KONA and Pininfarina introduce Aria Design by Pininfarina, a new beach tennis racket that brings together sculptural elegance, aerodynamic thinking, and the energy of the game. Conceived around the behavior of airflow, Aria brings together streamlined geometry, maneuverability and responsiveness in a design created to feel light, agile and fluid in motion.
Aria’s name, meaning ‘air’ in Italian, reflects the essence of its design philosophy: light, agile, and radically streamlined. Its design focuses on minimizing resistance and enhancing maneuverability and responsiveness. This approach gives the racket a sense of fluidity, translating the concept of air into a tangible design expression.
Design & Performance
The project began with a clear ambition: to create a high-performance beach tennis racket designed to be enjoyed every day. Development focused on achieving a smooth, well-balanced feel together with an expanded sweet spot, creating a racket conceived to deliver power while remaining forgiving and controlled.
Aerodynamics played a central role in that development. The racket’s geometry was designed to facilitate airflow and support greater speed and maneuverability during attacking shots, while the expanded sweet spot provides increased control, stability and confidence in defensive play. The result is a design shaped not around a single feature, but around the different demands and movements of the game.
Every element — from the overall geometry and surface development to ergonomics and visual identity— was considered as part of one integrated design. The strategic use of color creates a clear contrast between the two sides, helping players intuitively recognize the racket’s orientation during play. The red side expresses a more aggressive, attack-oriented approach, while the blue side represents control and defensive backhand play.
“The collaboration brought together Pininfarina’s expertise in aerodynamics, surface design, human interaction and graphic design with KONA’s deep knowledge of beach tennis” said Paolo Trevisan, Senior Vice President of Design at Pininfarina of America. “Together, we translated performance requirements into a distinctive product in which technology, functionality and beauty become part of a single design.”
The collaboration brings Pininfarina’s multidisciplinary design expertise into the world of beach tennis, applying principles of movement, proportion and aerodynamic thinking to an object defined by speed and continuous motion.
Aria makes its debut on October 6 in Florianópolis, Brazil, through an exclusive presentation followed by an on-court clinic led by Italian beach tennis player Doriano Becaccioli, giving guests the opportunity to experience the design in action.
Aria Design by Pininfarina represents the meeting of KONA’s focus on beach tennis and Pininfarina’s approach to performance-driven design — transforming air, movement and technology into a new expression for the sport.
