About Your First Paddle

Your First Paddle started with a question in our house: my daughter wanted to play pickleball, and I had no idea which paddle to buy, what size balls there were, or where you even go to play. The answers turned out to be simple, but they were scattered across forum threads and review sites that mostly wanted to sell us the most expensive paddle on the shelf.

This site is the version I wanted to find: what a beginner needs for the first month, what can wait, which paddles suit which players, and how open play works when you show up to a court for the first time.

How the guides are written

We work from what manufacturers publish about their gear and from USA Pickleball's rulebook and equipment standards, and we say so where a fact comes from. We play with the kind of gear we recommend. We don't run lab tests, and we don't claim to.

How the site is paid for

Product links go to Amazon, and Your First Paddle earns a commission on purchases made through them. The details are on the affiliate disclosure page.

Contact

Corrections and questions: [email protected].

Your First Paddle is an independent guide and is not affiliated with USA Pickleball or any manufacturer.