Wilson padel rackets

Wilson declares what each line is for, and then you can check

Wilson is American, from Chicago, founded in 1913, and arrived at padel in 2014. The Bela is its signature line with Fernando Belasteguín. Today it is also the official ball of Premier Padel.

But what really sets it apart is not the history: it is that it declares its catalog in three franchises, each with its own purpose. Its words: "DEFY, Power / BELA, Versatility / ENDURE: Control".

It sounds like a brochure until you check. And it checks out: below are the five Wilson rackets measured by an independent laboratory, and the three franchises come out exactly in the order the brand says. Of the four brands whose catalog we have dismantled, it is the only one that withstands that entire check.

The three franchises, and what lies beneath

Endure is the 2026 novelty and deserves a separate note: it is Wilson's first round racket oriented towards absolute control, it came out on February 18, 2026 and debuts Exacttouch, a rough face that Wilson presents as the first of its kind. We return to it.

What the V of a Wilson racket means

It is the generation of each family, and each family keeps its own count. It is not the year, and they are not comparable to each other.

That produces the most common confusion with this brand, and it is worth saying out loud: the Endure V1 is from 2026 and the Bela V3 is from 2025. The highest number is the oldest line.

The paths, so you can see:

• Bela: V1 → V2 → V2.5 → V3
• Blade: V2 → V3 → V4
• Optix: V1 → V2
• Defy: V1 in 2025, and it continues
• Endure: V1 in 2026, it is its first generation

That V2.5 of the Bela is proof that it is a half-step generation, not software versioning. It was Belasteguín's farewell edition.

What Pro, LS, LT and SE mean

If you are left with one idea: from the standard to the LS not only the weight goes down, the face material changes. It is a different racket, not a lightened version. From the Pro to the standard it is indeed a matter of grade: weight, carbon weave and little more.

And the Bela CUPRA?

It is a collaboration with CUPRA, the car brand, not a Wilson line. Three rackets came out together, with Belasteguín as ambassador: the Bela CUPRA of 2021, in limited edition; the CUPRA V2 that Bela debuted in the circuit in 2023; and the CUPRA Wilson LT of late 2023, with an iridescent finish, which according to CUPRA is "designed 100% by CUPRA and manufactured by Wilson".

It is not a simple color change like an SE: the V2 is diamond and the LT changes the hole pattern to round to gain control. They are different rackets, not the repainted Bela.

And be careful with that LT: it is not the Wilson LT suffix. In the Wilson catalog, LT means light in the value ranges. In "CUPRA Wilson LT" the name is given by CUPRA. They are two different things with the same two letters.

No CUPRA is still in the official Wilson catalog, so if you find one, it is store stock from those years.

Defy, Bela or Endure: the three extremes

The difference between the Defy and the Bela is not where it seems: they weigh almost the same and the balance is almost identical. What separates them is the shape and the stiffness. The Defy mounts the stiffness and aerodynamics technologies; the Bela mounts the stability and sweet spot technologies.

And the Endure is the other extreme of the catalog, with a detail that gives context: according to the specialized press, round molds are falling into disuse at the high level, and Wilson debuts this shape precisely because it signed a player who has always carried it. It is a racket made for someone, not for a market gap.

Wilson's technologies, translated

The cores

• Control Foam / Control Sandwich Foam, double density foam. You feel where the ball has entered without your arm vibrating. It is what allows drop shots and blocks with touch.
• Power Foam, high density, dry touch. The ball shoots out if you center it, and dies if you don't.
• Firm EVA, Soft EVA and Core Foam are the three rubber steps, and Wilson's guide says it plainly: Core Foam for beginners, Soft EVA for comfort and intermediate and a good option if you have joint discomfort, and the Firm EVA "the hardest to play because it does not forgive off-center hits".

It is the data that serves to choose: if you do not center almost always, Firm EVA is not your rubber.

What the laboratory says about the Wilsons

Five Wilson rackets are in the 2026 guide of Testea Sport Lab, from the ai2 institute of the Universitat Politècnica de València, which measured 60 models from thirteen brands with the same method. And they are exactly the three franchises:

And here is the data: the three franchises come out ordered exactly as Wilson says they are ordered.

Three variables, three clean gradients, and none go out. It is rare that the commercial argument of a brand withstands an independent measurement from start to finish, and this one withstands it.

Two notes of honesty, that also go:

• The weights of the laboratory come out a few grams above the official sheet, 370 versus 365 in the Endure. It is normal: the laboratory weighs the unit that arrives, and the brands declare a band of about 15 grams. It is not anyone's error.
• The Bela V3 and the Defy Pro get the maximum grade in vibration absorption. Both carry Power Foam, which is the hard rubber, so the trope that hard rubber crushes your arm does not hold here.

What rackets do the professionals use from Wilson

The Bela line lives on after his retirement, and Wilson says it explicitly: the V3 is the first Bela collection since Belasteguín retired, and it is co-designed with him.

The team is completed by Lucho Capra, José Solano, Thomas Leygue, Alix Collombon and Marina Martínez Lobo.

Is a previous-generation Wilson worth it?

It depends on how much the generation changed. The Blade Pro V3, for example, is the top of the previous generation, with a tubular carbon construction, and the racket with which Javi Garrido debuted as world number 10.

When yes and when no:

• Yes, when the generational jump is incremental. From the Bela V2.5 to the V3, Wilson improves the sweet spot, durability and spin, but does not change either the format or the balance, and I say that because they were two things that were liked.
• Yes, always, compared to an SE. A special edition is the same racket in another color, and it costs more.
• No, when the generation changes the concept. The Blade V3 was offensive and the V4 returns to balance: they are not the same newer racket, they are aimed at different players. There you choose by profile.
• No, when the technology is genuinely new. The Exacttouch rough surface of the Endure does not exist in any previous generation, because the Endure has no previous generation.

And a helpful calendar note: Wilson does not launch the entire season at once. February is its window for the performance franchises, Defy in 2025, Endure in 2026, the same week both years, and summer for the rest. Each family is renewed every 18 to 24 months, not every year.

Complete your Wilson equipment

Wilson uses the same family names, Bela, Defy, in its padel shoes and in its padel bags. If you are undecided between brands, compare with adidas padel rackets, Bullpadel padel rackets and Head padel rackets, or look at all the padel racket brands. The complete range is in all padel rackets.

Guide updated in September 2026.