Varlion

Heritage

Félix Regalia founded Varlion in Argentina in June 1993. A year later he opened his own factory so the brand could design its own moulds and constructions. At the time, according to Varlion, most brands used the same two factories and very similar moulds.

In 1995 Varlion released the Lethal Weapon, which it describes as the first oversized padel racket. Its face was 26 cm wide rather than the usual 24 cm, with standard weight and core thickness. Because the Argentine economy was struggling, Varlion exported mainly to Spain and Brazil between 1995 and 1999, and it also designed rackets for other brands.

In 1999 Varlion moved its factory from Argentina to Spain and took back its Spanish distribution, which had been handled by a distributor since 1995. It began designing moulds with 3D software and launched the Lethal Weapon Carbon, which it describes as the first racket with carbon fibre in the face.

The early 2000s produced the LW Carbon 2 and Carbon 3, the Cañon 5 with five openings between frame and core, and the Overframe models, whose core was thicker than the frame. Varlion says several of these designs led the FIP to update its racket rules. It cites the LW Carbon 3 as the best-selling racket in padel history, with more than 60,000 sold in Spain between 2003 and 2013.

Varlion widened its range to clothing and footwear in the mid 2000s and calls itself the first brand to supply everything a padel player needs. In 2006 and 2007 it invested about 2.5 million euros in a building of over 3,000 square metres in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. The site housed a robotic painting line, CNC drilling, offices, design and a warehouse. Fashion lines inspired by polo and Formula 1 followed in 2008, with 17 own and franchised stores in Spain, and in 2010 Varlion began selling online.

In 2009 Varlion launched the Avant, its first teardrop-shaped racket, which completed a family of three shapes: round (LW), teardrop (Avant) and diamond (Cañon). It also introduced the Hexagon frame. From 2012 to 2014 the brand designed technical textiles for Formula 1 teams and launched the Difusor, an aerodynamic feature inspired by F1. From 2015 the Econaked finish cut paint and solvent use by up to 80 per cent.

For its 25th anniversary in 2018, Varlion made each Summum and Super Pro racket in two versions, W for play below 25 degrees C and S for play above it. It also introduced the Summum concept (a longer handle, more holes and a rough face) and the Bourne and Maxima shapes. During the pandemic it closed a factory in Paraguay and opened a new one in Spain, and it brought in the Prisma frame. The 2022 collection added RADIO, which the brand calls the first racket that needs no drilling, together with AIRFLOW.

In 2022 Varlion built up a young pro team, including Mike Yanguas, Iván Ramírez, Leo Augsburger and others. It also returned to the Padel Nuestro distribution network and was an official sponsor of the World Padel Tour event in Miami. In 2023 and 2024, according to the brand, internal disputes and fraud made distribution very difficult, and Varlion largely disappeared from the market.

In 2025 Félix Regalia set up Varlion GmbH in Sarnen, Switzerland, under a project called The Legacy, to recover distribution. He also launched REGA, a premium label that Varlion compares to AMG at Mercedes. The brand now invests in stable pricing and a network of official coaches rather than sponsoring elite players. It plans pickleball and beach tennis collections from 2026, with other racket sports to follow.