After the launch of Fernando Belasteguín’s new racket, the preview of his Wilson model, now with the CUPRA badge clearly visible and with the predominance of black and copper colours.
We present the CUPRA V2, which we have been able to test on the court and from which we bring you our conclusions.
First of all, let’s take a look at the aesthetic aspect, where we can see an elegant racket, with very neat lines, mixing the two aforementioned colours together with Bela’s signature in white in the central part of the racket next to the heart.
The padel incorporates a double diffuser, with two highly aerodynamic openings, made in a very meticulous way to offer the best possible performance, along with a handle made of polyurethane and Izo-Zorb that provides an excellent combination of grip and cushioning and a string that is removable and allows the player to easily exchange or customize the type and colour of the string for the wrist, although in our case, being used to the more usual strings, it took us a while to get the hang of the system, but once you do, it comes off and on with ease.
In terms of shape, we find a diamond shaped racket focused on power and high level players, it is not suitable for beginners or beginners, as it requires a certain technique to be used, something common in the racquets that Fernando Belasteguín has used in recent years, which are usually ”big-headed”, with a small sweet spot and quite hard. This one, however, is somewhat softer thanks to the EVASoft rubber that it incorporates, which allows a more accessible game and widens the sweet spot.
The 3K carbon faces give the racket an excellent energy recovery capacity and, therefore, faster and more powerful shots, as well as faces with a certain texture in the form of intertwined diamonds.
If we talk about the game, where we can get more potential is in volleys as well as in trays and backhands. It is a racket that performs perfectly in the offensive game, offering a great performance especially in fast and weighted shots (even more so in the current summer months with so much heat).
At the back, in defence, the racket helps us to get the ball out easily and the fact of having increased its sweet spot means that we do not suffer so much in defence, although logically it is not the most suitable weapon, although the increase in ball output provided by the soft rubber is a plus compared to other models, as well as the greater manageability if we compare it to other models used by the Argentinian player such as the Bela Pro.
In smashes it is important that we hit the ball exactly with the midpoint of the racket because if not, it will not come out as much and can leave us somewhat sold, hence it requires not only power, but also precision. This also happens with the rest of the strokes but in the smash is where we have noticed its impact and the difference in touch.