The sport of pickleball—a cross between tennis and badminton, played with a hard plastic ball—is 60 years old, having been invented near Seattle in 1965. For most of that time, paddles were made of laminated wood and were mostly found in gym classes and retirement communities.
Pickleball has exploded in popularity, and with that newfound popularity comes an arms race with paddle makers in a quest to make the best pickleball paddles. Paddle technology is improving, too. This is my third year testing the latest crop of pickleball paddles, and they’ve made another leap forward. Among my long-standing favorite paddles like the Selkirk Vanguard Control Invikta, there are two new ones—including the Diadem Warrior BluCore—that step back from the raw power of heat-molded plastic cores by substituting foam cores that offer a very consistent and controlled feel. Here are my most up-to-date paddle picks for every style and level of play.
Updated November 2026: We’ve added a new paddle from Paddletek and a couple of accessories, and updated links and prices.
Featured in This Guide
Best Pickleball Paddle Overall
Photograph: Martin Cizmar
Selkirk
Vanguard Control Invikta
WIRED
- Exceptional control
- Consistency
- Great grip.
TIRED
- Not as much pop as thermoformed paddles.
Selkirk is a wildly popular paddle maker, but I was not a huge fan of the higher-end paddles in the lineup after testing dozens of models over a few seasons.
The Selkirk Vanguard Control Invikta sold me on the brand. It’s still the best all-around paddle for most people and the one I’d recommend to anyone who doesn’t demand the ability to hit huge overhead smashes—the Invikta is not thermoformed and doesn’t have quite the same power as paddles that are. (Thermoformed paddles are molded with heat and injected with foam, while traditional paddles are made by stacking up layers like a sandwich.)
What the Invikta offers, however, is exceptional control and consistency. This paddle is shockingly well balanced and feels great in the hand, thanks to Selkirk’s upgraded octagonal grip. Every time you swing the Invikta, the hit feels like you expect it to feel, and the ball goes exactly where you expect it to go. It’s especially nice to have confidence in that consistency while developing more spin (I was a practitioner of the now-banned spin toss serve and I’m still in rebuilding mode), because you don’t have to worry about a goofy bounce from a dead spot caused by a botched thermoforming process. The Invikta does offer impressive spin, thanks to a T700 raw carbon face and a larger-than-average sweet spot.
Best Pickleball Paddle if You Play Every Day
Photograph: Martin Cizmar
Diadem
Warrior BluCore Pickleball Paddle
WIRED
- Built to outlast other paddles thanks to foam core and the type of carbon used for the face.
- Soft, forgiving feel.
- Great in defensive situations.
TIRED
- Lacks pop on serves.
- Expensive.
I was not sure what to expect from Diadem’s new BluCore paddle, which is among a handful of new paddles that have replaced the standard honeycomb polymer core with closed-cell foam—they sent me a sample of the stuff, and it looks like you could make a gas station cooler out of it. That foam is substantially more durable—it has a lifetime warranty, in fact—over the long haul and is also not at risk of delaminating in extreme temperatures if, for example, you leave the paddle in the car on a scorching summer day while you grab patio margs.
Given how far this paddle is outside the norm, and the fact that it’s priced at the upper end of the range, I wanted to put real time in before recommending it. What I found was that the BluCore took some time to get used to, but it’s now the paddle I play with the most. The foam core makes for a softer and more forgiving feel—it’s like the suspension on an old Cadillac coupe. While I don’t feel like I’m getting the most out of my serve, I especially love this paddle in defensive situations against better players. It plays consistently from edge to edge and has a nice, big sweet spot.
Whether foam ends up dominating the pickleball market remains to be seen, but people who play nearly every day will also appreciate that this paddle uses an aramid carbon fiber face that is more durable than raw carbon and that the foam absorbs more vibration.
