Pickleball had an explosive 223.5% increase in participation between 2021 and 2023, making it the fastest-growing sport in the country (SFIA). That growth is amazing! But it also means there are a LOT of new players currently walking around sporting goods stores, looking at a huge wall of paddles, and having no clue what separates a $40 option from a $200 one. What’s more, the vast majority of that price gap has nothing to do with what a beginner actually needs.
This guide is designed to help you not overspend on the wrong things OR underspend on the right ones. We’ll discuss the paddle first since it’s both the bigger investment and the one purchase that is going to impact your playing experience most. Then we’ll discuss balls, shoes, and accessories.
Start with the paddle, not the bundle
Good quality starter paddles are typically sold with a weight range, e.g., 7.2-7.8oz. They’re usually in 0.2 to 0.4 oz increments to give you a decent number of variables to play with. Most top-end paddles come in at 7.4-7.8, and they’re faster, but the differences are a lot less dramatic than the people trying to sell them will make out.
- Light paddles (under 7.3 oz) are suited for players with quick hands at the net. They allow for more control over shot placement and offer less of that nice “pop” new players always think they want, meaning you have to generate the pace.
- Midweight paddles (7.3 to 8.0 oz) are sort of the “jack of all trades, master of none,” but this makes them a safe bet for beginners who don’t quite understand their game or what they need from a paddle yet. You won’t get as tired using a midweight paddle in a marathon session, and they are also the best to use as a beginner until you figure out what you want in terms of a playing style.
- Heavy (8.0 oz+) naturally have more heft behind them which is why they are often recommended to those who play slightly further from the net. They give the ball more “pop” off the surface when struck but can be harder on your body over the long run and tend to be terrible at masking weaknesses in your technique when you’re starting out (they often make elbow tendonitis worse because they put a lot of stress on your arm if you don’t have your stroke down).
Default answer, go midweight. You can always go heavier or lighter once you nail what you’re about.
Here’s an easy way to determine your grip size: Place your paddle hand flat with your palm up, and rest a ruler on your palm from the middle crease to the tip of your ring finger. This measurement is approximately your preferred grip size. If the grip is too large, you lose all wrist snap, your spin weakens, and your reach diminishes during fast rallies. If the grip is too small, you will struggle to control the paddle and will tire your forearm due to unnecessary squeezing, which will likely result in overuse injuries similar to those related to selecting an incorrect paddle weight.
Thin overgrips can make a handle that is slightly too small feel the right size. Fortunately, this accessory doesn’t cost much and is one of the few you should purchase early on. Once you know your grip size and weight preference, a curated list of the best pickleball paddles for beginners will help you narrow your options to proven models without having to cross-reference specs across a dozen brand websites.
Core material: Why polymer is the best for new players
The shape of the paddle largely determines how much of the ball’s energy you can convert into your shot’s energy for any given location and orientation. More specifically, it determines your sweet spot and your maximum reach. Lower-end paddles are pretty much all squoval – a hybrid oval/square that minimizes the necessary trade-offs between power and reach. A squoval paddle plays pretty much the same no matter where on the face you make contact with the ball.
Edgeless/fossil paddles were a bit of a fad years ago, but they’re back now and with good reason. By removing the edge guard, you can take the paddle’s flat, effective hitting area almost a full inch further, meaning you’re less likely to miss-hit something that’s just beyond your paddle’s normal reach. That fraction of an inch doesn’t sound like much, but if you’ve played any paddle sports before, you’ll know how often you’re a millimeter from that perfect return.
The paddle shape is easy to explain and understand as a simple trade-off between how much reach you have and how large the sweet spot that pings the ball perfectly is. Standard paddle dimensions are sweet-spot compromises that most players are generally happy with. If you elongate the face of a paddle (like a lot of the new models are built), you get more reach and some extra leverage for power, but the sweet spot decreases in size – and if you’re not constantly hitting the ball right on that tiny spot in the meat of the paddle, all that extra length is doing squat for you. If you widen the body, the sweet spot grows but the length of the paddle face and its corresponding reach shrink.
For a beginner, reach is less of a factor than the generous buffer tolerance of a big sweet spot. A larger sweet spot means more of your shots come off the paddle in the optimal spot without your needing to think about that part of the mechanics. This simply means more of your shots are hit sharply and squarely, and stuff like “having confidence in your shots” magically follows fairly quickly. Standard or wide-body dimensions are usually the better fit here.
USAPA approval only matters if you’re planning on playing in sanctioned tournaments. And that’s the only scenario where it matters. For casual play, open gym sessions, and most club leagues, plenty of non-certified paddles perform just as well and cost less. Don’t let a certification sticker push you toward a $150 paddle when a $70 non-certified one will do everything you need for the next year of recreational play.
Buy the right ball for where you actually play
The indoor/outdoor ball mix-up is both the cheapest mistake to fix and the easiest to make. Outdoor balls are heavier, harder, and have 40 smaller holes built to resist wind and hold up on rough asphalt. Indoor balls are lighter and softer, with 26 larger holes designed for wood or composite gym floors. Using an outdoor ball indoors makes it fly unpredictably fast off your paddle. Using an indoor ball outside means it gets pushed around by wind and wears out fast on concrete.
So how to choose? Check where you’ll be playing most, and buy accordingly. A three-pack of the right ball type costs less than ten dollars and will improve your first few sessions more than almost any other purchase on this list.
Shoes are your second-most-important purchase
Investing in proper court shoes comes after your paddle, which should be your first real spend, and court shoes are just omitted by virtually every newbie who simply wears their runners because they have them.
Running shoes are designed for going forwards. Pickleball involves a lot of lateral cuts, quick stops, and sudden changes of direction. Running shoes offer next to no support for this and are often equipped with soles designed for hard outdoor pavement, which can very easily mark or even damage indoor courts. Good pickleball or tennis shoes come with reinforced lateral support and non-marking soles suitable for the kind of movement we’re talking about.
Moving to the right court footwear is one of the most commonly written-about steps in preventing new-player ankle rolls and other lower-leg injuries. It’s not a sexy spend, but it’s probably as important as the paddle itself if you are playing more than once or twice a month.
What to skip when you’re starting out
The shelves filled with sporting goods and pickleball-specific gear are enough to make your head spin when you’re brand new to the game. It’s easy to go overboard on gear, but truth be told, a lot of that stuff looks like it would make the game easier but doesn’t. At least not while you’re still learning. It may be a year or two before you’re established enough to want to upgrade or add to your collection. Here’s some of what should stay on the shelf:
- Premium edge guards. The edge around your paddle is the first thing to feel a ding from the playing surface, but that comes with the territory. It’s prudent to ensure the guard is present, in good shape, and firmly glued, but paying an additional amount for a “premium” guard doesn’t translate to better performance.
- Moisture-wicking this-or-that. Any moisture-wicking stuff you already have that makes up an athletic outfit will suffice.
- Portable nets. Very cool and useful if you find yourself needing to set up a backyard or driveway court down the road, but the time won’t come for that sort of thing until you’re at least a few months in.
- Premium paddle bag. A paddle and a couple of balls fit fine in a regular old gym bag.
- Extra overgrips beyond one. Useful for adjusting grip size or swapping out a sweaty one, but you don’t need a supply of ten before you’ve played your first match.
A realistic budget roadmap
You can get a paddle that’s good enough without breaking the bank. Entry-level paddles with polymer cores and composite faces cost $40 to $60. If you lose interest in the game as you’re learning it, you haven’t wasted much money on a paddle that can’t give you the spin and control you’re not yet looking for. Cheap paddles in the $15 to $25 range you see on Amazon tend to have less than ideal faces and inconsistent quality. Two or three starter paddles can cost the same as one benchmark paddle, which is why you’re reading this pickleball gear buying advice in the first place.
Paddles in the $70 to $120 range that serious players use, brands like Selkirk, Paddletek, Head, Joola or even Onix that you’ve heard of or seen on ESPN, feature the excellent faces and optimized weight distribution intermediate players get dangerously obsessed with. Spending over $150 before you’ve developed a consistent swing is a classic rookie mistake. An expensive paddle amplifies whatever you bring to it, good or bad. It won’t fix an inconsistent stroke, and it won’t make up for skipping the grip-size math or buying the wrong ball type. Get the fundamentals right first. Upgrade later, once you know exactly what you want more of.
Buying pickleball gear doesn’t have to be complicated, and it definitely doesn’t have to be expensive. Get the paddle specs right, match your ball to your court, put on real court shoes, and skip everything else until you know you need it. Everything past that point is just fine-tuning.
