Adidas Metalbone CTRL 2026 Padel Racket | Carbon Aluminized 16K | Round Shape | Adjustable Weight & Balance System | For Advanced Control Players

Round Shape — Control You Can Actually Feel

The round head shape is the defining choice in the CTRL’s design, and everything else follows from it. A round frame places the sweet spot centrally — right in the middle of the face where most well-timed shots land. The result is a larger, more consistent contact zone compared to a diamond frame, which means you don’t have to catch the ball perfectly high in the head to get a clean response.

For players who build rallies from the back of the court, reset under pressure, and construct points through placement rather than pace — this sweet spot behaviour is enormously valuable. You can trust the racket on your third shot, on a difficult defensive lob, on a low volley at the net. The ball goes where you aim it, reliably, shot after shot.

Even Balance — Fast, Manoeuvrable, Easy to Direct

The CTRL sits with an even, neutral balance — a deliberate contrast to the head-heavy setup of the Metalbone Pro EDT and standard Metalbone models. A neutrally balanced racket moves faster through the air, responds more quickly to direction changes, and puts less strain on your arm and shoulder during long rallies.

What this means in practice is a racket you can get into position faster — important when you’re defending a hard smash, redirecting a fast volley, or switching from backhand to forehand in a tight exchange. Speed of movement and ease of direction are the CTRL’s strengths, and the even balance is at the heart of both.

Carbon Aluminized 16K — Precision Without Softness

The surface of the CTRL is made from the same Carbon Aluminized 16K material used on the most advanced Metalbone models. Aluminium is woven into the carbon fibre weave to create a hitting surface that is stiffer, more direct, and more responsive than standard carbon.

For a control racket, this might seem counterintuitive — but it works beautifully. The stiff surface gives you clear, immediate feedback on every shot. You know exactly where the ball hit the face, exactly how much energy transferred, exactly what the ball is doing. That feedback loop is what separates a control player’s tool from a beginner-friendly soft racket. This is a precision instrument, not a forgiving one.

EVA Soft Performance Core — Comfort Through Long Sessions

While the surface delivers feedback and stiffness, the core takes the opposite approach. The low-density EVA Soft Performance foam absorbs the impact energy before it reaches your wrist and elbow, making each shot noticeably more comfortable than the surface feel alone would suggest.

The result of pairing a stiff surface with a soft core is genuinely clever engineering — you get the control and feedback of a rigid face without the arm fatigue that typically comes with stiff rackets. Players who train multiple times a week, or who have had elbow sensitivity in the past, will notice the difference over a full session.

Weight and Balance System — One Racket, Multiple Setups

Like every racket in the 2026 Metalbone lineup, the CTRL comes with Adidas’s fully adjustable Weight and Balance System. Two removable plates sit inside the frame, each capable of holding additional washers and screws, giving you up to 11.2 grams of adjustable weight range and the ability to shift the balance point.

For the CTRL specifically, this system is particularly interesting. In its default even-balance configuration, it’s a fast, precise control racket. Add weight to the upper frame and you shift the balance slightly towards the head — adding swing weight and power to your smashes without switching rackets. Move the weights low towards the grip and you increase manoeuvrability even further for the fastest possible hands at the net. An Allen key is included with every racket.

Power Groove and Low Poly — Structure That Holds Under Pressure

The Power Groove is a reinforcement rail running along the frame profile that stiffens the structure in the head area — preventing the frame from flexing under the impact of hard volleys and defending against shots with pace on them. The Low Poly polyhedral frame design adds further rigidity through the geometry of the carbon tube itself.

Together these two technologies make the CTRL a racket that feels solid and composed even when the ball comes at you fast and hard. It doesn’t feel like it’s working against you under pressure — it holds its shape and delivers a clean response regardless of the incoming pace.

Power Extra Grip — Extended Handle for More Leverage

The CTRL uses Adidas’s Power Extra Grip — a longer-than-standard handle that adds lever arm from your hand to the hitting face. On a control racket, this is particularly useful on deep drives and counter-attacks from the baseline, where extra reach and swing inertia help you generate pace without needing a big aggressive swing. It also feels natural for players coming from a tennis background.

Spin Blade Decal and Smart Holes Curve

The textured Spin Blade surface and the deliberately arranged Smart Holes Curve hole pattern work together to help you generate spin on every type of shot — defensive lobs with backspin, angled passing shots, cutting volleys at the net. A control player’s game is built on variety and deception, and these two features give you the surface grip and airflow conditions to add shape to the ball consistently.

New for 2026 — Padded Adjustable Wrist Strap

Adidas has introduced a new adjustable rope cord with a padded wrist strap on the 2026 Metalbone lineup. It’s a small but genuine improvement — the padded strap is noticeably more comfortable against the wrist during play, and the adjustable system means you can customise how it fits regardless of your hand size or preference