What Pickleball Paddle Do the Pros Use?

Perhaps the easiest way to choose a new pickleball paddle is to look at what the pros use and choose theirs. After all, we learn from the best. Even the pros themselves choose their paddles by looking at what other pros use!

To find out what they use, we went through over 80 interviews with “Open” level players published on the Pickleball Central blog. Each interview asks the athletes a number of questions including what paddle they play with and why. And we’re going to share our findings with you.

The interviews are from 2017 to early 2020, so they don’t mention paddles that were released after that point. And to keep things relevant, we didn’t include interviews prior to 2017.

What Paddle(s) Do the Pros Use?

In total, the athletes mentioned 91 pickleball paddles. Of those paddles, the three most popular brands are Selkirk, Paddletek, and Engage.

Top Paddle Brands

Brand Count %
Selkirk 36 40%
Paddletek 26 29%
Engage 13 14%
Gamma 3 3%
Onix 3 3%
Head 2 2%
Manta 2 2%
POP 2 2%
Prolite 2 2%
Gearbox 1 1%
Legacy 1 1%

We noticed that there are a few models that seem more popular than others. For instance, the Paddletek Tempest Wave came up seven times in those interviews and appears to be the most popular model among the pros.

Other paddles that were mentioned several to a handful of times include the Selkirk Amped Invikta, Selkirk Amped Epic, Selkirk Amped S2, Paddletek Tempest Wave Pro, Paddletek Bantam EX-L, Engage Encore, Engage Elite Pro, and Engage Poach.

Here’s an interesting finding: Even though most players have one “all-around” paddle, some have two or more. Some players have one paddle they use exclusively for singles and one they use exclusively for doubles. They’ll choose a paddle with a shorter grip for doubles to get more control for rallies. As an example, Randy Coleman uses a Selkirk Amped Epic for singles and a Selkirk Amped S2 – which has a slightly shorter handle – for doubles.

What Paddle Should You Use?

The paddles the pros are using may or may not work for you. Before you decide on a paddle, make sure it fits. You should consider things like the paddle’s weight and grip size. We encourage you to read our article on how to choose the right paddle.

Have Fun Out There!