What is different in your hand, and why it matters for your arm
A pickleball paddle is a solid face on a short handle, and under USA Pickleball’s equipment rules (2.E.3) its length plus width cannot exceed 24 inches, with a maximum length of 17 inches. There is no rule on weight or thickness, which is why makers are free not to publish them — and many don’t. The paddles here that publish a weight run from roughly 7.7 to 8.4 ounces, and none is strung, so there is no trampoline: the ball comes off a paddle faster and with less dwell than off a string bed, and the shock of contact goes straight into the handle.
That last point is the one a tennis player’s arm notices. Strings absorb a lot of the impact in tennis. In pickleball the core does that job, and a thicker core does it better — which is why four of the six paddles here publish a polymer honeycomb core between 12.7 and 16 mm thick, and two of those are the full 16 mm. If your elbow is a known quantity, read our core-thickness explainer before you decide, and read the ProKennex entry below.
Handle length: the two-handed backhand question
Most pickleball handles are around 5 inches. A second hand needs something closer to 5.5 inches to sit comfortably, and the three paddles here with the longest published handles are the Selkirk Halo Power XL at 5.75 in, the Franklin Signature Pro at 5.6 in and the JOOLA Hyperion at 5.5 in. The Paddletek is a 5-inch handle on a standard shape, and it is here for the tennis player whose shoulder has told them to stop swinging long things; it is the most maneuverable paddle on the list and the one we would hand to a former player with a rotator-cuff history. Our paddle shapes guide goes through the trade in detail.
One honest observation: a lot of tennis converts abandon the two-hander within a season, because the ball is so much lighter that a one-handed block or a “dink” from the kitchen line does the job. If you think that might be you, the longer handle is still worth having — it costs nothing on the forehand — but do not pay a premium for it.
Grip size: smaller than you are used to
Tennis grips run larger than pickleball grips, and every paddle here that publishes a grip circumference is between 4.25 and 4.5 inches. That is a deliberate filter. A grip that is too small makes you clench, and clenching for two hours is the most reliable way we know to wake up a dormant tennis elbow. If you played with a 4 3/8 or larger tennis grip, the Franklin’s 4.5 in handle is the closest thing on this page to what your hand knows, and it is also the paddle we recommend first for arthritic hands. Everything else here that publishes a grip is 4.25 in, and you can build that up with an overgrip or two; our grip-size guide shows the measurement.
The picks in order, and who each is for
JOOLA Ben Johns Hyperion CAS 16. The obvious choice and, for most tennis players, the right one. Elongated, a 5.5 in handle, a textured carbon face that takes the topspin you already know how to generate, and a 16 mm core that keeps the ball soft. At a published 8.3 oz average it sits at the top of the published weights on this page, which is the trade for the reach — and why a weak wrist should look further down the list.
Franklin Signature Pro 16mm. The value pick, and the one with the longest handle-plus-grip combination for a former tennis player: 5.6 in long and 4.5 in around, on a 16.5 in elongated face with a 16 mm core, at a published 7.9-8.3 oz. A fiberglass face rather than carbon, which is livelier and a little less forgiving, and the honest reason it is second rather than first.
Selkirk SLK Halo Power XL. Selkirk’s own spec sheet lists it at 7.7-8.0 oz — the lightest published range on this page — with the longest handle, 5.75 in, on a 16.4 in XL face. The trade is a 13 mm core, which is the firmer, livelier kind: more pop off the face, a touch more feedback into the arm. Good for a tennis player who wants to keep some drive; less good for one whose elbow is the reason they switched. Full write-up in the Halo Power XL review.
Paddletek Bantam EX-L. The one standard-shape paddle here, 16 x 8 inches with a 5 in handle and a published 7.8-8.4 oz. No room for a second hand, but the weight sits closer to your fist than on any elongated paddle, and that is what a sore shoulder feels. If you are switching because of a shoulder, this is our pick, and our shoulder-pain roundup explains why.
Selkirk SLK Evo Hybrid XL. The cheapest way to try an elongated Selkirk. Fiberglass, and Selkirk does not publish a weight or core for this one on any page we could find, so it is here on shape and price rather than on a spec sheet. A sensible first paddle for a tennis player who is not yet sure they will stay.
ProKennex Ovation Speed II. Not elongated, no long handle, and ProKennex does not publish the weight. It is on this page for one reason: it is the paddle arm-sensitive players reach for, built around the brand’s vibration control and a cushioned grip. If tennis left you with a tennis elbow that still grumbles, skip the reach and buy this; our tennis-elbow roundup and the cheaper Black Ace are the follow-up reading.
Three tennis habits to unlearn, for your joints as much as your game
- The overhead smash. Tennis rewards it. Pickleball lobs are slow and often better let bounce, and the repeated overhead is the single shoulder motion AAOS names when it lists repetitive stress as a rotator cuff risk. Let more of them bounce.
- Backpedaling for the lob. Falls are the dominant injury mechanism for players over 60 in the published data, and backpedaling is how most of them start. Turn and run, or let your partner take it.
- The death grip. Tennis players squeeze on contact. A pickleball paddle needs a relaxed hand, and the smaller grips make squeezing worse. Size the grip up before you size the paddle up.
One more thing you can keep: your court shoes. A tennis shoe is a court shoe, and it is far better for this sport than a running shoe — our tennis shoes vs pickleball shoes guide covers the small differences. And if you want the whole picture of how the two sports compare on your joints, start with pickleball vs tennis for older players.
Every spec above is the maker’s own published figure or marked as not published; every price is checked daily and stamped with the date. We have not tested these paddles and do not claim to have.
