Quick Read Summary
What happened: An MIT engineering student built a padel racket from scratch to test if science could beat traditional manufacturer guesswork.
Why it matters: Most racket companies design by trial-and-error. This research measured exactly what makes a racket perform well—and proved those properties can be engineered intentionally.
The key findings:
- Three numbers define how a racket plays: bounciness, stiffness, and air resistance
- These properties fight each other—improve one, you hurt another
- The handmade prototype hit 96% accuracy on stiffness targets
- Manufacturing quality matters as much as design
Bottom line: Padel equipment is entering a new era. Future rackets will be designed in engineering labs, not just on the court. For PADEL1969, this reinforces what we’ve always known—premium performance comes from precision, not marketing.
How Science and Sport Collide in the World’s Fastest-Growing Game
Padel is exploding. With over 35 million players across 165+ countries, this tennis-like sport has earned the title of fastest-growing sport in the world. But while professional players debate shot strategies and court positioning, MIT mechanical engineering student Francisco David Mora Armendariz asked a different question: Can we engineer a better racket?
The recent thesis work at MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering represents one of the first comprehensive attempts to scientifically optimize padel racket design, challenging decades of manufacturer intuition with hard data and engineering principles.
From Acapulco Backyards to Global Phenomenon
The sport began modestly in 1969 when Enrique Corcuera built a modified racket sport court on his Acapulco property—10 meters by 20 meters, surrounded by walls to keep out vegetation. His wife created the first rules, and within a decade, padel had spread throughout Spanish-speaking countries.
The equipment evolved alongside the sport. Early players used wooden paddles. Today’s rackets are sophisticated composite structures made from carbon fiber or fiberglass frames filled with EVA foam, drilled with strategic hole patterns. But how much of modern racket design is engineering versus marketing?
The Science Behind the Swing
Mora Armendariz identified three critical performance metrics that define a racket’s behavior:
1. Coefficient of Restitution (Bounciness)
This measures how much energy transfers from racket to ball during impact. A perfectly elastic collision scores 1.0, while a perfectly inelastic collision scores 0.0. Professional padel rackets tested in the study ranged from 0.511 to 0.566—meaning roughly half the energy returns to the ball after impact.
2. Stiffness
Measured in Newtons per millimeter, stiffness determines both power and feel. Stiffer rackets return more energy to the ball but can transmit uncomfortable vibrations to the player’s arm. The commercial rackets tested ranged from 5.32 to 8.94 N/mm, with carbon fiber models predictably stiffer than fiberglass versions.
3. Coefficient of Drag
This aerodynamic measure determines how easily a racket cuts through air. Lower drag means faster swings and better control. The drag coefficients varied dramatically—from 1.45 for the most aerodynamic model to 4.43 for the least streamlined design.
The Engineering Challenge
Here’s where it gets interesting: these three properties fight each other. Drilling holes reduces drag and weight but compromises structural stiffness. Using softer materials improves comfort but reduces power. Professional manufacturers make these tradeoffs based on experience and player feedback, not rigorous testing.
Mora Armendariz took a different approach. He tested four commercially available rackets using creative experimental setups:
- Drop tests with high-speed cameras to measure coefficient of restitution
- Wind tunnel experiments with centrifugal fans to determine drag forces
- Instron compression testing to quantify stiffness
The data revealed significant variations even among premium rackets, suggesting room for optimization. Learn more about comparison of the different types of materials used in Padel rackets.
Building the “Wasp”
Armed with measurements from professional rackets, Mora Armendariz designed his own prototype—nicknamed the “Wasp” for its yellow and black color scheme. His target specifications sat strategically between existing commercial options:
- Stiffness: 7 N/mm (moderate power with good feel)
- Drag coefficient: 3 (balanced aerodynamics)
- Hole area: 8 square inches (optimized airflow)
Manufacturing proved challenging. Without access to industrial molds and curing ovens, he improvised:
- Carved a handle from green molding foam
- Cut an EVA foam core for the racket head
- Hand-layered carbon fiber sheets with epoxy resin
- Used a vacuum bag attempt to compress the composite
- Drilled holes with a hand drill (not ideal, but resourceful)
- Sewed a custom safety strap and assembled with epoxy
The process required multiple attempts and creative problem-solving. The MIT Motorsports “death room” (their composite fabrication space) became his workshop.
The Results: Promising but Imperfect
Testing revealed both successes and areas for improvement:
The Good:
- Stiffness measured 6.74 N/mm—just 4% off target
- The materials model proved remarkably accurate
- The racket is playable and meets most regulations
The Challenges:
- Drag coefficient came in higher than expected due to manufacturing imperfections
- Coefficient of restitution (0.45) fell below professional rackets (0.51-0.57)
- Hand-drilled holes created torn edges that disrupt airflow
- The racket feels noticeably “slower” during play
The discrepancies likely stem from manufacturing limitations rather than design flaws. Torn foam around holes increases drag. Covered ventilation holes in the handle add unwanted surface area. The absence of precise industrial tooling compromised the theoretical design.
What This Means for Padel
This research represents an important first step toward evidence-based racket design. While the Wasp isn’t ready to challenge commercial rackets, it proves that systematic engineering can identify performance gaps in the market.
Future iterations could explore:
- Computational fluid dynamics to optimize hole patterns before drilling
- Vibration analysis to balance power with comfort
- Advanced materials to achieve contradictory properties simultaneously
- CNC machining for precise hole placement and clean edges
The study also reveals how much traditional manufacturers rely on trial-and-error. Small design changes—hole diameter, placement, foam density—could significantly impact performance in ways players might not consciously recognize but would certainly feel during competition.
The Bigger Picture
As padel continues its explosive growth, equipment technology will become increasingly sophisticated. Professional players already discuss racket characteristics with the precision of Formula 1 drivers analyzing tire compounds.
Mora Armendariz’s work suggests that the next generation of padel rackets might be designed not in marketing departments but in engineering labs—using wind tunnels, finite element analysis, and materials science rather than gut instinct.
The Wasp may not be perfect, but it represents something more important: proof that padel equipment design can evolve from art to science. And in a sport growing as rapidly as padel, that evolution could make the difference between a good racket and a great one.
For now, the Wasp sits at 6.74 N/mm stiffness—tantalizingly close to that 7.0 N/mm sweet spot. Which, in engineering terms, means the next prototype might just sting.
This article is based on Francisco David Mora Armendariz’s MIT thesis “The effects of different stiffnesses and coefficient of drag on the performance of a Padel racket” (May 2025), supervised by Professor Anette Hosoi.
We at PADEL1969 combine the best padel club products with advisory services, performance analytics, and in geospatial data to help our clients build winning clubs and make their impact to the growth of padel in sustainable way. Learn more about Padel Statistics 2025.
Contact us at [email protected] to explore how.
PADEL1969 | from Acapulco since 1969.
