I’ve been playing pickleball for just over a year now and I’ve went from a beginner’s paddle to a professional paddle. How do you know when to move along to another paddle, you might ask? Also, which paddle is the right one for you? These questions came to me rather quickly as I was instantly hooked on this sport and I was playing several times a week. Knowing I had a beginner’s paddle and looking to advance my performance had me asking many fellow pickleballer’s questions on why they liked their paddle and why they chose it. To add to the confusion, often I would be playing at an open pickleball session with 16 or more players and every player was using a different paddle. Talk about indecision, I thought I would never know how to proceed.
There are literally 40 Pickleball manufacturers out there. They are priced from around $29 for a factory second to a top-of-the-line paddle used by the very good to excellent to professional players for around $200. And of those 40 manufacturers, they each offer 4 to 6 models. So, hundreds of paddles are on the market for purchase. If that doesn’t make your head spin, see what follows. Other factors that must be considered that add to the confusion—they come in different weights, shaft lengths, grip size, paddle thickness, paddle length, paddle surface, and materials used to build the paddles’ core. Each paddle manufacturer, discusses the sweet spot of their paddle as a selling point. What? Yep, there’s a sweet spot and it varies in paddle design. Think of the sweet spot as the center of a bullseye. In Pickleball, it’s the spot on the paddle where the player gets the best, most accurate response when the ball hits the paddle. Some paddles have a larger sweet spot than others. Just know, choosing that next paddle, no doubt, will be daunting.
For me, the search wasn’t as bad as I thought it to be. See, I was playing many times a week and I have a hard and heavy swing. As it turns out, my swing, coupled with a heavy paddle gave me Pickleball elbow and shoulder pain. I kept trying to change up how I returned the ball, but that wasn’t working because it changed my natural play of the game. The pain persisted, and I kept playing; I loved it too much to give it up. My dilemma was, how do I help myself with the pain and continue to play. I didn’t realize it was the paddle causing my issues. I just thought…oh well, it goes with the sport. Turns out the paddle has everything to do with wrist, elbow, and shoulder pain. Who knew!
I searched on-line with the phrase “pickleball paddles and elbow pain” and up pops a paddle that claims to eliminate the problem. Kinetic pickleball paddles by “Pro Kennex.” They have several models. After reading, viewing videos, and research, I chose and ordered the Ovation Flight paddle by Pro Kennex. It’s round like a tennis racket which is not the typical pickleball shape. I read the designer of this paddle decided to offer a round paddle for those players from a tennis background to make them feel more comfortable with the transition to pickleball. I’m not from a tennis background; I just wanted to be different. You can certainly purchase the typical square shape paddle if you prefer.
The claim is real! After just a couple of games, the pain from my elbow and shoulder left. I’m a huge advocate of this paddle. I’ve convinced several of my pickleball player friends to switch. It’s expensive; price hangs near the $200 mark, so not everyone can pay that much for a paddle. For me, it was worth eliminating the pain. I didn’t sacrifice anything as far as play; this paddle offers a lot of pop with a large sweet spot. I improved my game and healed the pickleball elbow and shoulder pain.
