About Tomás Reyes

Tomás Reyes is a FIP-certified padel coach. 14 years on court in Valencia and Madrid, coaching in the US since 2023. He writes the racket guides on Padelnox and tests every racket himself.

My Coaching Background

I started playing padel as a teenager in Valencia, on the kind of club courts where you book at ten at night because every earlier slot is taken. I was never going to be a professional player. I was, it turned out, good at explaining the game to other people, and that became my job.

I earned my FIP coaching certification and spent the next years teaching at clubs in Valencia and then Madrid: junior groups, adult beginners, league teams and a few players preparing for regional tournaments. Fourteen years on court teaches you that most players do not need a better racket. They need the right one.

In 2023 I moved to the US to coach. Most of my students here come from tennis or pickleball, which makes the racket question even more important, because the habits they bring do not always suit the frames they buy. If you are new to the sport, my guide to what padel is and my comparison of padel vs pickleball are good places to start.

My coaching style is simple. I would rather a student hit a hundred calm volleys than one spectacular smash, and I judge rackets the same way: by how they help an ordinary club player on an ordinary Tuesday night, not by how they look on the pro tour.

How I Test Rackets

Every racket I review goes through the same protocol, so frames can be compared fairly.

  1. Six sessions minimum. One session tells you almost nothing. By the sixth, the novelty has gone and the real character of the frame shows.
  2. Same balls, same partner. I use fresh balls from the same brand and play with the same hitting partner, so changes in feel come from the racket, not the conditions.
  3. The same drills. Volleys at the net, defense off the back glass, lobs, bandejas, víboras and flat smashes, in the same order each time.
  4. Written notes after every session. Where the sweet spot sits, where the balance point falls in the hand, how the frame volleys, and how my arm feels after ninety minutes.
  5. A reference frame. I compare every racket against the frame I normally play, so "stiff" or "forgiving" means something consistent.
  6. Students too. Where I can, I hand the racket to students at different levels and write down what they notice.

I weigh each frame on arrival and check that it sits inside the manufacturer's published range before I start.

Editorial Standards

Specs come from the manufacturer. Weight, balance, shape, core, face and player level are stated as each brand publishes them. If a brand does not publish a spec, I leave it blank rather than guess.

Prices are as listed. Prices on my guides are the prices listed at Padelnox when the page was last updated.

Disclosure. Padelnox sells the rackets I review. I write for the store, and you should read my guides knowing that. What I can promise is that my on-court opinions are my own, and I will tell you when a cheaper frame, or a different shape, is the better choice for you.

Corrections. If you spot an error in any guide, email helppadelnox@outlook.com and it will be checked and fixed.

Where to Start

If you already know what you want, browse the padel rackets collection, the NOX AT10 family, the Bullpadel Vertex range, Babolat padel or the pickleball paddles. Three frames I often hand to students are the NOX ML10 Pro Cup 3K 2024 ($239), the Babolat Air Veron 2.6 2026 ($279) and the NOX AT10 Genius 18K Alum Agustín Tapia 2025 ($279).