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65% positive35 reviewsView price on Amazon
In shortPlayers mostly like it for a very large, forgiving sweet spot, a soft feel, solid defence and kindness to the arm. The main drawback is a strong trampoline effect on blocks and fast volleys, and several report cracking or broken plastic weights. Suits defensive, control-minded players.
Showing 4 reviews mentioning arm-friendly Show all
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Bought the 2025 Metalbone CTRL on sale for about €200 after their 2026 one was broken. Finds it a little livelier than the 2026, with more trampoline effect, but more forgiving and easier on the wrist and elbow, and calls it an amazing competitive racket.
“I picked up the 2025 for about €200 during a sale. I don’t know what your budget is but I feel like it’s a fair price for an amazing competitive racket.”
Removed the elbow pain they had with the 3.3 and keeps the power, but is hard to control and to block in intense matches.
“switched to the 3.4 ctrl that removed the pain, and has the same extra power. but very difficult to control because the ball will fly to the glass if your technique is not very good.”
Has the 2025 Metalbone CTRL and has never had elbow pain with it, even after four hours of play.
“I have a 2025 adidas metalbone ctrl and I’ve never had elbow pain and sometimes I play 4 hours with it”
Less flashy than the standard Metalbone, but easy on their arm.
“im playing with the 3.4 ctrl. Less flashy but good for my arm”
Of the 34 reviews with a clear verdict, 65% are positive, 24% mixed and 12% negative. The praise mentioned most is forgiving. The most common complaint is durability issues.
The praise reviewers mention most: forgiving (9 reviews), arm-friendly (4 reviews) and good control (4 reviews). For example: Loved the huge sweet spot and control for lobs and defence, but it wasn't agile enough so they switched to the ST4.
The complaints reviewers mention most: durability issues (3 reviews) and small sweet spot (1 review). For example: Their Metalbone CTRL 3.4 cracked in the middle after a light knock against their knee; they find the Carbon version's face much stronger and more controllable.
#3 in Best Padel Rackets 2025, ranked by real player reviews.
34 are quotes from discussions on Reddit, YouTube and Other, each linked to the original post. 1 was written by players here. Player reviews are checked for spam before they appear, and only they count toward the star rating; quotes never do.