We have you surveyed last week on your favorite balls and the reasons that lead you to choose this or that model. Thanks to those who replied! This mini-survey obviously has no scientific value, but its result is clear: 50% of those who answered our series of questions favored balls from a particular brand.

But before going into the details of the balls that our respondents like or dislike, let's take a look at the criteria they favor to make their choice.

Durability, liveliness, price

■ The price.- If it is important, the price comes only in third position of the priority criteria in your eyes. The “fair price”, the one that comes up most often in your answers, is €5 for a box of three balls. Some of you are waiting for promotional offers to pay only 4 €, sometimes by buying lots of 24 boxes, sometimes in group purchase with friends. Others agree to pay up to €8 per tube, either in a specialist shop or in their club.

■ The place of purchase.- Among our 28 respondents, twelve players (43%) buy their balls on the internet, sometimes in large quantities. Ten prefer to stock up in a specialist shop or a sports supermarket – Decathlon in mind. Five buy at the club where they play and one lucky one does not pay for his balls: he has a contract with a brand.

■ Durability.- This is THE most important criterion for you: durability or longevity is cited 22 times by our respondents (78,5%), who expect a ball to maintain constant pressure over several sessions.

■ Liveliness.- Sixteen (57%) of our 28 respondents are attached to the liveliness of the rebound and the speed of a ball. Normal, nobody wants to be bored on the track with balls that are too soft, not even players whose defensive game is their strong point. This explains why the liveliest ball in the range Head was so successful (read below).

■ Control and weight.- Not losing control of the ball is crucial in padel. However, this criterion is cited directly by only two people. But four of our players don't like balls that are “too light”, precisely to prevent them from escaping them. Conversely, two respondents fear balls that are too heavy and two others say they are attached to comfort...

■ The quality of the felt.- This criterion is rarely put forward, but some players are attached to the fact that a ball does not fluff too quickly and keeps its felt intact.

Question from Johan A when balls that do not take moisture

The ones you like a little, a lot… not at all

Now we come to your favorite balls, brand by brand.

■ Head on your mind : As we said, half of the respondents show their preference for branded balls Head. The fact that it is the official ball of the World Padel Tour may be no stranger to it. It is moreover the Head Pro S, the liveliest in the range, which you like the most: a third of those polled ranked it first. The Head Pro is three times less appreciated than the Pro S.

But the Austrian brand also has its detractors. “The balls I don't like are the Head basic, Pro and Pro S”, says Gaël, who justifies “In terms of durability, it's zero. They are good for pros with frequent ball changes, but if not within an hour, their output has already gone down a lot”. Roland, he judges the Head Pro “horrible” and prefers Wilson X3. Fabrice doesn't like them either. Head (“they are the worst”) and prefers bullets Nox (read below).

■ Bullpadel : Eight respondents out of 28 say they like balls Bullpadel, often on par with other brands. The Premium Golds are to Thibaud's taste, who also likes the Masters, just like Michaël. The Races appeal to Simon for “their durability and their punch”, while Gaël ranks the Next in his top three, with the Babolat Padel Tour and the Kuikma 570. On the other hand, Didier considers the Premium Pro “much too hard”, the only criticism addressed to this brand.

Too hard the Premium Pro

■ The Kuikma are divisive : The balls manufactured by Decathlon appeal to one in seven respondents, but some of them attract harsh criticism. The 990S (the fastest) seem to please more than the 990C, more control-oriented. The 570 are for example appreciated by Gaël, but hated by Johan. Thibaud blames the bullets Kuikma to wear out too quickly, but is also not kind to the Head (“harsh and lacking in control”) and Babolat (“heavy and losing their liveliness too quickly”).

The 990S are more pleasing than the 990C

■ Babolat : Like the Kuikma, the Babolat are cited by one in seven respondents as their favorite balls. But if the Babolat Tour likes, a player doesn't like them Babolat Team, forgetting that these are tennis balls and not padel… But another of our respondents, a ball lover Babolat, says that “playing with tennis balls does not bother him”. A review by Thibaud: “The Babolat are too heavy and quickly lose their liveliness”.

■ Wilson : The American brand is mentioned by four players. Two of them place these balls in head, a third judges them “honourable”. The latter appreciates their speed and lightness, but is not neutral because it has a contract with this brand.

■ Nox : Mentioned by three people, the balls of this brand are the favorites of Julien and Fabrice, while Simon advises to “avoid them”.

■ Tecnifibre : Not very common in clubs or shops, these balls are only mentioned by three players... who don't like them.

And ecology, then?

In the background of several answers, we find the question of ecology, important in the eyes of many. “We would need a ball recycling system and provide that to the clubs,” says Mathieu, for example. Moreover, a majority of players in our panel have a ball pressurizer or plan to buy one. Some find that they extend the life of the balls, others are more skeptical but just waiting to be convinced. One of our respondents explains that he “uses new balls for each session and therefore tries to buy cheap”. But what happens to used balls? A recycling idea just below…

To continue this debate, it happens on our Facebook page.

After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme falls into the pot of padel in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves pala in hand! Journalist in Alsace, he has no other ambition than to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.

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