How to Choose a Pickleball Paddle for Your Level

For most players the right first paddle is a midweight one, about 7.3 to 8.2 oz, with a polymer honeycomb core, a standard shape and a grip that fits your hand. A good one costs from about $70 and will see you through a first season and well beyond. The flagship paddles are built for players who already know whether they want more control or more power, and the only way to know that is to play. Five specs decide how a paddle plays: weight, core thickness, face material, shape and grip size. Here is what each one does and what to choose at your level.

Start with how you play

Before you look at a single paddle, answer four questions honestly.

• Your level. New to the game, playing most weeks, or entering tournaments? Buy for the level you play now.
• Your arm. If your elbow or shoulder gets tired or sore after a session, a lighter paddle with a thicker core is the gentler choice. Pain that lasts is one to take to a doctor or physical therapist, not a paddle.
• Doubles or singles. Most recreational play is doubles, with long soft exchanges at the kitchen line where quick hands and control matter. Singles players cover more court and often want more reach and power.
• Touch or power. Do you win points with dinks and drops, or with drives? If you do not know yet, you are in the right place to choose control.

Hold onto the answers; each spec below comes back to them.

Weight: the spec that matters most

Weight changes how a paddle feels more than anything else on the label. Pickleball Central’s guide to paddle weight sorts paddles into three classes:

• Lightweight, under about 7.2 oz: quick to the ball and easy to place, with less power behind it.
• Midweight, about 7.3 to 8.2 oz: enough mass for a deep return, light enough for fast exchanges at the net. Most players, beginners included, belong here.
• Heavyweight, about 8.4 oz and up: more power on drives and serves, slower in hand-to-hand volleys.

There is no weight limit in the rules, so the choice is yours. Two quick tests: if your arm is tired by the third game, the paddle is too heavy; if you are thrown off balance at the end of a swing, it is too heavy as well. Paddle weights are usually given as a range, such as 7.6 to 8.0 oz, because no two come off the line exactly alike. Players who want a little more weight later add lead tape to the edge rather than buying a new paddle.

Core thickness and face material

Nearly every paddle today has a polymer honeycomb core between two face sheets. The thickness of that core and the material of the face decide most of the feel.

Spec	Option	What it does
Core thickness	16mm	Softer, more control and comfort; easier to dink and reset
Core thickness	13 to 14mm	Livelier, more pop on drives; less forgiving on soft shots
Face material	Fiberglass	Lively and powerful; common on lower-priced paddles
Face material	Graphite	Lighter and crisper, with good feel
Face material	Raw carbon fiber	Textured for spin and feel; usually at the top of the range

Tennis Warehouse Europe’s paddle guide puts cores anywhere from 10 to 20mm and suggests 14 to 16mm if you are unsure. At the counter, the simple version is this: a 16mm core is the easier paddle to learn with, because soft shots win more points at most levels than hard ones.

Leave the face as it came. Sanding or roughening it for extra spin can take it outside the equipment rules, and a worn, smooth face is a reason to replace a paddle, not to refinish it.

Shape: standard, elongated or widebody

USA Pickleball’s rules cap a paddle at 17 inches long, with length and width together no more than 24 inches. Makers share out those 24 inches in three ways:

• Standard: about 16 inches long and 8 wide. A balanced face with a generous sweet spot, and the right first paddle for most players.
• Elongated: longer and narrower. More reach and more leverage on drives and serves, with a smaller sweet spot; favored by singles players.
• Widebody: shorter and wider still, with a large, forgiving face and usually a shorter handle.

If you play doubles and are still learning, a standard shape will forgive more of your off-center hits.

Grip size and handle length

A grip that is too big or too small tires your hand and makes the paddle twist on off-center hits. Grips run from 4 to 5 inches around, and many paddles come with one of about 4.25 inches.

To find yours, Selkirk’s grip-size guide uses a ruler:

1. Open your playing hand, fingers together.
2. Measure from the middle of the three creases across your palm to the tip of your ring finger.
3. The measurement, usually between 4 and 5 inches, is your grip circumference.

Selkirk’s guide also gives a rougher chart by height: 4 inches for players under 5’3”, 4.25 for 5’3” to 5’8” and 4.5 for anyone taller. Note that the finger test used for tennis grips does not carry over to pickleball.

If you fall between two sizes, choose the smaller one. You can build a grip up with an overgrip, but you cannot make a handle thinner.

Handle length matters if you hit a two-handed backhand: look for a handle of about 5 inches or more so both hands fit. Players with a one-handed game can use a shorter handle, which leaves more length for the face.

Tip: borrow before you buy. Most clubs and many courts have players happy to lend a paddle for a game, and a few games with two or three different paddles will teach you more than any spec sheet.

Approved for sanctioned play

For open play, lessons and most casual leagues, any paddle is fine. For a USA Pickleball sanctioned tournament, your paddle has to be on the USA Pickleball approved paddle list, which you can search by brand and model. The list runs to thousands of paddles.

Three things are worth knowing before a tournament:

1. Check the exact model. Paddles are approved model by model, so a newer version or a different thickness of a paddle you know may be listed separately.
2. Check again before the event. USA Pickleball has added new tests in recent years and can remove a paddle from the list; a decertified paddle still works for recreational play.
3. Pro events use their own list. Professional tours run their own approval, separate from USA Pickleball’s, so if you enter an event on a pro tour, ask the organizer which list applies to your division.

Both Selkirk paddles on our Gear page carry USA Pickleball approval.

What to buy at each level

Level	What to look for	Budget
Starting	Midweight, polymer core (16mm for control), standard shape, a grip that fits	From about $70
Regular	A paddle chosen for control (16mm) or power (13 to 14mm), demoed first	About $100 to $200
Serious	The model that suits your game, on the approved list, plus a spare of the same paddle	$200 and up

Starting

You need one paddle, the right balls (outdoor and indoor balls differ) and court shoes with a flat, grippy sole. The two paddles on our Gear page cover the two ways to start:

• For control, and a paddle you will keep: Selkirk’s AMPED Pro Air Epic has a fiberglass face over a 16mm core, weighs 7.8 to 8.2 oz, has a standard 15.75 by 8 inch face and a 5.25-inch handle that fits two hands, and carries a limited lifetime warranty once registered. It lists at $200, and Selkirk had it on sale for $100 when we checked in October 2026. It suits a first season and still suits a good club player.
• On a tight budget: Selkirk’s SLK Latitude Max, $70 at Selkirk as of October 2026, has a graphite face, a 7.6 to 8.0 oz weight, a 4.25-inch grip and USA Pickleball approval. Its 13mm core makes it livelier than a 16mm paddle, so it gives a little less help on soft shots, and its warranty is one year. For a casual player, or anyone not yet sure the game will stick, it is all the paddle you need.

Regular

Once you play every week, you will know whether you are short of control or power, and that tells you which way to go. This is the time to demo two or three paddles, including a thinner 13 or 14mm core if you want more pop on your drives. If you started on a budget paddle and your dinks keep popping up too high, a 16mm paddle like the AMPED Epic is the usual move up. Add an overgrip and a bag.

Serious

Serious players choose by feel, usually after demoing several paddles, and many move to a textured carbon face for spin. Keep a second paddle of the same model, so a cracked edge guard does not end your tournament, and check both on the approved list before you enter.

At any level, the paddles we would hand you are on the Gear page, and the racket sports list on The Counter covers the shoes, balls and bags around them. If you play tennis as well, our guide to choosing a tennis racket works through the same questions for a racket, and the rest of our Racket Sports section covers padel, badminton and squash.