At Racket & Runners, we have a tradition of handing out year-end awards for gear in each of our major sporting departments. Tennis and running are fairly straightforward, but with the insane number of paddles released this year, this is bound to be a little controversial.

We’ll be handing out a Rundie in the following categories:

• best power paddle

• best control paddle

• best spin paddle

• most well-rounded paddle

• best value paddle

• best overall paddle of the year

While I do have a method for determining all these awards, there is, of course, a lot of personal preference involved, so please keep that in mind as you read through the article.

To be eligible for a Rundie, the paddle must have come into the store in 2024. I emphasize “into the store” because there were a couple of important paddles that came out last year but only arrived this year, and I wanted to make them eligible.

Without further ado, let’s start with power paddles.

The Best Power Paddle

2024 has been the year of the power paddle, that much is obvious, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Companies started experimenting with foam as a core material, and foam adds a unique spring effect to the ball, exponentially amplifying power. The Gearbox Pro Power paddles were the first paddles we tested with foam cores, and, sure enough, their power was off the charts compared to anything else we’d ever tried.

Then the Gen 3 Joolas came out, and with them began the most controversial event in pickleball history. They were initially legalized but were later de-listed for being too powerful, leaving thousands of customers with illegal paddles and Joola with a massive problem on their hands. They took back the Gen 3s, then worked on new paddles, eventually releasing the Mod TA-15s and the Joola 3S series, which were virtually identical to the ones that were de-listed not three months earlier. The good news is, the Mods are legal, the Gearbox Pro Power paddles are legal, and the 3S are sort of legal, so they are all eligible for this award.

Paddletek also released their own take on a hyper-powerful paddle with their latest ALW and TKO lines. While not quite as powerful as the foam paddles listed above, they certainly pack a punch and don’t come with any of the controversy that still surrounds foam in pickleball.

So Paddletek, Joola, and Gearbox all make fantastic power paddles (Gearbox later released their Pro Ultimate), but none of these are taking home power paddle of the year—that’s going to the Ronbus Ripple.

 

 

Now, part of me didn’t want to give this to the Ripple because it’s also going through a controversial period, but I can’t pretend like it doesn’t exist. Two months ago, I tested what Ronbus is now calling the Beta Ripple, and it was the best paddle I’d ever tried. The power was similar to all of its foam competition, perhaps even a little bit higher, and its control and spin were a level above, making its overall performance that much better.

Giving the Ripple “best power paddle” should have been my easiest Rundie of the year until I found out that it was, in fact, a beta, and the full release will be different. Full disclosure: I haven’t yet tested the full release, which is due to arrive in-store in the next few days, but from what I’ve heard in the industry, it does not play identically. Because of that, I’m keeping this Rundie exclusive to the Beta Ripple, and I’ll update this article if the full release deserves it as well—or let you know if it doesn’t.

The reality is, Ronbus pushed the needle with the Beta. It’s the best power paddle out there, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to try a truly impressive engineering feat.

The Best Control Paddle

We move on to the other side of the pickleball spectrum now: control. Control paddles made a comeback this year after a dry 2023. We did, however, get one of the best control paddles last year in the Selkirk Luxx lineup, which is not eligible for this Rundie since we brought it in last November.

The rebirth of control paddles started with the introduction of Kevlar as a top-sheet material. Kevlar provides a more flexible feel than carbon, which increases dwell time and therefore control. We have seen a plethora of Kevlar paddles come into the store this year, like the SixZero Ruby, the Honolulu Pickleball J2K, J3K, and the Bread & Butter Fat Boy.

The rise of Kevlar paddles also forced companies that weren’t using the material to soften up their thermoformed paddles. As a result, we saw unique constructions and core designs that also helped to extend dwell time. The Ronbus Novas came out last year, so they aren’t in the running for this award, but the Carbon Grid Pattern used on the edges of those paddles spread to the rest of the paddle on the Pulsar FX line, making those elite soft-control paddles.

Selkirk also upped their game this year, releasing their first thermoformed raw carbon paddle in the Vanguard Control. These were good, although not as soft as some of the industry-leading thermoformed carbon paddles like the Pulsar FXs I just mentioned, so Selkirk took it one step further. They released their Vanguard Pro Invikta and Epic at the end of the year, which were some of the softest raw carbon thermoformed paddles I’d ever tested.

There’s one company that took it to the next level, though: Pickleball Apes.

 

 

They decided to combine Kevlar with a softer core to make the ultimate control paddle, and suffice it to say, they succeeded. Their Pulse paddles are some of the softest, thermoformed Kevlar paddles you can find, but beyond that, they also have big, forgiving sweet spots and a muted feel, which amplifies control. The Pulse E and Pulse S are elite control paddles, but it’s the Pulse V that takes the Rundie for control paddle of the year. The Pulse V is a widebody paddle, and widebody paddles have bigger sweet spots and are therefore more forgiving for control than their longer, narrower counterparts.

The Best Spin Paddle

Realistically, the best spin paddle of the year is the Ronbus Ripple. In our review, I described it as a paddle that gives you significantly more control over your spin than any other paddle right now, and I maintain that. However, because the paddle is changing, and it’s unlikely that the full release is as spin-friendly as the Beta, I’m going to give the best spin paddle Rundie to another.

Part of what makes the Ronbus Ripple so spin-friendly is its foam core. Not only does it add a spring effect for power, but it also creates a responsive backboard for spin. Basically, a foam core acts similarly to strings in a tennis racket, so it’s not surprising that foam-cored paddles perform better than others for spin. This Rundie comes down to either the Gearbox Pro and Power paddles, the Joola Mod TA-15, and the Joola 3S paddles.

 

 

All three are excellent, but the Joola Hyperion 3S stands out amongst the rest for a few reasons. For one, the 3S paddles are more readily available than the limited Pro Edition Mod-TAs. Two, compared to the Perseus 3S, the Hyperion is shaped more aerodynamically, so it can be swung quicker to generate spin. Compared to the Gearboxes, I’ve always found that Joola foam paddles are a little bit more consistent in terms of spin, which is why I have the Hyperion coming in ahead of those.

The Most Well-Rounded Paddle

This is a Rundie we didn’t give out last year, but with the number of amazing all-court paddles that came out this year, this is a category we need to address. It goes hand in hand with what I said in the control Rundie section — a lot of this year’s R&D was aimed at improving control in thermoformed paddles. Kevlar, core technologies, and unique carbon layups all successfully accomplished this, but Kevlar was the best at improving control while maintaining top-tier power and spin.

It’s also important to talk about shape when discussing a paddle’s well-roundedness. Elongated paddles provide high leverage for power, spin, and stability, while standard paddles are shorter and wider, so more manoeuvrable, forgiving, and controlled. A hybrid paddle lies somewhere in between the two and provides the best of both worlds, so hybrid paddles are optimal if you’re looking for well-rounded playability.

 

 

There were a few very good hybrid Kevlar paddles that came into the store this year, most notably the SixZero Double Ruby and the Honolulu Pickleball J2K. While they are shaped very similarly, the J2K has a slightly wider bottom portion of the paddle face, which makes the sweet spot a little bit bigger and more forgiving. The difference is minimal, but it’s there, which is why the J2K takes the prestigious Rundie for 2024’s most well-rounded paddle.

Best Value Paddle

With so many rapid developments in technology, it’s logical that after the initial R&D investment, certain companies can produce a paddle with similar tech at a much lower price. We’ve seen a ton of good-value paddles this year, but one has stood out to us as a clear notch above the rest: the Neonic Flow. At $179.98, the paddle is by no means cheap, but neither is its playability. It’s a Toray T700 raw carbon thermoformed paddle, and most of its competition comes in quite a bit over the $200 mark.

What’s great about the Flow is that, while its power is obviously impressive, its control and spin are much better than what we had with original Gen 2 thermoformed paddles. They are perhaps not on the level of Kevlar paddles and other top-tier all-courters, but the Flow provides a good amount of dwell time on soft shots and a high amount of purchase over the ball, making it much more well-rounded than other paddles at this price point.

Best Paddle of 2024

Because of all the controversy surrounding it, a part of me didn’t want to give this Rundie to the Ripple, but, once again, I can’t pretend like it isn’t the best paddle I tested this year. I was so taken aback by this paddle’s performance because it went beyond just having obscene power and spin; it’s incredibly unique, and for the right player, there is no paddle that comes close in terms of the variety of shots you can hit.

Coming from a tennis background, I’ve been looking for a paddle that allows me to manipulate a pickleball in the same way that I can a tennis ball. Up until the Ripple, no paddle was nearly as responsive as a racket, but that’s exactly what this paddle has accomplished. I was hitting much more spin and power (we’ve already established that), but I also had a significantly better feel for the ball, even compared to other foam paddles. That gave me a level of consistency and confidence that made its high power much easier to control, and while it does take a certain amount of skill to master it, it’s undeniably the most impressive paddle I’ve ever tested.

Time will tell whether the full-release version performs as well as the Beta. It has big shoes to fill, but even if it’s 80% as good, it will still be the clear winner for paddle of the year, and I’ll update this section once we’ve tested it.

That wraps up our 2024 Pickleball Paddle Rundies. Hopefully, you can use it as a guide if you are shopping around for a new paddle, either for yourself or as a gift this holiday period. Of course, we cross our fingers and hope that 2025 is as awesome as 2024 was in terms of new paddles and technology! Happy Holidays!