Mapping the Sweet Spot - part 2
11/11/25
In part 1 the technical groundwork was laid for mapping the paddle's sweet spot - the area on the paddle face that leads to relatively uniform rebounding ball velocities. In part 2 the sweet spots of four different paddles will be compared when executing blocks, serves, punches, drops and dinks.
Blocks
The velocity (mph) of a rebounding ball off different paddle face locations during a block (stationary paddle) is depicted below. The speed of the rebounding ball is measured at 9 different locations on a 4" square. The velocity of the incoming ball is 50 mph. The ideal block would be a ball that has just enough velocity to land close to the sideline without going out-of-bounds or close to the opponent's feet.
The approximate sweet spot size for the block is pictured as a red ellipse defined as 3 mph or less away from the center value. The paddle with the smallest sweet spot is the Power Air Epic due to its low swing weight, low twist weight and generation 1 construction (cold layered, polypropylene core, without rigid frame). This paddle would be the hardest to control during blocks. The paddle with the largest sweet spot is the Quanta R2 due to its high twist weight and generation 4 (rigid frame, foam core, thermoformed) construction. The core crushed Pulse V with generation 3 construction (rigid frame, polypropylene core, thermoformed) is unique with the outsized 17.6 mph rebound velocity in the paddle face center. While the Pulse V has a high twist weight and rigid frame which should lead to a large sweet spot, the huge trampoline effect limits the sweet spot size. A core crushed paddle gives high speed shots at the expense of control. The Friday has generation 1 construction and a relatively small sweet spot.
The remainder of the article looks at the sweet spot size for serves, punches, drops and dinks.
Serve
The serve velocity for 9 locations is calculated using the Equation of Motion referenced in part 1. The ball is stationary and the center of the paddle is moving at 50 mph as contact is made with the ball. The sweet spots of the four paddles during a serve is depicted below. The red ellipse outlines the area on the paddle face where the rebound speed is less than 3 mph different than the center value. The 3 mph value is the margin of error for a serve rebounding from the paddle face at around 60 mph, spinning at 1500 rpm, clearing the net by 4 inches, and landing 2 feet inside the baseline At 3 mph less (~57 mph) the serve hits the net. At 3 mph more (~63 mph) the serve goes out of bounds past the baseline. Again, the generation 1 paddles perform poorly compared to the generation 4 Quanta. The large trampoline effect from the core crushed Pulse V minimizes its sweet spot.
Punch or Drop
The punch velocity for 9 locations is calculated using the Equation of Motion referenced in part 1. The ball is moving toward the paddle at 25 mph and the center of the paddle is moving toward the ball at 25 mph. The red ellipse outlines the area on the paddle face where the rebound speed is less than 3 mph different than the center value. The 3 mph value is the margin of error for a drop into the kitchen from the baseline. The rebounding ball is moving at around 37 mph, spinning at 1500 rpm, clearing the net by 8 inches, and landing 2 feet inside the kitchen line. The sweet spots of the four paddles during a punch is depicted below. At 40 mph (+3 mph) the ball lands outside the kitchen area. At 34 mph (-3 mph) the ball hits the net.
Dink
The dink velocity for 9 locations is calculated using the Equation of Motion referenced in part 1. The ball is moving toward the paddle at 10 mph and the center of the paddle is moving toward the ball at 7 mph. The ball rebounds off the paddle face at around 15 mph. The sweet spots of the four paddles during a dink is depicted below. As mentioned in part 1, the dink is most sensitive to variation in rebounding ball velocities. The ellipse represents the area where the ball velocity is less than 2 mph away from the center value. Interestingly, the Pulse V's trampoline effect is not present at low velocities resulting is a large sweet spot similar to the Quanta for dinks. The generation 1 paddles (Power Air and Friday) have smaller sweet spots.
Discussion
An objective method is presented to map the sweet spot based on typical shots found in competitive play.
As would be expected, the generation 4 foam core Quanta paddle has the largest sweet spot for each shot since its being compared to two generation 1, low twist weight paddles (Friday, Power Air Epic) and a core crushed paddle (Pulse V). The value of a high twist weight paddle with a rigid frame is demonstrated.
A future comparison might be between a Quanta, a Loco, a Boomstick and other generation 4 foam core paddles where the twist weights are equalized. Which paddle, using a quantitative measure, has the largest sweet spot?