Padel Racket Review - Wilson Blade LS V4 2026 Green

What the reviewers say

There is unusually little disagreement here. Everyone who has hit with the LS V4 lands on the same three words: light, soft, forgiving.

Stephane Penso spent several weeks with Wilson's 2026 range for Padel Magazine and put the LS at the extreme end of the family's usability: "The LS V4 pushes manoeuvrability further still, and it is extremely kind on the arm, while keeping the family signature: good everywhere, bad nowhere." He is also the clearest on what the new core actually does, describing a longer contact time that trades the very sharp ball exit for a more progressive energy release.

Padel Tonic tested both Blades back to back and were blunt about the cost of that choice: "Raw power was harder to come by, but ball placement was consistently accurate." They singled out defence, and specifically low balls that need a fast grip change, as where the LS felt best.

Rodrigo Vazquez Alvarez covered the launch for Padel Addict and framed the LS as a deliberate comfort build rather than a cheaper Blade: "the lightened version of the range, designed to put handling, comfort and protecting the joints first." His spec numbers, 355g and a 260mm balance, are the ones that match Wilson's own.

The video side agrees. Fun Padel Shop, reviewing the standard V4, sent viewers to the LS for a specific reason: "The LS is lighter, softer and easier to swing, which makes it the one for players who put comfort and manoeuvrability first."

Tennis Warehouse Europe's testers were the most enthusiastic, calling it "one of the most user-friendly rackets we have tested this year", while noting in the same breath that it is not built for explosive finishing shots.

Where opinions split is how much that missing power actually costs you. Penso treats the softer exit as a fair and even clever trade. Padel Tonic treats it as a real limit you will run into. Both are right, and which one applies depends entirely on whether you are currently winning points at the net.

Our take: Kaj's summary

The forgiveness here is genuine, not marketing. A flexible fiberglass face over a soft eco core gives a wide, predictable hitting area, and a mishit on a defensive ball still comes back deep instead of dying in front of the net. The limit sits on the other side of the court: once a smash becomes reliable, the racket stops adding anything to it, and that ceiling arrives well before the comfort wears off. It is the right buy for one or two seasons of improvement, not for the season after that.

This is the strongest part of the racket. There is very little mass to move, so on a ball coming hard off the back wall the face is already in position instead of arriving late. The soft core takes the sting out of a block, which is why resets drop into the box rather than sitting up for the volley. Lobs come out deep on a normal swing, without forcing. Padel Tonic's note about low balls needing a quick grip change fits exactly: at 355g the racket is never the slow part of the movement.

The honest weak spot, and the same property causes it. The gradual ball release that makes defence easy works against you overhead: the ball leaves slowly and every bit of pace has to come from your arm. Bandejas and viboras are fine, better than fine, because the 3D textured face grabs the ball and the Duo Grid drilling opens up the top of the face. But a flat put-away off a high ball is not this racket's shot, and no amount of technique makes it one. Players who finish points early want the standard Blade V4.

Quick hands are easy. The light head gets to a reflex volley in time, and the soft core absorbs a hard-driven ball so the block stays low instead of popping up. The rough surface helps on sliced volleys and on holding a vibora down. The trade is that a punch volley intended to end the point needs real arm behind it, because the frame contributes almost nothing.

How it compares

Against its predecessor, the Wilson Blade LS V3, the V4 is lighter by about 10 grams and noticeably softer. The V3 LS was the more responsive racket and gave more back on a firm swing; the V4 gives more back on a bad one. If you already own the V3 LS and like it, this is not an upgrade, it is a sideways move towards comfort.

The real decision is against the firmer Blade, of which the Wilson Blade V3 2024 is the closest thing in our catalogue. Pick the firm Blade if you can already produce your own ball speed and want a crisp, predictable exit to place it with. Pick the LS V4 if your priority is finishing the match with a comfortable arm and fewer unforced errors, and you are happy to construct points rather than end them.