What is a tier list?

If you don’t know what a tier list is, I don’t blame you. It can be quite confusing with different letters denoting the different tiers, but you can look at it kind of like grades in school.

The A-Tier paddles are some of the best in the industry, B-Tier paddles perform slightly worse, and so on, all the way to the D-Tier.

The S-Tier is reserved for the truly “superior” paddles. These are the paddles that go above and beyond elite playability and bring something special to the table, such as impeccable ball feel, power that no other paddle can match, or an exceptional sensation of control. The S-Tier is very exclusive, so just because a paddle isn’t in the S-Tier, that doesn’t mean it’s bad by any stretch of the imagination.

While tier lists are inherently subjective, talking through each paddle allows for a unique opportunity to compare them all directly. Look at a tier list less as a be-all-end-all ranking of each paddle and more of a discussion platform.

I recommend watching the full tier list video linked below, but in this article, I'll break down each tier, highlight standout paddles, and explain the common characteristics that define each group.

S-Tier

Like I just mentioned, the S-Tier is made up of truly spectacular paddles that bring something unique to the table, and no paddles represent that better than the Selkirk Boomstiks. The Boomstiks are the most powerful paddles on the market, but beyond that, they have a massive sweet spot, they’re incredibly stable, and produce a ton of spin. Sometimes powerful paddles are difficult to control, but this combination of spin and sweet spot size makes the Boomstiks so consistent that they still perform well in the control game. Both the Elongated and Widebody Boomstiks are elite, so pick whichever shape suits your game style better.

While the Bread & Butter Locos are perhaps a slight notch under the Boomstiks in terms of overall playability, they are still incredible power paddles that have a similar level of consistency. Their sweet spot isn’t as big, but they provide better ball feel so you can develop a better connection to the paddle.

On the other side of the power and control spectrum, we have the CRBN Trufoam Genesis paddles. These are significantly softer than the Boomstiks and the Locos, so they make the control game that much easier. They also have massive sweet spots and, unlike a lot of other control paddles, they produce a ton of spin. The Genesis are the very best controlled Gen 4s on the market right now, so they certainly deserve their place in the S-Tier.

Finally, the Joola Pro IV paddles make up the rest of the S-Tier. These are the only Gen 3s in this tier and deserve their spot because of their impeccable feel, elite power, and much better control than most other Gen 3s. Their feel is very different from Gen 4s—much more feedback in exchange for a smaller sweet spot—and many players still prefer this tradeoff because it allows them to be more connected to the ball.

 

A-Tier

The A-Tier is made up of mostly Gen 3 and Gen 4 paddles that are a slight notch under the very best in the S-Tier.

The Selkirk SLK Era Power paddles perform almost as well as the Pro IVs but don’t have quite the same elite feel and connection to the ball, which is why they come in at a tier under. The same goes for the Gearbox Pro Ultimate Power and Hyper, as well as the Pickleball Apes Pulse paddles and the Honolulu Pickleball J2K+ and J2Ti+.

 

I had a tough time choosing between the S and A-Tier for the Honolulu Pickleball J2NF and J2FC+, but I do think they fall slightly under the Loco in terms of power, and their control isn’t good enough to push them into the higher tier. The same goes for the Pickleball Apes Charm paddles, which are fantastic for control but not on the level of the Genesis, and not quite competitive enough for power.

 

Finally, we have two very different SixZero paddles making up the rest of the A-Tier: the Black Opal and the Ruby Pro. The Black Opal is a Gen 4 that feels a lot like a Gen 3. It provides the most amount of ball feedback of any Gen 4, but it also doesn’t have the same massive sweet spot as paddles like the Genesis, Loco, or Boomstik. It’s also a little bit inconsistent in the spin game. The Ruby Pro feels more like a Gen 2, with a twist. It has significantly more spin variety than any Gen 2, it’s also softer, but it feels just as solid and consistent. This is an excellent paddle that makes you play good pickleball, but it’s not quite S-Tier because it lacks quite a bit of power.

B-Tier

The B-Tier is primarily made up of Gen 2 paddles that have more variety than the original Gen 2s. These are paddles like the Chorus Shapeshifter, Kevlar paddles like the J2K and Ruby, as well as a few others. These give you a little bit more playability than traditional Gen 2s, but not enough to make it into the higher tiers.

We also have a lot of “standard” Gen 4s in the B-Tier. These are paddles like the Ronbus Quantas, Vatic Pro V-Sol Pros, and the CRBN Trufoam Waves that are good Gen 4s, but not competitive with the very best for one reason or another. Again, for more information on each one of these, feel free to watch the whole video where I dive into a lot of detail.

 

While ranking paddles in a B-Tier may make them seem like they’re not quite good enough, that’s not how you should look at this. B-Tier paddles are still excellent and I would gladly play with any of these; they’re just not outstanding, which is totally fine.

C-Tier

The C-Tier is where we start to see paddles that have some flaws, especially in the modern game. The most common C-Tier paddle is the traditional Gen 2. While these aren’t “bad” by any means, they are a bit too average in most playability characteristics nowadays. Paddles like the Vatic Pro Flash, SixZero Double Black Diamond, and Bread & Butter Filth are well-rounded but lack the top-end spin, power, and control of the very best paddles in 2026.

We also have some flawed Gen 3s and Gen 4s in here. The Ronbus Ripple V2 came out as a “legal” version of the Beta Ripple but doesn’t have nearly enough control or spin to tame its high power. The same goes for the Gearbox GX2 Power line of paddles; both of these produce a heavy ball without the necessary subtleties for control.

It’s also worth mentioning the Owl CXE Control paddle. This is a “quiet paddle” with a top sheet made from a cloth material rather than the more common carbon, Kevlar, or PET electroplated fibre. This does come with certain flaws (mainly feel and control), but if you need a quiet paddle to play at your usual courts, it still provides very good performance.

D & E Tier

The D and E Tier are reserved for paddles that have fundamental flaws that make them tough to use at a high level of pickleball. The Selkirk Pro Air Invikta (E-Tier) has one of the most unique feels of any paddle on the market right now, but this is a classic case of unique not meaning good. It lacks spin, power, and traditional control, and while some players are used to this unique playability, I would never recommend it to someone who has never used something like this.

The SixZero Quartz (E-Tier) was released as a budget paddle a year and a half ago, but it came out far too late. As a non-thermoformed paddle, it lacks spin, power, and feel, and there are many better options nowadays at a similar price.

The Vatic Pro Prism Flash is also non-thermoformed but does perform noticeably better than the Quartz. Still, it lacks any sort of top-end playability, which is why I can’t rank it any higher than D-Tier.

That wraps up our pickleball paddle tier list for January 2026. As usual, things change very quickly in pickleball, and I always look forward to making these as a sort of “state of the paddle landscape” opportunity.

If you do want to demo any of these paddles, you can come visit us in-store, or if you want to buy them, you can check them out online.