Quick Answer: Wilson runs a classic graduated lineup — the diamond Bela Pro V3 ($399) for attack, the teardrop Blade Pro (about $230) for all-round play, and the Ultra (about $85) for beginners — each sold once, at one price. Nox concentrates on two player-signature molds and sells each one twice: the AT10 Genius 18K ($455) is Agustín Tapia’s stiff flagship, while the AT10 Pro Cup ($245) is the same shape in a softer, cheaper build. The sharpest difference isn’t price — it’s who’s still playing: Nox’s Tapia is the sport’s active world No. 1, while Wilson’s flagship now honors Fernando Belasteguín, who retired from competition at the end of 2024.
Wilson and Nox arrived at padel from opposite directions and opposite timelines. Wilson is a century-old sporting-goods name that entered the sport in 2020 by signing a legend already near the end of his career; Nox was built padel-native in 2009 and has spent the years since attaching its flagship mold to the player currently winning every major title. Here’s how the two catalogs compare, tier by tier — and why one brand’s “flagship” story has quietly changed since this site last covered it.
By the numbers
- Wilson Sporting Goods was founded in 1913 in Chicago, but didn’t sign its first padel signature player — Fernando Belasteguín — until February 2020. Nox was founded padel-native in Barcelona in 2009, by former competitive swimmer Jesús Ballvé. The century-plus gap in company age shrinks to roughly 11 years once you compare padel-specific entry dates.
- Belasteguín played his final professional match at the Milan Premier Padel P1 in December 2024, ending a competitive career that included a record 16 consecutive years (2002–2018) at World No. 1. He has said he continues to work with Wilson on the Bela franchise after retiring, but no longer competes on tour.
- Tennis Warehouse’s US site currently lists Wilson’s actual 2026 flagship, the Bela Pro V3, at $399 — the older Bela Pro V2.5 ($219 on sale) was Belasteguín’s 2024 farewell-edition racket, not the current model, a distinction this site’s own Wilson coverage needs updating to reflect.
- Padel passed 1 million players in the United States in the 2026 SFIA Topline Participation Report, up roughly 250% since 2022, with 1,000+ courts across 31 states as of April 2026 — the growth pulling both brands into dedicated US storefronts and US-specific pricing.
Wilson vs Nox at a glance
| Wilson | Nox | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1913, Chicago (padel entry: 2020) | 2009, Barcelona (Jesús Ballvé, padel-native) |
| Lineup structure | 4 families, one job and one price each (Bela/Blade/Pro Staff/Ultra) | 2 player molds (AT10/ML10), each split into a flagship and accessible build |
| Flagship | Bela Pro V3, $399 | AT10 Genius 18K, $455 (AT10 Pro Cup, $245, value build of same mold) |
| Control racket | Pro Staff, about $180 | ML10 Ventus Control 3K, $345 (outgoing Pro Cup Silver, $209) |
| Beginner racket | Ultra, about $85 | X-One Evo, about $65 |
| Headline pro | Fernando Belasteguín (retired Dec. 2024, advisory role only) | Agustín Tapia (active, FIP world No. 1 pair with Head's Arturo Coello) |
Where the two brands come from
Wilson is a 1913 Chicago sporting-goods company with decades of tennis racket engineering behind it — but none of that history was padel-specific until February 2020, when Wilson signed Fernando Belasteguín, the most decorated player in the sport’s history, to its Advisory Staff to co-design a signature collection. That partnership produced the Bela line, and its final chapter — the Bela v2.5 collection — doubled as Belasteguín’s own farewell, released as he wound down to his last professional match in Milan in December 2024.
Nox has no such detour, and no retirement to navigate. Founded in 2009 in Barcelona by former competitive swimmer Jesús Ballvé, it built its entire identity around two player-signature molds — the AT10, designed around Agustín Tapia’s attacking game, and the ML10, around Miguel Lamperti’s control game — and has kept selling each one in a flagship and accessible build ever since. Where Wilson’s flagship story now has to explain a legend’s retirement, Nox’s flagship story is simply: this is what the world’s best currently-active attacker plays.
Head to head: flagship racket
Wilson Bela Pro V3
- 370g (±10), 265mm balance, Power Foam core, 24K carbon face.
- Developed alongside Belasteguín, per Wilson's own product listing — but he no longer competes with it on tour.
- US and EU retailer listings disagree on whether the current build is diamond or teardrop-leaning — we could not resolve that conflict cleanly and flag it rather than guess.
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Nox AT10 Genius 18K
- Teardrop shape, 18K carbon face, HR3 core — Nox's stiffest, most explosive build.
- AVS anti-vibration system tempers a genuinely unforgiving frame.
- Tapia actively plays this exact mold as the FIP's world No. 1-ranked pair's attacking half.
At $399 versus $455, Nox’s flagship costs $56 more — but the bigger difference is who’s actually swinging it. Belasteguín co-developed the Bela Pro V3 before stepping away from competition, so you’re buying a legend’s design input rather than a currently-active pro’s on-court tool. Tapia, by contrast, plays the AT10 Genius 18K in the exact tournaments that make him the world No. 1-ranked attacker right now. If you want Wilson’s familiar one-price-per-family simplicity, the Bela Pro V3 is the whole decision. If you want the mold the sport’s best current attacker actually plays, Nox’s flagship — or its $245 Pro Cup build of the same shape — is the sharper buy. For the full breakdown, see our dedicated Wilson Bela Pro V2.5 review (the prior-gen farewell build, still sold at a discount) and best Nox padel racket guide.
Head to head: control racket
| Wilson Pro Staff | Nox ML10 (current gen) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | About $180 | $345 (Ventus Control 3K) |
| Shape | Round-teardrop | Round |
| Signature pro | Carries the classic Pro Staff tennis name, no single padel signature | Miguel Lamperti |
| Best for | Tennis switchers who already trust the Pro Staff name | Dedicated control/defense players who want the lowest, most centered sweet spot in either catalog |
Wilson’s Pro Staff leans on brand familiarity rather than a padel-specific pro story — it’s a solid, round-leaning control frame, but nobody’s signature sits on the face. The ML10 carries real tour pedigree behind its shape, which is why Nox has never released a second control-signature racket to replace Lamperti’s mold. Budget tells a different story: at $180, the Pro Staff undercuts even Nox’s outgoing Pro Cup Silver generation ($209), let alone the current $345 Ventus Control 3K — making Wilson’s control racket the clear value pick in this tier, even without a tour name attached.
Head to head: beginner racket
| Wilson Ultra | Nox X-One Evo | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | About $85 | About $65 |
| Shape | Round | Round |
| Best for | First-season players who want a real Wilson build, not a supermarket racket | The cheapest real Nox, still built for a first season rather than priced like one |
At $20 apart, this tier is close. Both are round, forgiving frames built to survive a first season of mis-hits, so either is a safe first purchase — but the X-One Evo is the cheaper way into a real padel-specific brand, which is why it’s already the pick in our best padel racket for beginners roundup. The Ultra is worth the extra $20 if you’d rather stay inside the Wilson family for your next upgrade to the Blade Team or Pro Staff.
Which brand should you buy?
- Want a familiar, graduated sporting-goods lineup: Wilson — four families, one job and one price each, no mold-splitting to decode.
- Want the mold the sport’s current world No. 1 actually plays: Nox — Tapia plays the AT10 Genius 18K in tournaments right now.
- Best value at the flagship tier: Nox’s AT10 Pro Cup ($245) — $154 under Wilson’s current Bela Pro V3, in the mold Tapia’s attacking game is built around.
- Best value if you want a bargain on Wilson’s attack line specifically: the discounted Bela Pro V2.5 ($219) — just know it’s the 2024 farewell-gen build, not the current V3.
- Absolute lowest-cost real first racket: Nox’s X-One Evo (about $65), $20 under Wilson’s Ultra.
The bottom line
Wilson and Nox both make genuinely tour-grade padel rackets, but their flagship stories point in different directions right now. Wilson’s Bela line was built around Fernando Belasteguín, the most decorated player in padel history — and its current V3 build still carries his design input even though he retired from competition in December 2024. Nox’s AT10 Genius 18K is strapped to Agustín Tapia, the active FIP world No. 1-ranked attacker, right now. Neither fact makes either racket worse on the court — the International Padel Federation caps every legal frame at the same envelope — but it matters to know which story you’re buying into. Shop by catalog structure and price tier, not by which name used to be on tour. For how both stack up against Bullpadel, Babolat, Head, and Adidas, see our full best padel racket brands hub, or check our Head vs Nox comparison for a third angle on Nox’s AT10 line.