Pickleball

Core thickness, face material, weight and shape — the four things that actually change how a pickleball paddle plays, explained without the jargon. Plus which paddle to buy at every level.

Can you play pickleball in running trainers? Learn why proper court shoes matter, what to look for, and how to choose the best pickleball shoes in the UK.

Carbon or fibreglass pickleball paddle? Learn how each face material affects control, spin, power and pop, so you can buy the paddle that fits your game.

Does paddle thickness matter? Learn how 13mm, 14mm and 16mm cores change control, power and feel, and which thickness suits your pickleball game.

Starting pickleball in 2026? Here's how to pick the best beginner paddle in the UK, what specs to look for, and the features that make learning easier.

New to pickleball but handy with a tennis racket? Here's what pickleball is, how the court and paddle differ, and why players are switching in their thousands.

The Mood is the Scorpion series at its most expressive – a design that changes character depending on which way you tilt it, over a build that never changes at all: 3K raw carbon face, 14mm thermoformed core, USAPA approved, around £64. As a playing tool, it slots into the same bracket as a dependable tour-style tennis frame in a club player's hands. The 14mm core delivers a firm, connected strike – the ball leaves promptly, with the flat, purposeful trajectory tennis volleys are built on – while the 3K carbon face adds the surface texture that makes spin a choice rather than an accident. Brush up the back of the ball on a drive and it arcs and drops; hold the face open through a dink and the slice stays low enough to keep bigger hitters honest. The thermoformed unibody gives the Mood its durability and its composure. Sealed, heat-moulded construction resists the twisting that plagues cheaper paddles on off-centre contact, in the same way a torsionally solid frame steadies a late return of serve. It is why this tier holds its feel through seasons of league play – and why the USAPA approval on the face is worth having, because the paddle will still merit a tournament long after you decide to enter one. Whatever mood you arrive in, the specification does not have them. It just plays. See the AIXO Mood at Central Tennis • Browse all AIXO pickleball paddles • Take the paddle finder quiz Shop the AIXO Scorpion Mood at Central Tennis In stock now at Central Tennis. Expert stringing and racket fitting available in store. Aixo P11A Scorpion Series Mood 3K Raw Carbon Pickleball Paddle from £64.00 Aixo P11A Scorpion Series Lazy Sundae 3K Raw Carbon Pickleball Paddle from £64.00 Aixo P11A Scorpion Series Supernature 3K Raw Carbon Pickleball Paddle from £45.00 Browse more: AIXO Scorpion series · All AIXO pickleball paddles · All pickleball Shop the AIXO Scorpion series → Not sure what suits your game? Talk to our team — we fit, string and demo rackets every day.

Every range needs its apex predator, and AIXO's wears stripes. The Reaper Tiger King is the flagship specification – 18K raw carbon face, 14mm thermoformed core, USAPA approved – at around £70, which remains the range's boldest statement: top-shelf construction at half the money the imported names ask. Tennis players tend to understand this paddle within a dozen balls. The 18K weave is the stiffest, most premium face in the line, and it interacts with the ball the way a fresh, shaped polyester does – biting on contact for spin, then releasing with pace when you accelerate through. Drives and speed-ups come off it with genuine venom. The 14mm thermoformed core keeps the package quick and stable, so counter-attacking at the kitchen line feels like punching volleys with a perfectly weighted frame: short movement, big result. Its demands are equally familiar. Like a proper player's racket, the Tiger King returns exactly what your technique deposits – it will not manufacture depth for a tentative swing or rescue a wandering contact point. Tennis converts who have already compacted their strokes and found the paddle sweet spot will feel the ceiling lift immediately; those a season behind that point will be happier one tier down with the Scorpion until the timing arrives. Tournament legal, built to outlast its owner's ambitions and impossible to miss across a court: the king, as advertised. See the Reaper Tiger King at Central Tennis • Browse all AIXO pickleball paddles • Take the paddle finder quiz Shop the AIXO Reaper Tiger King at Central Tennis In stock now at Central Tennis. Expert stringing and racket fitting available in store. Aixo P14C Reaper Series Tiger King 18K Raw Carbon Pickleball Paddle from £70.00 Aixo P14C Reaper Series Chaos Camo 18K Raw Carbon Pickleball Paddle from £70.00 Aixo P14C Reaper Series Insane Bolt 18k Raw Carbon Pickleball Paddle from £70.00 Browse more: AIXO Reaper series · All AIXO pickleball paddles · All pickleball Shop the AIXO Reaper series → Not sure what suits your game? Talk to our team — we fit, string and demo rackets every day.

Nature-inspired graphics with distinctly unnatural pace: the Supernature carries AIXO's full mid-tier specification – 3K raw carbon face, 14mm thermoformed core, USAPA approval – at around £45, and it spent our weekend demo sessions being argued over. The argument is easy to understand once you have hit with it. Tennis players describe the Scorpion tier the way they describe a properly matched frame: the ball goes where the swing says, at the pace the swing earns. The 14mm core gives a firm, immediate response – less cushion than the entry-tier Ghost, more precision – and the 3K carbon face has genuine tooth for spin. Roll a forehand dink with the wrist quiet and the arm relaxed, exactly as you would brush a short topspin angle in tennis, and the ball climbs the net and dives obediently. Thermoforming underwrites all of it. Moulding the paddle into one sealed structure is the industry's answer to torsional stability – the property you pay for in a quality tennis frame – and it shows most on the shots you slightly miss. Late contact stays playable. Jammed volleys stay in. Over a three-hour session, that margin is the difference between winning the scrappy points and donating them. USAPA approved, league legal and dressed like a rainforest documentary: the Supernature makes the competitive tier feel anything but corporate. See the Scorpion Supernature at Central Tennis • Browse all AIXO pickleball paddles • Take the paddle finder quiz Shop the AIXO Scorpion Supernature at Central Tennis In stock now at Central Tennis. Expert stringing and racket fitting available in store. Aixo P11A Scorpion Series Supernature 3K Raw Carbon Pickleball Paddle from £45.00 Aixo P11A Scorpion Series Lazy Sundae 3K Raw Carbon Pickleball Paddle from £64.00 Aixo P11A Scorpion Series Glam Slam 3K Raw Carbon Pickleball Paddle from £64.00 Browse more: AIXO Scorpion series · All AIXO pickleball paddles · All pickleball Shop the AIXO Scorpion series → Not sure what suits your game? Talk to our team — we fit, string and demo rackets every day.