Noobs Guide to USA Pickleball Approved Paddles

For any tournament played under USA Pickleball rules. The player is responsible for checking that their paddle is listed as Pass.

In a tournament, if it is caught before your match starts, you can switch to a listed paddle with no penalty. If it is caught after the match has started, you forfeit that match. If it is found after the match has ended, the result stands.

Go to the official list at equipment.usapickleball.org/paddle-list and search the exact brand and model name. Look for the status Pass. Do not trust a product page that just says "approved" without a model name.

Size, surface roughness, stiffness and power, among other things. The face cannot be rough enough to produce excessive spin.

A paddle can be up to 17 inches long. Length plus width cannot be over 24 inches (edge guard and butt cap count). There is no limit on thickness.

Yes. The list gets updated, and USA Pickleball has removed models before. If you plan to compete, check the list again before you register.

Not for most open play, since nobody checks. Still, a paddle on the list passes known checks for things like surface roughness. DUPR also notes that non-approved paddles can leave your results uncounted toward your rating.

In the USA Pickleball Equipment Standards Manual. The paddle list is the one place that tells you if a specific model passed.