Joma Rookie Negro Naranja

Pros

• ✓The glass fibre face flexes more than carbon and holds the ball on the string bed a fraction longer, so pared exits with little arm speed come out clean without forcing the elbow. The EVA Soft core compresses at low swing speeds, so the ball pops off the face on its own on blocked volleys and defensive lobs without needing to swing hard. Low balance and a round shape keep the sweet spot concentrated in the centre of the 38mm frame, so off-centre contact on a bandeja or a cross-court forehand barely throws off your direction. The 350-365g weight range handles better than the number suggests because the mass sits toward the handle, which cuts down the effort in fast net exchanges. The sandy finish grips the ball on slices and topspin, helping the bandeja open up toward the back glass even with a short, compact swing.

Cons

• ✗Power is limited: on a flat smash you have to generate all the racket speed yourself, since the racket doesn't add the extra pop a stiffer, harder-core paddle would. EVA Soft bottoms out once you really accelerate; on the vibora and the remate por 3 the feel turns mushy and you lose precision picking your gap. The low balance leaves the head short on mass: the bandeja comes out light and falls short if you don't cut the ball cleanly, handing the initiative back to your opponents. The upper end of the 350-365g range starts to show in long matches if you're not fit enough, which is exactly the player profile this racket targets.

The Joma Rookie Negro Naranja is built for beginner players looking for an easy-to-handle, forgiving racket. Its round shape concentrates the sweet spot in the center of the face, increasing tolerance and favouring control. With a low balance, it gains maneuverability and quick response at the net. With a weight of 350-365g, it sits among the lighter rackets on the market: easier to swing and less stressful on the elbow.

The name says it all: the Joma Rookie Negro Naranja is built for your first year on court, and the spec sheet backs that up with no frills — round shape, glass fibre face, EVA Soft core, 38mm frame and a 350-365g weight with a low balance. It's an all-round beginner's padel racket, with no showcase tech and no tour pro behind it.

That technical simplicity is actually the key to understanding it: every material choice is aimed at getting the ball back over the net without wrecking your arm.

Glass fibre and EVA Soft: cushioning instead of firing back

Glass fibre is a softer, less rigid weave than carbon. It deforms more on contact, holds the ball against the strings for an extra fraction of a second, and filters out a good chunk of vibration before it ever reaches your wrist and elbow.

That flex is what makes the Rookie so forgiving. Mishit off-centre, and the face gives instead of snapping back harshly, so the ball still comes out with direction.

The EVA Soft core pulls in the same direction. It compresses at low arm speeds, so you don't need polished technique or a fast swing to clear the net — the core does part of the work for you.

The trade-off for that comfort shows up once you speed things up. A soft EVA core bottoms out under hard impacts, and the response turns cottony right when you want a crisp, direct feel, sending the ball out high without the penetration a harder core gives you.

Who is the Joma Rookie Negro Naranja actually for?

It's built for players just starting out: first year of padel, technique still developing, and the number one priority being simply getting the ball in play. The round shape, low balance and soft core combine to maximise forgiveness and minimise arm strain, at the cost of the power that doesn't matter much at this stage anyway.

Spec sheet

Where it actually delivers: pared exits, volleys and bandeja

The pared exit is its standout shot. The ball arrives dead, you arrive just in time, and the glass fibre face paired with the EVA Soft core sends it back deep without demanding a full swing. With a stiffer face, that same ball dies in the net.

On blocked volleys, the wide sweet spot of the 38mm frame does the heavy lifting, soaking up fast balls to the body without twisting in your hand. Attacking volleys, though, come out with less sting — the core absorbs exactly the pace you'd want to transmit.

The bandeja is the shot that best exposes its limits. The low balance lets you correct your position late and reach the ball without losing your footing, but with no mass in the head, the shot comes out light. Cut it well and the ball dies at the back glass; miscue it and it sits up short for your opponents to attack.

Why low balance matters more than the grams on paper

A weight of 350-365g looks high for a beginner's racket, and on the scale it is. In hand it doesn't feel that way, because the mass is distributed toward the handle.

That distribution lowers the swingweight: the racket turns over faster on grip changes, in quick volley exchanges and in scrambling defensive situations. It's also why a low balance eases the strain on your elbow, which matters when your technique isn't yet absorbing impact efficiently.

What you lose is inertia. Without weight in the head there's no heavy smash and no vibora with real bounce, whatever the 50/50 control-power split on the spec sheet suggests.

Sandy surface: how much bite does it really add

The sandpaper-like texture grips the ball and helps on shots with cut and spin:

1. **Cut bandeja**: the surface bites and the ball opens up more toward the side wall.
2. **Topspin from the back**: gains a bit more rotation so the ball drops sooner.
3. **Chip and drop shots**: improves control on the short bounce by slowing the ball on the face.

It's worth being honest about the limits: the effect depends mostly on arm speed. With a short swing the gain is modest, and the texture wears smooth with use.

Who this Joma racket suits — and who should look elsewhere

It's a strong fit if you're in your first few months, playing two-hour matches without chasing a winning smash, and want a padel racket that won't punish your elbow while your technique is still developing. It also works as a rotation racket for anyone coming back from an arm injury.

It's not the right fit if you already close out points from the back. A player who smashes por 3, hunts the vibora or hits flat is going to feel the EVA Soft core bottom out and the head fail to keep up. At that point, the logical step up is a harder core and a higher balance, not this model.

As a first racket, it does exactly its job: it makes the hard stuff easy at the start, and you'll outgrow it right around the time you should be upgrading anyway.