In the racket guide I explained it at length: for a beginner, the right racket should be round, light, soft and budget-friendly. Research is all well and good, but when it comes to actually adding products to the basket, you hesitate again. This post is the list of decisions we made at the end of that hesitation — the moment theory turns into practice: what did we, as a family, buy?
Short answer: we stuck to the recipe in the guide and completed everything from Decathlon. Here's the set, person by person.
For my wife: Kuikma PR Comfort Soft
For my wife we chose the Kuikma PR Comfort Soft (2,390 TL). This is the racket I described in the guide as the "softest, most tolerant feel": 350 grams, round shape, fibreglass surface. Its sweet spot is wide, it forgives shots where you miss the centre, and it doesn't strain the wrist at all. For someone new to padel, it's the choice that minimises the chance of "the racket ruined my mood."
For me: Kuikma PR Comfort
For myself I got one step up, the Kuikma PR Comfort (3,090 TL). Same family as the Comfort Soft, same round shape and weight — but thanks to the BlackEva core it gives a slightly stiffer, more reactive feel. When you want to put a bit more speed on the ball, you get a response, but it's still an entirely beginner-friendly racket.
Our two rackets being almost identical was a deliberate choice: same feel, same balance — so when we ask each other on court "how's your racket?", we speak the same language. 🙂
For our daughter: Kuikma PR Fun
This turned out to be the most fun part of the set. For our 5-year-old daughter we bought the Kuikma PR Fun kids' padel racket (1,790 TL) — a tiny, light, blue-and-yellow racket designed for ages 5–8.
Let me be honest: at this age the goal isn't to teach technique. The goal is for her to have her own racket in hand while we play, to touch the ball, and to remember padel not as "mum and dad's sport" but as our game. This little racket is the first concrete step toward the dream we wrote about on our About page — the sport becoming a fun, family culture from an early age.
What we added alongside
Rackets done; here's how we completed the "small but important" items I mentioned in the guide:
- Balls: Kuikma PB Speed 3-pack pressurised padel balls (990 TL). In the guide I recommended Control for beginners; we found Speed in the store and started with that. We had no trouble during those first weeks of "just get the ball across" — but if you spot it in stock, Control is still a more forgiving first ball.
- Overgrip: Adherence padel overgrip (280 TL). Thickens the handle to fit your hand, absorbs sweat, protects the original grip underneath. Small cost, big comfort.
- Shoes: Kuikma PS Dynamic padel shoes (3,790 TL). The point I underlined the most in the guide: on sandy artificial turf, a running shoe slips. These herringbone-soled, padel-specific shoes remove that risk.
- Bag: S Team 19L tennis backpack (890 TL). Three rackets + balls + water bottles in a single bag. It doesn't have to be padel-specific; a tennis bag with a racket compartment does the same job.
Total cost (June 2026)
Here's the breakdown of the whole set, at Decathlon's website prices:
| Item | Product | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Racket (wife) | Kuikma PR Comfort Soft | 2,390 TL |
| Racket (me) | Kuikma PR Comfort | 3,090 TL |
| Racket (daughter) | Kuikma PR Fun | 1,790 TL |
| Shoes | Kuikma PS Dynamic | 3,790 TL |
| Balls (3-pack) | Kuikma PB Speed | 990 TL |
| Bag | S Team 19L | 890 TL |
| Overgrip | Adherence | 280 TL |
| Total | 13,220 TL |
I have a bitter confession here: these are the prices I saw when I checked the site three days after shopping. When we bought in store we paid 500 TL more for each racket. Seeing the prices had dropped three days later honestly made me a little sad. :( So a note to myself and to you: don't rush, track the prices for a few days before buying — at Decathlon, prices can move with promotions.
Conclusion: did the recipe work?
We're still very early on the road, but after the first few matches I can comfortably say this: I stand behind the thesis of don't sink money into an expensive racket at the start. Our whole family set — three rackets + balls + overgrip + shoes + bag — came in cheaper than a single mid-to-upper segment racket in Türkiye (~18–20k TL), even with that extra we paid on the rackets. A whole family set, for the price of one racket.
Our rackets forgive us, the shoes give confidence on court, our daughter is bouncing balls with her own racket at the edge of the court. For now we don't need more — the day our style settles and we say "this racket isn't enough for that shot," we'll upgrade deliberately then.
What's in your starter set? Is it similar to ours, or did you take a completely different path — we'd love it if you told us on Instagram. See you on court!
Note: the prices in this post are Decathlon Türkiye website prices as of June 2026; they may change with promotions and stock, so check the current price on the product page. Product links go to Decathlon Türkiye. There is no partnership, sponsorship or commission in this post — we bought everything with our own money.