The 10th Anniversary is the anniversary reissue of the Adipower diamond, and it plays like a proper attack pala. Hard EVA core, 18K carbon face, oversize diamond shape, high balance. The commemorative black paint carries the ‘10’ numeral and the names of Ale Galán, Marta Ortega, Álex Ruiz and Seba Nerone, which is nice, but the actual news is that adidas widened the usable zone on a mold that historically punished you.

How it plays

On the smash, this is where the racket wakes up. Clean contact in the upper third of the face, and the salida is explosive: por tres and por cuatro finishers come off flat and fast. The víbora bites. The molded texture on the face is the real deal, not a paint job, and I get noticeable cut on aggressive top-spin drives from the red. Bandeja is more controllable than I expected from a diamond at this weight, with enough tacto on the face to roll the ball toward the corner rather than sit it up.

From fondo, the story changes. Chiquitas can be threaded because the face is precise, and the hard core gives back a clear signal on every contact. But you feel the head weight coming through on bajadas and long defensa exchanges, and you will not turn a stretched salida de pared into a soft angle without earning it. The wall game is workable if your technique is sound. It is not the shape’s happy place.

The sweet spot sits high on the face, as the diamond shape dictates, but it is wider than the geometry suggests. Off-centre contact does not collapse the shot the way it does on a classic hard diamond of this weight. That is the sentence I did not expect to write. The Dual Exoskeleton and the hole pattern seem to be doing real work here: the frame stays quiet on twist, and mishits still leave the face with direction.

The trade-off

You are buying a hard, head-heavy diamond that finishes points and rewards clean technique with real power. What you give up is comfort on the arm and easy defensa. The core is firm and the frame is stiff; long sessions ask a price if you have shoulder or elbow history. And while the sweet spot is wide for a diamond, wide for a diamond is not the same as forgiving in absolute terms. A round or teardrop will always be more accommodating in the fondo.

Best for, avoid if

Best for an advanced attacking player (3.5 and up) who lives at the red, hunts smashes and víboras, and wants the anniversary paint on a mold they already trust. Also worth a look for a 4.0+ collector who wants a limited-run Adipower before stock disappears. Avoid if you are a 3.0 to 3.5 player still building technique, if you play mostly from fondo, or if arm health has already forced you off hard EVA frames. The everyday Adipower line will give you the same DNA without the collector premium.