The Power Paddle Era is Coming to an End
For the past two years players have been craving more powerful paddles and manufacturers responded. Floating cores, crushed cores, foam cores, perimeter foam and thermoforming were all used to exploit the "trampoline effect" resulting in increased ball speed off the face of the paddle. But powerful paddles had a negative effect on the game - less dinking, shorter rallies, danger of eye injury.
Late in 2014 both governing agencies resorted to air cannon testing to limit paddle power and ball speed. UPA has a PEF (Performance Efficiency Factor) limit of 0.385. USAP has a PBCOR (Paddle Ball Coefficient of Restitution) limit of 0.43. For most players it's hard to translate the PEF and PBCOR specifications into understandable ball speeds. Further it's hard to judge how much slower the ball speed will be on the court after July 2025 when "sunset" paddles (e.g. Joola TA-15, ProKennex Black Ace and Gearbox Pro Power Elongated) are no longer available. The information below should help.
Limit Line
The graph shows the ball velocity limit vs impact location on the paddle face for the PEF test. Paddle performance must be below the line to achieve UPA Certification.
Why are the allowable velocities decreasing as the distance increases? During a swing, the paddle typically pivots around the wrist. Due to the rotation of the paddle, points on the paddle face further from the handle are moving faster than points closer to the handle. The PEF and PBCOR equations recognize the added speed of the paddle further from the handle and compensate by allowing less rebound velocity from the ball.
Details:
The trace in the graph was generated using the following equation.
m is the maass of the ball
PEF is 0.385
Meff is the effective mass of the paddle which is the swing weight divided by the ball impact distance from the pivot point squared.
Certifiable Paddles
Performance of five popular paddles is displayed relative to the PEF limit. All paddles are below the PEF limit. All of these paddles have been certified or could be certified for UPA tournament play.
To get a sense of what the data means let's take a look at the 6 mile per hour rebound velocity of the Six Zero Ruby at the 13 inch impact location. A player blocking a 50 mph shot (paddle stationary) would experience a 6 mph rebound off the paddle face at the 13 inch location. Also, a player serving the ball (ball velocity zero) with the paddle moving at 50 mph at the 13 inch impact location would create a ball speed traveling at 56 mph (50+6). To achieve a 2.5 mph faster serve speed the player could switch to the Friday paddle which has a 8.5 mph rebound velocity at the 13" impact location. For detailed information see the Equation of Motion.
The Joola Perseus 3S paddle and the Friday paddle "hug" the limit line in the region near the paddle tip and would be considered power paddles. The other three paddles fall somewhere in between power and control.
The Friday paddle which was categorized by reviewers as an all-court paddle in 2014 has suddenly jumped into the power paddle category due to the new strict upper limit on paddle power!
Powerful Paddles
Two power paddles have been added to the graph to give perspective to the new strict limit on power paddles. These two specific "broken-in" paddles would not be allowed in sanctioned tournament play. We've all seen these paddles or similar paddles (e.g. TA-15) on rec courts where the ball catapults off the face at unusually high speeds. Both of these paddles would add an extra 5 mph or more to serve speeds compared to paddles that were below the limit line.
Notes:
1. There are two Apes Pulse V paddles on the graph. One is from an early production run that was prone to core crushing. The other is a free replacement for the core crushed paddle that has performed admirably over time.
2. The core crushed Pulse V paddle clearly utilizes the trampoline effect as there is a marked peak at the face center (11"). This paddle would not pass the PEF test nor would it pass the PBCOR test. It would provide approximately an additional 6 mph in serve speed over a certified paddle.
Summary
The power paddle craze of the last two years is over. PEF testing is mandated for UPA paddle certifications starting in 2026. PBCOR testing is required for all USAP paddle certifications after May 2026. Air cannon testing (PBCOR, PEF) testing will detect and remove above-limit power paddles from tournament play. Recreational players will demand UPA-A Certified and USAP PBCoR .43 Certified paddles. Super powerful paddles will disappear from rec courts and the maximum ball speed experienced by rec players will be reduced. What was once considered an all-court paddle might now be categorized as a power paddle.
Extra Credit
Questions have been raised concerning the differing power specification from the two regulatory agencies - USAP and UPA.
How do the 0.385 PEF limit from UPA and the 0.43 PBCOR limit from USAP compare? Which specification is more favorable for power paddles? Will manufacturers have to produce two versions of the same model paddle? One for PEF certification and one for PBCOR certification?
The PEF test is done with a standard Vulcan Pro ball at 50 mph. The PBCOR test is done with a holeless Franklin X40 ball at 60 mph.
The Friday paddle provides an opportunity to compare the two standards as the Friday paddle is right on the PEF upper limit line as shown by the two solid lines in the graph. The two dotted lines show that the Friday paddle just touches the PBCOR limit. We can infer that both standards align.
Note: The results are from one paddle using loosely calibrated equipment under uncontrolled environmental conditions.
