The Best Pickleball Paddles For Control 2023

We bring you everything you need to know about picking out a pickleball paddle for control and reveal our top picks

We receive free products to review and may earn commissions on purchases made through links on this page. Find out more

Updated on Tuesday 17 October 2023

(Photo: Amazon.com)

Are you looking for a new pickleball paddle to bring more control to your game?

Gaining more control and touch from your shots can help you to continue to develop your pickleball game. While lots of players are looking for pickleball paddles for spin or power, it’s easy to forget how important touch and control are in the sport.

In this article, we’re going to bring you everything you need to know when it comes to picking out a pickleball paddle to help increase your touch and control. We’re going to cover the main features and points to look for, and also reveal our pick of some of the best options on the market available on Amazon right now.

So, with the introductions out of the way, let’s begin taking a look at why you may want a paddle that offers more control and what to look for when picking one out.

(Photo: Adobe Stock)

Shopping For A Pickleball Paddle For Control – Things To Consider

With its lightweight balls and compact court size, pickleball really is a sport where control and touch are key. Finding the angles and wrong-footing your opponents with changes in power and placement is fundamental to a solid all-round game.

There’s a lot of focus on spin and power when it comes to shopping for paddles – and rightly so. These are key techniques that are important for any good player.

(Photo: Adobe Stock)

However, sometimes the underrated aspect of control is overlooked, and if you feel that your game could do with more touch, then finding the right paddle can really give you a boost.

Of course, not all pickleball paddles are created equal, so here are a few key points to bear in mind when shopping for one specifically to add some control and touch to your game.

• Surface Material – Graphite and Carbon Fibre are two of the most common materials used for pickleball paddle faces. Both of these types of paddles can help to offer more touch and control than other options, so look for these when you’re shopping around.

• Core Thickness – Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to look for paddles with a slightly thicker core if you’re after more control. This is because the thicker paddle face can help to increase vibration dampening and allow you to enjoy more feel and touch as you hit your shots.

(Photo: Adobe Stock)

• Sweet Spot Size – Choosing a paddle with a larger sweet spot on its surface will make it easier for you to hit accurate shots more regularly. A general rule of thumb is that the wider and bigger the paddle face, the larger the sweet spot. Opting for a paddle with a widebody face means that the sweet spot should be slightly larger.

• Brand And Company – It’s always worth spending a little bit of time doing some research into the company and brand behind the paddle. Do they have a proven track history in the sport and is their range of paddles highly-rated? Make sure to also double check that the paddle you’re looking at is USAPA approved to help ensure that it conforms to standard requirements. All of the paddles we’ve featured below are USA Pickleball (USAPA) approved.

• Customer Reviews – We always recommend reading some customer feedback from real pickleball players for yourself before buying a new paddle. This could involve reading some paddle reviews on Amazon, or checking out what other players are saying and recommending on social sites such as Reddit.

Best Pickleball Paddle For Intermediate Players

(Photo: Adobe Stock)

(Photo: Amazon.com)

The final option on our list is the Electrum Pro II Pickleball Paddle (available here on Amazon). This paddle is marketed as an elite paddle for competitive players and features a carbon fiber face. It has a polypropylene core with a honeycomb structure to help evenly distribute the force of impact and boost control and feel. The paddle face is 11mm thick. At the time of writing, it had an average score of 4.2 out of five stars on Amazon from 89 ratings.

Buy Now from www.amazon.com

How We Chose The Best Pickleball Paddles For Control

With pickleball continuing to grow in popularity, especially in recent years, there are more and more options when it comes to pickleball paddles and other accessories.

To compile this buying guide, we conducted our own online research. This included checking out some of the best-selling pickleball paddles on retail sites such as Amazon, and then filtering them down based on the specifications to help provide extra control and touch.

(Photo: Adobe Stock)

We also checked out what pickleball players were saying and recommending on social sites such as Reddit. We then combined all of this information to arrive at our pick of the best options featured above.

Although we really hope that this guide has been useful to you, we do recommend that you take the time to do some of your own research before buying a new paddle. This could include checking out some customer reviews of the paddle you’re considering on Amazon, and reading similar content written by other publishers.

(Photo: Adobe Stock)

Anything Else To Bear In Mind?

If you can, it’s definitely worth popping into your local racket sports store to see what paddles are on offer. This can give you the opportunity to hold a few different paddles in your hand and get an idea about how each of them feels.

Visiting a physical store can also give you the chance to chat to staff and get some tailored and personalised advice based on your game and what you’re looking for.

If you prefer to shop online, just be sure to check the returns, refunds and exchanges policy of the site you’ll be shopping from, and carefully check the product page and description before making a purchase.

(Photo: Adobe Stock)

Wrapping Things Up – Our Final Thoughts

And with that, we’ve reached the end of our guide to the best pickleball paddles for control. We’ve discussed and covered some of the key points to bear in mind when it comes to finding a paddle to help with optimal control. We’ve covered some of the main considerations and have also revealed our pick of five of the best options on the market right now, all of which are available on Amazon.

We’ve placed the Joola Ben Johns Perseus 16mm Pickleball Paddle (available here on Amazon) as the top option in this guide, but all of the paddles that we’ve featured in this article should really be considered as good choices!