The return of Stéphane Penso's pala tests

Stéphane Penso is back and offers us to test a shovel yet unknown in France. Made in Spain here is the pala designed by the former WPT player Gaston Malacalza.

Malacalza Sports is a racket brand created in 2008 by Gaston Malacalza, former top 15 of World Padel Tour.
Disappointed with the sponsorship contract and the rackets offered at the time, he decided to take the bull by the horns and created his own brand with his odds and his personal feeling. As much to tell you that the gentleman knows what he is talking about after more than 30 years of rubbing shoulders with the tracks of padel, equipment and technological development.

After more than 12 years in the making of palas, Gaston unveils his latest collection, and I am proud to be the first French to play with these 2 palas. I will test the GPower30 SH Max.

GPOWER30 SH MAX

Oversize in shape, this racquet, sober in appearance, is also technologically. No extended features, no original features. Carbon Tech High Density written on the faces, and that's it! The Super Hard Eva is not that hard as you think. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very flexible), Gaston positions this mousse at 6.5.
We who are used to seeing revolutionary anti-vibration systems, latest generation carbon interwoven up to “24.000 times”, more or less wacky foam mixtures, we must admit that the shorter the list of ingredients, the better. the taste of essential things (message from a great starred chef).

First contact

An incredible grip, 372 grams on my scale, which may seem a lot, but an ideally distributed weight distribution.
The racket seems incredibly light, because when you double-check the weight a second time, you wonder how it is possible to have arrived at a near perfect scale.
The balance is therefore ideally centered, which makes it a very manoeuvrable racquet and pleasant to handle.

In the field

Ideal playing condition, August 21, 19 p.m., 26 °, humidity at 0 and wind at 5km / h. The 1st balls (Head New Pro S) typed are impressive. Virtually no noise, no vibration, I am almost disturbed by this perfect grip.

Base court / defense

There is no doubt, the flexibility of this racquet will get you out of critical situations when you're cornered at the back of the court, where a flick of the wrist is needed without breaking the forearm. The balls played at ground level can be picked up without making too much effort because maneuverability is the key word of this pala.

Net

The mid / hard EVA foam is optimal for efficiency and precision. We put the ball where the eye had targeted. It's dry, sharp, heavy volleys still require a bit of effort but when you master the shot, it's a treat to volley and drop the ball in the chosen area first.

The smash

So this is the point of the test where I was most amazed. A smash doesn't have to be all about power.
Landed, topspin, flat smashes are the most common. I analyzed a recently played game, positioned on the left, playing time of 50 minutes and a score of 6/4 6/3. I smashed 96 times. 2 by 3 and 1 by 4. And 13 smashes played at full power. We can see that outright smashes correspond to a minority of shots. I understand that the Alpha male in all his glory needs to show his manhood by hitting like a bull, but efficiency wise, ¾ of the time it's unproductive.

So coming back to the test, looking for the precision of a smash, this racquet is just fabulous.

Now let's move on to the nag smash, the bag, the cash register, the cashew, the mine. I was a little afraid of losing power because the racket having a centered balance, the missiles risked being weak. Well think again, in addition to having maneuverability and control of madness, the power is not left out.

As Gaston says so well
“Shmax: yours todo. Control power and high sweetness point.
(Shmax: she has everything. Control, power, and a great sweet spot) ”

This pala gives us the advantage of playing in a soft, calm way without forgetting the possibility, if necessary, to send the sauce.

Bandejas/Viboras

You will understand, when you benefit from the ultimate control / power combo, you play this kind of shot in safety because you tame the racket, you do not undergo a poorly distributed weight, and you make your shots with a certain confidence. And everyone knows that when the brain follows, everything follows!
The non-rough surface is not a barrier to spinning (I gave more than with the rough pala that my partner lent me). Personally, I think it's a placebo “effect”, but the debate is not there today.

Conclusion

This racket transcends you because it gives the best in all areas of the game. We no longer fear to slow down the game, to put small balls in the feet, it's perfect. We want to be sharp on the fly, cut balls like a lumberjack, that's brilliant. We need power to shift the opponents, get the ball out, the result is impressive.

You will understand, I was able to test the absolute weapon, excellent in all areas of the game, and all that for 170 €!
Unfortunately, these confidential brands lack visibility and the common man will fall back on the rackets referenced by online stores, or those used by WPT players.

If you want to order in order to play with a jewel like this racket, contact the great Gaston directly: gastonmalacalza@hotmail.com

Most:

Price
Perfect grip
Point dulce XXL
Formidable power

Cons:

Brand lacking visibility
Simplistic wrist strap

About Gaston

2005 finalist in Melilla beating Juan Martín Díaz and Fernando Belasteguín in one of their 2 lost matches that year.

Champion in Badajoz in 2004 beating Roby Gattiker and Pablo Semprun, 6-3 6-0 in the final.

Finalist in Sotogrande in 2004 losing to Juan Martín Díaz and Fernando Belasteguín.

Semi-finalist in 14 PPT tournaments in 2006.

Semi-finalist in 12 PPT tournaments in 2007 with Maxi Grabiel.

2008 finalist in Logroño and Barcelona with Willy Lahoz.

Finalist in Bilbao in 1997 at the age of 23, losing to Juan Martín Díaz and Piñón.

150 semi-finals and quarter-finals.

Top 20 players for 15 years (1996-2010).

Top 15 players for 13 years (1997-2009).

Stéphane Penso

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