Dissecting All the Paddle Drama at PPA Cincinnati

Thedink Pickleball 20 hours ago 7 views

Many top pros are left wondering whether they can play their own paddles. It all comes down to the UPA-A's new certification standards, and how paddle brands chose to play the game.

If you tune into PPA Cincinnati, you might notice something peculiar: A bunch of pros aren't playing with their normal paddles.

Popular models from brands like JOOLA, Selkirk, Proton, Paddletek, ProXR, and more are conspicuously absent from the courts. And some of the players who use them – including more than a handful who could compete for podiums – are understandably not thrilled about it.

It's all related to new paddle testing standards mandated by the UPA-A that went into effect on September 1, 2025.

It's high drama, especially with so much up in the air as we kick off the round of 64 at PPA Cincinnati, an all-important, late-season Slam.

But there's more going on here than meets the eye.

Paddles That Didn’t Make the Cut

Going forward, any paddle used in pro play must appear on this list.

As of this writing, there are 85 paddles listed.

A few notable omissions:

Parris Todd's signature Franklin Dynasty, a new 13.25 variation, is not on the list
JOOLA has a few models missing, including the Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm
Nearly all of Paddletek's 12.7mm models aren't on there, including the Anna Leigh Waters signature (there are new ALW models with 13mm and 13.3mm cores, plus this new one, the TKO-CX2 12.7mm)
Both PIKKL signature models for Gabe Tardio and Tyra Black don't appear (just one does, the new Vantage Pro X 14mm)
Selkirk has just three models on the list: The Era Elongated and Widebody, and the Boomstik – but without the fire-red MOI clamps on the side (these are classified as "semi-permanent" features, which don't fly in pro play)
The Proton Flamingo is not on the list (and the Roadrunner, a 15mm edgeless paddle, only popped up either very late Monday night or very early this morning)

For a paddle to appear on the list, it means it's gone through the UPA-A's new testing protocols and been assigned a unique model number, an alphanumeric code between three and 10 characters used throughout the certification and compliance ecosystem allowing the lab to track, verify, and enforce standards more efficiently.

It also allows for more seamless on-site testing at events.

The model number is they key to enforcement and accountability going forward. Once a paddle is certified and carrying a model number, it's locked in from future tweaks and changes.

Manufacturers are attesting that any paddle carrying that same Model Number is identical in construction, materials, and performance to the original version of the paddle which was certified with the unique Model Number.

This attestation extends to paddle shape, length, thickness, handle type, or "anything else that would impact performance behavior."

Pro Players React: Confusion & Frustration

There does appear to be some confusion among pros on the ground in Cincinnati.

I've spoken with a handful of top-ranked players, men and women, who were not sure as late as last night whether they'd be able to play with their own paddle or not.

Found out just days before a slam that my paddle isn’t approved. It’s been tested hundreds of times and only failed once, then passed the next day, so I was definitely shocked. Now I’m at a pro tourney in Cincinnati and don’t know what paddle to use. Can’t make this up 😩😂

— Hurricane Tyra Black (@Hurricanetblack) September 8, 2025

I'm at the practice courts and quite a few players don't have their paddles. It's wild:/

— Hurricane Tyra Black (@Hurricanetblack) September 8, 2025

Paddle madness this week in Cincy. Lots of Proton players on the practice courts using paddletek paddles. https://t.co/majGq0jwUU

— Zane Navratil (@ZaneNavratil) September 8, 2025

Proton's Predicament: Flamingo on Hold

When the list went up shortly after September 1, one prominent brand's absence caught my attention right away: Proton.

The signature pink and blue Flamingo, after all, has become the go-to paddle for high-profile pros like Andrei Daescu, CJ Klinger, Meghan Dizon, Jackie and Jade Kawamoto, Alex Crum, Alex and Angie Walker, and Genie Bouchard.

Certainly, before an event as meaningful as PPA Cincinnati, a paddle that could make its way to more than one podium would be cleared for play, right?

Nope.

Round of 64 action has begun and the Flamingo is nowhere to be seen.

I spoke with Charles Darling, the founder and president of Proton. Here's what went down.

Proton approached UPA-A testing with one tactic in mind: Submit the highest performing Flamingo they had and see where the chips fall. If it passed, great; their sponsored pros would have the most potent version of their favorite paddle possible. If it didn't, Proton would make the necessary tweaks and resubmit.

No harm, no foul. Right?

It turns out, Proton and other brands I've spoken with thought the re-testing process would be quicker than it was. If one model failed testing, their next submission went to the back of the line. As more and more brands submitted more and more models, that line grew long. And UPA-A's lab can only test so fast.

Roughly speaking, one model takes about four weeks to pass through testing. If it fails and material changes are required, that can easily take two months or more. Then it's back into the queue to wait its turn.

"Implementing new paddle standards is a Herculean effort," Darling told me of the UPA-A's testing labs at the moment.

"That's just the burden of falling back into the queue. The problem is we ran out of runway."

Hand up, Darling concedes his strategy was sound but he misjudged how long the whole process would take.

The paddles he submitted first were at the maximum allowable grittiness, he thought, but ended up testing just over the limit.

"We want our pros using the maximum allowable power and maximum allowable spin," he said, specifically referencing the Flamingo. "We've been told we're close."

While disappointed that Proton pros can't use their beloved Flamingos in Cincinnati, Darling lauds the effort of the UPA-A and its lab partners, PPL.

This whole process is a bit rocky now, but that's understandable: Establishing the benchmark is the hardest part. Enforcing it going forward should be smoother sailing.

Ultimately, it's all for the good of the sport.

"PPL is trying to do something extraordinary. They're doing it with the smartest guys in the country, maybe the world. It's for the benefit of the athletes, the players. They're doing it to preserve the fairness of the game."

When the Flamingo passes, he thinks it'll be at the top of allowable power and spin. That, to Darling, means the process is working. "And that's a good thing," he said.

A 'New Era of Fairness and Consistency'

Paddle testing in pickleball is notoriously difficult.

On January 16, 2025, the UPA-A – the governing body for all MLP- and PPA-affiliated events – announced its official 2025 Equipment Rules and Regulations, including "comprehensive Standards and Operating Procedures for paddle certification and compliance at the professional level."

The plan was to develop world-class testing standards using third-party, highly accredited labs that had proven similar processes in other sports like baseball:

In collaboration with Pickle Pro Labs (PPL) and the esteemed engineers from the Baseball Research Lab at UMass-Lowell, UPA-A has developed a rigorous framework of research-based standards to establish clear and enforceable limits on pickleball paddles used in competition.

The standards focus on a few key metrics related to the performance of a paddle:

Spin

Spin, or the RPM's of the ball measured off the face of the paddle, is the product of many factors, like shape and core construction, but primarily it comes down to the grittiness of the surface texture.

Power

Measured using PEF, or Paddle Efficiency Factor, a metric that evaluates a paddle's power output by measuring how efficiently it transfers energy to a ball during play.

As previously announced, effective September 1, 2025 all UPA-A paddles must meet the 0.385 PEF standard when new and must also not exceed a PEF ceiling of 0.405 after undergoing a standard break in procedure.

Durability

Measured using ABI, or Artificial Break-In Standard, this is UPA-A's answer to paddles "heating up," or getting more powerful, over time – a common occurrence across many brands and models at every level of play.

ABI is a process that physically breaks down the structure of a paddle in a controlled and systematic manner such that it does not result in visible damage to the paddle. The performance gain resulting from the ABI process is measured through subsequent PEF testing.

Registration for UPA-A Certification began on February 1, 2025. Interim and provisional certifications were granted throughout the year.

But, critically, there was a hard line in the sand:

UPA-A 2025 certification is required for all professional play beginning on September 1, 2025.

Consequences for paddles found to be outside of the allowable limits will fall on the manufacturers.

UPA-A intends to ensure that the consequences of paddles found to be non-compliant are proportional to the offense. In some cases paddles may be immediately delisted and not allowed in play and in other instances paddles may be ‘sunset’ over a period of time.

"We set out to have enforceable standards in place in 2025," read an email sent to all UPA players, "and while additional time was necessary for manufacturers to meet these requirements, September 1, 2025, marks the beginning of a new era of fairness and consistency in professional pickleball."

Source: Thedink Pickleball

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