Varlion
Maxima Junior Amarilla
A junior frame built around the realities of small hands and developing technique — light enough to swing freely, soft enough to forgive every mishit.
Where to buy
As an Amazon Associate, Padelhost earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. This never affects our recommendations.
Amazon
Check price & availability
Link opens in a new tab · we may earn a commission
Full spec breakdown
Listing checked at publish date
Highlights
What makes this racket stand out
295–305g weight with a low balance makes the racket genuinely maneuverable for a 7–11 year old, not just a downscaled adult frame
EVA FLEXCORE in low hardness paired with a fiberglass face keeps the response soft — the ball sits on the strings long enough for kids to feel where it's going
The 13cm Summum grip is longer than a standard junior handle, which actually matters for two-handed backhands as kids grow into their stroke
The feel
How it's built to play, by shape, core and construction — rated low / mid / high rather than on a false 1–10 scale. Higher isn't always better; it depends on the game you want.
Balance — where the weight sits
Even
Handle / low
Head / high
The spec sheet
Weight
295–305g
Year
2024
Shape
Teardrop
Level
Beginner
Style
Control
Balance
Low
Core
EVA FLEXCORE
Face
Fiberglass
Thickness (mm)
38
Our verdict
What the shape, core and construction tell us about how this racket is built to play.
The short version
The Maxima Junior Amarilla 2024 is a sensible first racket for a child between roughly 7 and 11, with a longer grip that genuinely helps two-handed backhands and a soft core that takes vibration out of the equation while technique is still forming. The trade-off is that it's a true junior frame — once a kid is rallying consistently and hitting overheads with intent, they'll outgrow it within a season.
Strengths
Children aged roughly 7–11 starting padel and learning to rally from the back of the court
Young players developing a two-handed backhand who need a longer grip to fit both hands
Keep in mind
Teenagers or adults — the weight and grip dimensions are sized for small hands and won't give an older player stability on impact
How it's built to play
The Maxima Junior Amarilla is Varlion's entry-level junior teardrop for kids roughly 7 to 11. At 295–305g with a low balance, it's built around a simple idea: a child can't develop technique on a racket they can barely swing. The shape is described as teardrop but plays closer to a round frame in practice, with a wide sweet spot and the weight sitting toward the handle.
The frame uses a bidirectional glass-and-carbon tube with fiberglass reinforcements in the heart, which keeps the build affordable without leaving the throat flexing on contact. The face is a plain fiberglass weave finished with titanium dioxide and Varlion's VAR-FLEX epoxy resin — fiberglass is the right call here because it bends slightly on contact, giving a young player ball speed they couldn't generate on their own swing. The core is EVA FLEXCORE in a low hardness, which behaves more like a soft foam than a typical EVA: the ball sinks in briefly before releasing, lengthening dwell time for control and absorbing vibration before it reaches a developing arm.
The Summum grip at 13cm — vs. the usual 12.5cm — is what lets a kid fit two hands on the handle for a backhand without the lower hand sliding onto the throat. The Adapted & Gradual Holes pattern uses larger holes at the edges and smaller ones toward the centre, keeping the heart structurally stiff while widening the usable hit area — important on a junior racket where mishits are constant.
"Handlesafety routes the wrist cord through both walls of the handle instead of a single central hole — it sounds minor until you've watched a 9-year-old throw a racket across a court."
Handlesafety routes the wrist cord through both walls of the handle instead of a single central hole, which sounds minor until you watch a 9-year-old throw a racket across a court.
On court the racket feels closer to a round than a teardrop — the low balance and light weight mean it moves quickly through the air, and the sweet spot is forgiving enough that off-centre contact still produces a playable ball. Kids hitting from the back of the court will get the most from it: the soft core and fiberglass face do most of the power work on slow swings, which is exactly the help a beginner needs when they're still figuring out timing.
"The soft core and fiberglass face do most of the power work on slow swings — that's the help a beginner needs when they're still figuring out timing."
Where it runs out is what you'd expect from any junior frame — there's no real put-away power on smashes, and a stronger 11-year-old who's been playing for a couple of years will start to feel the racket flexing more than they want on flat drives. That's the point at which to graduate them to a 340g intermediate frame, not earlier.
FAQ
What age range is the Maxima Junior Amarilla 2024 actually suitable for?
Varlion targets it at ages 7–11, and the 295–305g weight plus 13cm grip backs that up. A small or younger 7-year-old will still find it on the heavier side; a tall 11-year-old who's been playing a year or two will start to outgrow it. Use the weight as the guide, not the age.
How does the Maxima Junior Amarilla compare to a full-size beginner adult racket?
A standard beginner adult racket sits around 355–365g with a 12.5cm grip — that's roughly 60g heavier and a shorter handle. For a child under 12, that extra weight slows the swing enough to ruin technique development, and the shorter grip makes two-handed backhands awkward. Stay with a junior frame until the player can swing an adult racket without dropping the head.
Should I choose the Maxima Junior Amarilla or a junior racket from another brand at the same price?
What sets this one apart is the 13cm Summum grip and the Handlesafety cord routing — most junior rackets use a standard 12.5cm handle and a single-hole cord. If your child plays a two-handed backhand or tends to lose grip on the racket mid-swing, those two details matter. If neither is an issue, most reputable junior teardrops in the 295–310g range will play similarly.
Is the soft EVA FLEXCORE core good for a child's arm?
It's a lower-risk profile than most adult rackets. Soft foam absorbs more vibration than hard EVA, fiberglass faces flex more than carbon, and the low balance keeps the head from snapping through impact. Combined with the light weight, it's about as arm-friendly as a padel racket gets — which matters because junior elbow issues from over-stiff rackets are increasingly common.
When should we upgrade from the Maxima Junior Amarilla to an intermediate racket?
Three signs: the child is rallying consistently from the back of the court, they're hitting overheads with intent rather than just defending them, and they're complaining the racket feels too light or 'floppy' on contact. At that point a 340–355g intermediate teardrop with a hybrid core is the next step — usually around ages 11–13 depending on size and playing frequency.
Made for elbow-conscious players.
A junior frame built around the realities of small hands and developing technique — light enough to swing freely, soft enough to forgive every mishit.
Link opens in a new tab · we may earn a commission