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History of pickleball equipment standards & testing

Learn more about the history of pickleball equipment standards over the years.

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Jaclyn Brandt

11/11/2024

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Pickleball testing has come a long way since the sport was invented nearly 60 years ago. USA Pickleball has been the leader in the evolution of pickleball equipment testing. Learn more about the history of pickleball equipment standards over the years.

1965: 

Pickleball is invented in a backyard on Bainbridge Island, Washington using ping pong paddles and whiffle balls.

Soon after, a neighbor began making more reliable paddles (due to the table tennis paddles continually breaking during play) out of wood.

1976:

The first (known) pickleball tournament was held in Tukwila, Washington using large wooden paddles. There was not yet any paddle testing and players used the paddles they could find.

1984:

The first composite pickleball paddle was invented by a Boeing engineer named Arlen Paranto. Parento made his paddles out of a fiberglass/nomex honeycomb material that commercial airlines use for their floors.

2015:

Fast forward to 2015, when USA Pickleball partnered with Element Space & Defense for their equipment testing. Equipment Space & Defense, formerly NTS, is an independent accredited third-party laboratory spearheading testing efforts.

2018:

USA Pickleball’s equipment certification grew to include a test for coefficient of friction (COF), which measures a pickleball paddle’s friction, which contributes to spin.


The new testing requirement is due to the pickleball industry’s growth and new paddle coatings.

2019:

USA Pickleball establishes a ball compression test and a cantilever beam screening function, which evaluates the rigidity of pickleball paddles. The move was made after open-throat paddles were introduced into the pickleball paddle market.

2023:

USA Pickleball begins research on 3D optical scanning of pickleball paddles, in an effort to better define the “terrain paddle face.” The new technology helped further field-testing innovation due to raw carbon paddles which began to enter the pickleball market in 2022.

Also in 2023, a new ultrasonic field-test was introduced to detect delamination problems in pickleball paddles, a condition where the layers of a paddle’s material start to separate. Delamination generally affects the core and surface, and can weaken the paddle and in turn affect its performance.

According to USA Pickleball, ultrasonic testing uses high-frequency sound waves to inspect the material of the paddle.

2024:

USA Pickleball’s paddle testing will grow to include the Paddle/Ball Coefficient of Restitution (PBCoR).

USA Pickleball has been working with a committee of the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), Element Space & Defense, and equipment manufacturers for the majority of 2024 to develop new PBCoR testing standards.

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