the other 2 references. Despite this weight distribution, it retains very satisfactory handling, especially when compared to other models that are significantly heavier in the head and therefore less maneuverable.

Conclusion

One more time, Black Crown offers us three perfectly balanced palas, which stand out for their superior handling and significant offensive performance. This DNA specific to the Barcelona brand is in line with their roadmap: to offer ultra-high-quality and highly accessible products, by segmenting the range optimally to satisfy the widest range of players.

Always looking for innovations (Aero Carbon, FibraFlex, Power Eva, Epic Sync, Sandy Spin) just for this new season, the added value of Black Crown lies in its ability to harmoniously combine these technologies to get as close as possible to the maximum yield sought.

I can't wait to test the new Piton 13, the weapon chosen by the young French player Louis Jover, in order to compare it to the Piton Epic Energy which is without a doubt the racket that I preferred during this comparison.

A huge thank you to the Rovirosa family, and especially to Natalia, for their always appreciated loyalty, and congratulations above all for the quality of the products they offer.

Stéphane Penso

Padel fan, Stéphane has become the official tester of the padel planet in Europe. Everything goes through his expert hands. Thanks to his extensive experience in the world of rackets, he is able to scan your equipment from head to toe!