Agustín Tapia Padel Racquets - What's the Difference?

Agustín Tapia is arguably the best padel player in the world and a magician on the court. For some time now the Genius of Catamarca has had his own line of racquets developed according to his preferences to help create even more magic on court and it has become one of the most requested by padel fans. Over time the breadth of the range has increased and can cause certain queries or confusion among some fans: What differences are there between models? Which racquet is most suitable for my style of play? Which of them is hardest? We will answer some of those questions below.

AT Padel Racquet Moulds

AT10 Classic Mould

The AT10 classic mould is a medium balance mould, with a shape that is midway between a round mould and a teardrop, and it has a very large sweet spot. Its main characteristic, and perhaps one of the successes of the AT10 range is the great handling at the back of the court, when you must defend with low shots, and in turn, the acceleration it allows both with volleys and shots from the smash family (bandejas, víboras, x3 etc). Manu Martín explains it perfectly in his review of the AT10 Luxury Genius 18K, where he highlights how the mass of the racquet is spread, enabling both defensive play and attacking power.

AT Attack Mould

Following the resounding success of the first AT10 Luxury Genius rackets, NOX began to receive lots of requests from fans requesting a diamond-shaped AT racket. So, NOX designed a diamond-shaped mould that would retain the spirit of the main characteristics of the AT10 mould (large, sweet spot, handling and acceleration). As is usual for diamond-shaped racquets, the mould has a higher balance, which boosts play towards the top of the racquet at the cost of reduced handling. Designed for players who are used to playing with diamond-shaped racquets who get the most out of over the shoulder shots.

The materials: rubber and carbon

The first thing you need to know is that the hardness of a racquet depends on many factors and is not solely determined by the material of the faces. The main factors are: the shape of the racquet mould, the hole pattern, the type of frame, the density of the rubber and the thickness of the layers of carbon. Although it is true that “in theory” the higher the K number the greater the rigidity of the material and its resistance to breakage, NOX believe that it is very risky to issue categorical statements based solely on the K numbers of the carbon. It is primarily based off feelings and feedback of the NOX professional players. As you would expect, all the AT rackets have passed through the hands of Agustín Tapia whose guidelines and preferences have been the definitive ones to determine the combination of materials. Remember that at NOX the professional players use the same rackets that are sold, they only select the weight that they feel most comfortable with (interestingly, Agustín Tapia plays with rackets weighing 377 grams).

What is the difference between the AT10 Luxury Genius 12K and the 18K?

In this case, we have two racquets that share the same mould and the same materials, except for the carbon of the faces. The AT10 Luxury Genius 12K was created at the express request of Agustín Tapia who requested a slightly more rigid racquet for hotter tournaments, but without altering any of the characteristics of the racket that helped him win a Master Final. The change from 18K carbon to 12K provides the racket with a little more rigidity without altering the other characteristics (sweet spot, handling, acceleration).

Which padel racquet should I choose?

There is no one answer that applies to all players. You should choose the racquet that you feel best with. If you are looking for a racquet where you are the one who has to “push” the ball from the back of the court to place it in a precise point, our suggestion is for you to choose a harder racket. If you also have a good level of fitness, you can get the most out of attacking play by putting more speed on the ball. Generally, harder racquets will offer you greater control when it comes to placing shots and blocking balls that are hit very quickly at you, but you still need to have the right technique to manage those balls.

Remember very hard racquet is not ideal if you are prone to injuries such as epicondylitis, as the racquets will tend to absorb less vibrations.

On the contrary, if you are looking for more ball output, for the ball to move more easily to the other side of the court, then our recommendation is for you to look for a racquet with medium touch. It will help you with play from the back of the court and on defensive shots like hitting off the back wall or half-volleys at the expense of slightly less control in blocks.

No matter what your playing style is, there is an AT racquet for you!