Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of control strategy selection on the power performance of wave energy converters for different ratings of the Power Take-Off (PTO) system. Design/methodology/approach - The case of a point absorber equipped with an all-electric PTO is considered. The effect of control techniques and electrical generator design is analyzed from a theoretical standpoint and then verified through integrated hydrodynamic-electric simulations. Findings - It has been proved that control parameters that maximize the power extraction from the waves can be derived based on the power and torque constraints imposed by the electrical machine. Originality/value - An optimized and integrated approach to the control strategy selection and generator design for point absorbers has been presented, which maximizes the electric power generation from sea waves under real conditions and represents a good trade-off for the PTO from both the technical and the economic standpoint.