If you’re looking for the best pickleball paddles for beginners, I bet you’ve also gotten curious about pickleball as a more fun alternative to the gym.
… Or as a less intense alternative to badminton.
Heck, perhaps you’ve even played a few times with a cheap paddle set and want to upgrade to your first proper paddle.
As someone who has recently been in that situation, I’ve found that finding the right paddle is just as much of a nightmare as it has been with badminton rackets.
There are too many options and they all appear similar with nearly identical names. It’s almost as if they want to confuse you into buying the wrong one.
There are plenty of different technologies, all with slightly different phrasing so it becomes hell to compare head-to-head. Just look at this example of specs you have to consider when weeding through the jungle for a suitable beginner pickleball paddle:
- Total Thickness
- Core Thickness
- Paddle Shape
- Total Length
- Handle Length
- Handle Circumference
- Core Material
- Surface Material
- Weight
- Width
- Construction
Who has time to sort through all the options out there, compare them, and narrow down just the right ones for beginners?!
And how do you pick your favorite on the shortlist once you’ve narrowed it down?
I recently did this research for myself when looking for a paddle and I thought I’d put it up here for you too. It’s far from perfect as I haven’t been able to test all the beginner pickleball paddles out there, but I wanted to be upfront about it.
Let’s dive right into the overview of paddles, and you’ll find my experience on how to choose the right beginner paddle later in this guide.
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The overview: best pickleball paddles for beginners
- Popular pickleball sets for first-time players (quiet alternative: Selkirk SLK Neo 2.0
Table of Contents
How do I choose a good pickleball paddle as a beginner?
There are plenty of similarities between badminton rackets and pickleball paddles, so it’ll feel natural to look for the same kind of specs if you’re a badminton player unsure which paddle to get.
Just like with badminton, it’s hard to tell the differences between rackets if you haven’t played much or tried several different ones.
Picking something based on your playing style is hard too, if you have no clue what your playing style is (to be honest, for most of us beginners it’s too early to think about playing style and using it to pick our most important weapon on court).
It takes a while to figure out what type of paddle is best for you. So when we’re first starting out, I’ve found that it’s more about getting used to the game without any major limitations or downsides from the paddle as opposed to finding the magic one that turns you into a superstar (it doesn’t exist).
The power of paddle forgiveness
The most important thing to look for is how forgiving the paddle is as that’ll help you get the ball over the net, and have more fun (which leads to wanting to play more), which in turn leads to improving your skills (and then you’ll have even more fun!)
It’s a powerful cycle.
The most forgiving paddles tend to have the biggest sweet spot, making it easier to hit the ball cleanly like you’re familiar with from badminton. Hitting the sweet spot consistently helps us practice our aim, so we’re looking for a big sweet spot.
It’s hard to compare the size of sweet spots between paddles as manufacturers tend to not share the details with consumers (from what I’ve seen at least), but there are a few indicators we can look for:
- A total paddle thickness of 16mm
- The standard paddle shape (as opposed to elongated or hybrid)
- A fiberglass or carbon fiber surface (there are many sub-categories, but let’s keep it simple for now)
- A polymer (pp) honeycomb core
There are several other things you could consider, but in my experience when you’re getting your first or second paddle, less is more, and most of the features are worth ignoring if you don’t want to end up in a neverending rabbit hole comparing specs.
Having tested a bunch of badminton rackets and helped hundreds of beginner players find a racket for them, I’ve found that a general rule of thumb for a good place to start is getting an all around racket that can serve as a reference point for later. The same goes for your paddle.
You’ll often be asked whether you prefer control- or power-paddles as the overarching category. Unless you’ve got something specific like a tennis elbow you’re nursing, picking one or the other doesn’t matter as much as it might seem at this stage.
It’s like having to pick your career without the ability to change it or sampling a few choices first.
Using the bullet points above as a rule of thumb or selecting one of the paddles below will be enough for a while.
To decide whether your paddle needs to help you push your strengths even further or compensate for your weaknesses, you need to have strengths and weaknesses in the first place. By definition we’re mostly weak players as beginners, so what’s the point?
With that in mind, let’s dive into the best pickleball paddles for beginners.
The deep dive: best pickleball paddles for beginners
Now that we’ve looked at what makes a good beginner paddle, let’s dive into the specifics.
1. Popular pickleball sets for first-time players
A cheap paddle set is a good starting point if you (and your friend) want to try pickleball a few times to see if you like it.
At this stage, I began with a dirt cheap paddle set including two paddles, four balls, and a bag. The balls appear to be indoor ones, but they’ll get the job done just fine at first, even if you’re playing outdoors like I have been.
The following looks similar to the set I have, and it gets the job done when you’re first trying out the sport with a friend. At the low price range, there isn’t much difference between the paddle sets.
The downside to many of the dirt cheap paddle sets is that they are loud since the materials are cheap, which isn’t the most suitable solution in residential neighborhoods like mine.
If you live in one, you might want something with less noise. The problem is that it isn’t easy to find quiet paddle sets and balls for totally new players (let alone single paddles that are quiet and suitable for beginners).
I wanted to suggest a cheap paddle set with quiet features, but I simply couldn’t find any that I felt was clearly nailing that.
The most convincing option I’ve found is the Selkirk SLK Neo 2.0 with two paddles, four balls and a bag. It isn’t exactly quiet like a mouse, but it’s still quieter than others I’ve come across.
When you’ve tried pickleball and are ready to upgrade to your first proper beginner paddle, there are a few popular options. Let’s look at them next.
2. Your first upgrade: the “I can’t choose” paddle
Being familiar with the Li-Ning brand from badminton, I bought their Hyperpower 20, which is just fine when you’re ready for your first upgrade. The difference compared to the dirt cheap sets felt striking right out the gate: it felt lighter, more powerful, easier to control and hit the ball cleanly with, and the sound was much softer.
It turns out that it’s a power-based paddle rather than an all around option, so I’d consider the following instead:
Pikkl Hurricane Pro 16MM
It’s not the most affordable beginner paddle, but is mentioned to have a large sweet spot which is useful for beginners.
Another option is the Vatic Pro Prism 16MM
I’ve noticed this mentioned as good value for money for beginners many times, and last time I checked, it was available for $100.
Both have a large sweet spot, so you’ll feel that your hits are more consistent as you’re practicing your game. That means you’ll send more shots back over the net (and enjoy the game more!)
If you instead like the idea of quieter paddles and don’t wanna bother your neighbors too much, the ‘quiet upgrade’ I’ll look at next might be a better fit. It can also serve as a good gift.
3. Your first upgrade: the quiet paddle
There’s an initiative by Sun City Grand Pickleball Club in Arizona (USA) called Greenzone approval to identify quieter paddles. They conducted noise tests on various paddles to address noise complaints from residents living near the pickleball courts.
I noticed several paddles in this category for beginners, but they all seem to have been discontinued and aren’t easy to pick up these days.
USAPA (the American pickleball association) has a ‘quiet certified’ category as well, but with limited approvals. For beginner recreational play, this isn’t super important if you’re not playing tournaments.
I did manage to find a few quiet and exciting paddles for beginners. I’ve been trying to purchase them, but I’m struggling to get them shipped outside the US.
The only one for beginners that I’ve found to consistently be mentioned as a quiet paddle is Owl’s Silent Storm. It’s seemingly a great quiet option for beginners and categorizes itself as a control-based paddle.
I haven’t been able to find any head-to-head comparison in terms of quietness between paddles, but if you play in a residential area where noise is a concern, this category might be best for you.
As a fun little twist, I’ve noticed several players point out that they struggle against opponents with quieter paddles. They use the sound of the ball hitting the paddle to help judge their opponent’s shot pace to quicker understand the trajectory of the ball coming towards them.
