Six Zero tops 2026 pickleball paddle brand poll, JOOLA and Selkirk follow

A 2,600-player pulse check turned The Kitchen’s Facebook crowd into a buyer’s guide for the paddle bag, and Six Zero came out on top with 16 percent of the vote. JOOLA followed at 13 percent, Selkirk at 10 percent and RPM at 5 percent, a spread that says as much about what everyday players are chasing as it does about brand loyalty.

The poll drew responses from a community of more than 190,000 members and produced votes for 71 brands, which makes the result feel less like a casual barstool debate and more like a real snapshot of amateur buying behavior. For a traveler packing one paddle for clinics, open play and resort courts, the takeaway is clear: the most visible brands are the ones promising the hardest-to-find blend of power, forgiveness and broad day-to-day usefulness.

Six Zero’s edge makes sense in that light. The brand’s Coral and Black Opal, both first described in late 2025 as 100 percent foam-core paddles, have already built separate identities. The Black Opal leans into higher power, pop and spin, while the Coral is pitched as the more controlled option, with a bigger sweet spot. Six Zero says the Coral uses Next Gem technology, a durable foam Propulsion Core, a reinforced throat and Diamond Tough texture, all aimed at stability, spin and all-court play. That is exactly the kind of profile a non-pro wants when the same paddle has to work in a clinic on Monday and in a vacation doubles run by Friday.

JOOLA’s 13 percent showing points to another kind of buyer: the player who wants pro visibility and a paddle line that feels engineered around elite feedback. Its Pro V series launched in March 2026 and brought back shapes including Perseus, Scorpeus, Hyperion, Agassi and the new Kosmos shape. JOOLA says its patent-pending KineticFrame throat design is built into the line, and the Perseus Pro V page ties Ben Johns to that signature shape. That kind of name recognition matters when players are comparing paddles before a trip and want a model with a clear pedigree.

Selkirk’s 10 percent share and RPM’s 5 percent finish round out the picture. Selkirk’s Boomstik has earned a power-first reputation, while RPM, launched by James Ignatowich in 2025 and hard-launched on September 29, 2025, has kept momentum with the Friction Pro V2 and the Q2. RPM describes the Q2 as the launch model of its new Q Series, developed with John Kew.

The bigger backdrop is hard to miss. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association says U.S. participation grew from about 4.2 million players in 2020 to more than 24 million in 2025, and USA Pickleball says the court network kept expanding in 2025. In a market that crowded, this poll reads like a warning to brands and a cheat sheet for travelers: the winning paddle is no longer just the famous one, but the one that can actually handle every court you pack it for.