Are Certain Pickleball Paddles About to Be Banned?

Scroll through the USA Pickleball Approved Paddle list and you'll see something very interesting. Or, better yet, you'll not see something.

The new generation 3 paddles from JOOLA – the Perseus 3, Scorpeus 3, Magnus 3, and Hyperion 3 – have all been removed from it.

Savvy pickleballers noticed it overnight and posted a video showing that they were once, in fact, on the list:

@USAPickleball no longer approving Gen 3 Joola?? 👀#pickleball #paddle https://t.co/wFv2y1nRyN pic.twitter.com/v2ms5cSWL2

Thursday morning, another paddle went reportedly missing, the new Paddletek TKO-CX.

The Paddletek TKO-CX was removed but the C is still there. Oni is still on there as is the GBX

As far as we know, no announcement has been made yet about the sudden removal of these paddles.

The Carvana PPA Tour X account tweeted:

The situation seems fluid as pro and rec players continue to call for better power regulations with new pickleball paddles.

What's wrong with the paddles?

As we've been reporting for a few weeks now, there is growing concern among pickleball players that the latest paddle releases are too powerful and, consequently, dangerous to use.

Wednesday night, pickleball pro (and PicklePod co-host) Zane Navratil announced that he found himself on the business end of one of these paddles, and he was not too happy about it.

Suffered my first (with many to come) headshot from a @joolapickleball paddle today. They’re out of control and ruining the game @PPAtour @MajorLeaguePB @Pickleball

ICYMI, here are two articles from last week explaining the issue with some of these new paddles:

What will happen next?

Until USA Pickleball provides an explanation, we don't know. However, we do know that many leagues and tournaments, for pros and amateurs, rely on USA Pickleball to dictate equipment and rule standards for play.

On Thursday, the United Pickleball Association (UPA) announced that it has formed a new governing body, adding another wrinkle to the developing situation.

Removing these paddles that cost several hundred dollars to purchase could have huge ramifications for recreational, league, and tournament players (both on the amateur and pro level).

It remains to be seen whether a recall, an exchange, or just a good old-fashioned Oopsie is in the works.

Regardless, the fact that these paddles are now being scrutinized and potentially banned after receiving the "USA Pickleball Approved" stamp is not a good look for the sport.

Stay tuned, more to come

We will keep you updated as this story continues. This will certainly not be the last time we hear about these paddles or others being removed from our sport.

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