At its core pickleball is a control game.
We understand the consumer's desire for more power (and more spin), but for many players, this has led down a slippery slope. Banging your way through some opponents can work, but once you come up against a very skilled team or individual, they can pick you apart with control. Playing with a power paddle can leave you metaphorically gasping for air as you pop up the ball and continuously fail to control your drops and resets.
So buy a power paddle if you want one, but consider something more controlled if you think it might make you become a better player.
The good news is that 2025 has been the year of revival for control paddles. Gen 3s like the Joolas, the Gearbox Pro Powers and the Ronbus Ripple Beta have come and gone and made way for the fourth generation of paddle technology.
Full-Foam Gen 4s
Gen 4 paddles use full-foam cores instead of the honeycomb-foam combination found in Gen 3s. While Gen 3s created a trampoline effect that launched balls with maximum power, Gen 4s offer a softer, more cushioned feel. You still get the improved ball contact and high spin of Gen 3s, but with better control. And while this construction doesn't provide as much power, it still packs a punch when you want it—during aggressive swings—without the unwanted pop during finesse shots.
These Gen 4 paddles have really pushed the needle for what we thought was possible in the control game, and while a Gen 4 construction isn’t required to create a good control paddle, it certainly helps.
5. Pickleball Apes Pulse
One thing I need to make clear right away is that I’m not going to factor shape into account when it comes to a paddle’s control qualities. While shorter, wider paddles may technically be more forgiving in the soft game, I struggle to say they are point-blank better control paddles, and I don’t want players who use elongated paddles to feel like their paddle isn’t good for control because it’s not technically on this list.
So whether you prefer the Pickleball Apes Pulse S, the Pulse V, Pulse X, or even the Pulse E, is largely irrelevant, I’m talking about the Pulse design as a whole.
The Pulse paddles were marketed as control paddles when they first came out but actually have a similar construction to Gen 3 power paddles. They have an extra-wide perimeter foam layer that, after a small period of break-in, softens up and develops a trampoline effect which adds power onto the ball. What’s unique about the Pulses is that they never actually get to a point where they are so powerful that they are prone to pop-ups or overpowering the ball as is common on most Gen 3s.
Dwell time without a high trampoline effect leads to a very nice sensation of control, similar to what we now get with Gen 4 paddles, but not quite on the same level of precision. There is still a small element of “randomness” that is common on Gen 3 designs where the power level and sweet spot size can surprise you, although it has never been as bad on the Pulses as it is on true power paddles.
Comparing these to the Gen 3 Joolas and the Gearbox Pro Powers, they are much more subdued which is why they aren’t quite as good for power, but also noticeably better in the control game.
4. Selkirk Labs Project 008
Selkirk has always prided itself on being the kings of control, and they came out with their own Gen 4 crown jewel a couple of months ago with the Project 008. It features their proprietary PureFoam core, which performs optimally in nearly every characteristic you want for control.
For one, it is buttery soft — one of the softest 16-millimetre paddles I’ve ever tested. The dwell time is bordering on extreme, but that’s what you want in the soft game. A long dwell time like this gives you the ability to grab onto the ball while it’s in the paddle face and guide it exactly where you want to put it in the kitchen. It’s almost like playing pickleball with a fishing net, if that makes any sense, which may not be for everyone, but it will certainly make players looking for ultimate control very happy.
This paddle is also very muted which is not a trait I always love, but in this case, it’s hard to deny that that doesn’t help with its control profile. Muted and soft is a combination that almost guarantees zero pop-ups which is, again, exactly what you want out of a control paddle.
Then there’s the sweet spot which is absolutely massive, and this goes hand in hand with the muted feel. Muted means that the paddle face provides less feedback, but that also means it plays more homogeneously around the paddle face. Whether you make perfect contact, or you accidentally hit a shot off-centre, you’re rarely punished with a poor-quality ball on the 008. That trifecta of sweet spot, feel, and plushness is what makes it an optimal control paddle.
The only reason it's coming in at number four is because of its lacklustre power and spin. Other paddles show that you don’t need to sacrifice those characteristics to excel for control, and the 008 is also a bit too exclusive for our taste. As part of Selkirks “Labs” department, it's expensive and hard to get, but if it’s popular enough it may end up as a full-fledged Selkirk paddle in the future.
3. Selkirk Luxx Control Air Infinigrit
Coming in at number 3 we have another Selkirk paddle (I wasn’t kidding when I said they were the kings of control).
The Luxx Control Air Infinigrit piggybacks off of the wild success of the original Control Air but with a few tweaks here and there that we’ll talk about more later. The core DNA of its predecessor is still there, most importantly, its X7 Thikset Honeycomb Core. This core oozes control, with a soft feel and an even bigger sweet spot than the Project 008, but where it really separates itself from that paddle is in ball feel.
While a muted feel is preferable to many players, I’m of the opinion that if you can make a paddle less muted while maintaining a big sweet spot, that’s a win-win. That’s exactly what Selkirk has accomplished with the Control Air Infinigrit which is extremely impressive considering this paddle has a largely classic construction. It’s thermoformed but doesn’t have any extra bells and whistles like Gen 3s and Gen 4s, but hats off to Selkirk, they’ve always made a remarkably premium-feeling honeycomb core.
Its fantastic feel makes it just that little bit better in the soft game compared to the Labs 008 and the rest of their control profile is hard to separate. But the most impressive aspect of this new paddle is its well-rounded playability.
Selkirk made three major changes compared to the previous version of the Control Air: they made it one millimetre thinner, significantly grittier, and they also widened the aerodynamic hole in the middle of the paddle.
This thinner profile doesn’t negatively affect its soft game all that much (this is still a 19-millimetre paddle after all), but it does liven it up. It's a more responsive paddle and that makes it more powerful, and again, improves its feel. It’s never going to win a firefight with the most powerful paddles on the planet, but it can certainly hold its own until you find a way to bring things back to the control game.
Then there's the spin. The better grit combined with this paddle’s naturally long dwell time makes it very grabby, especially in the soft spin game, and widening the Wing Design throat helps make it even whippier through contact. If power is limited compared to the elite paddles in that category, spin is not. It's on par with the very best spin paddles right now.
The Control Air Infinigrit does represent a dying breed of paddles (thick, controlled, painted face), but it represents those very well, and this is one of my favourite traditional control paddles ever.
2. CRBN TruFoam Genesis
Choosing between numbers one and two on this list was difficult, but in the end, I think I’ve made the right call. I’ve gone with the CRBN TruFoam Genesis at number two and I’ll explain more about why I consider the next paddle better for control when I get there, but first let’s go over what makes this paddle so good.
The TruFoam Genesis was one of the first full-foam paddles (as its name would suggest) and it’s still one of the best of its kind. It was the first paddle I tested that had the dwell time of a Gen 3, but with the control and consistency of a Gen 2 and that was a feel profile I had been screaming out for since I first tested the 3s.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing when I first tested the TruFoams — at the beginning, I found them overly muted, very soft, and almost mushy, to the point where I couldn’t really control the ball because I had no idea where it was in the paddle face. Then I added lead tape, and that completely transformed my experience, to the point where I struggle to understand why they didn’t just raise the stock swing weight.
More weight on the face added a crispness to the TruFoam that it desperately needed; it basically went from feeling like a wet noodle to a lively and well-rounded, but still control-focused paddle.
The spin is also off the charts once you add the lead, which further reinforces just how far control paddles have come because this used to be an area where they really suffered compared to more power-oriented stuff.
1. Honolulu Pickleball J2FC+
The reason the TruFoam Genesis didn’t take the number one spot on this list is solely due to the existence of this paddle: the Honolulu Pickleball J2FC+. Every good thing that I said about control on the TruFoams applies to the FC+, with slightly better feel, but the real difference between the two is their stock form playability.
While the TruFoams require lead, the FC+ is 100% playable right out of the box and while I do prefer to play with a bit of weight in the neck, that doesn’t mean it needs it. This paddle is soft, it’s filled with feedback, it’s forgiving, and while I did say I wouldn’t talk about paddle shapes, I think it’s important here.
The Hybrid J2 shape is so elite for control because it’s quick and forgiving but also remarkably stable, and that complements any sort of touch shot you’ll ever need. When engaged in a dink-fest, you can quickly manoeuvre the paddle to deceive your opponent, and you can get to any ball while fighting for your life reset after reset while your opponent tries to drive their way through you.
And then in terms of its well-rounded playability, the J2FC+ is, again, very similar to a (weighted up) TruFoam Genesis. Spin is top tier as that combination of dwell time and grit makes it feel very grabby. In terms of pop, it's good, although still not as high as on Gen 3 power paddles.
I also wanted to briefly mention the J2NF which I recently compared to the FC+; I consider the FC+ significantly better for control, and the NF more of a power paddle. The NF has that hollow and springy Gen 3 feel, while the FC+ feels much more like an industry-leading Gen 4 paddle with that plush ball pocketing.
This and the TruFoams are the best control paddles on the market right now, not only because they’re so good for control but also because they’re so well-rounded, and I’m not surprised that their success is pushing other companies to develop their own full-foam Gen 4s.
That wraps up our top 5 pickleball paddles for control! It was about time we made one of these. I’m sure one of the paddles on this list will work for every pickleball player, not just the control freaks.
If you want to check these out you can come demo them by visiting us in-store, or you can always buy them online.
