There's a moment in every sport's evolution when someone draws a line in the sand. For pickleball, that moment came in late 2024 with USAPA's implementation of Paddle-Ball Coefficient of Restitution testing. Six months later, we can finally see what that line protected: the soul of our sport.
Beyond the Technical
PBCoR sounds intimidating, but it isn’t. The test simply measures how much bounce your paddle adds to the ball, quantifying what players have felt for years: some paddles hit harder than others.
The rollout was somewhat messy. Favorite paddles vanished from approved lists overnight. Manufacturers found themselves redesigning equipment they'd spent years perfecting. Tournament players showed up with suddenly illegal gear.
Yet here we are. The dust has settled, and something very true to the sport has emerged.
What We Preserved
Pickleball was never supposed to be tennis with smaller courts. The magic lived in strategy over power, finesse over force. That a 70-year-old with perfect placement could still beat the 25-year-old athlete swinging for the fences.
PBCoR brought us back to that. Carl Schmits from USA Pickleball called it "protecting the integrity of sport," but it feels more personal — they protected what made us fall in love with this game in the first place.
The courts feel different now. Rallies last longer. Strategy matters again. Players are adapting their games instead of relying on equipment to do the work.
The Ripple Effects
While manufacturers pivoted from panic to innovation, developing new materials focused on control rather than raw power, players discovered forgotten aspects of their games — touch shots they'd neglected, court positioning they'd abandoned. Meanwhile, USAPA continued advancing their testing arsenal with spin rate measurements and 3D optical scanning, determined to stay ahead of any technology that might tip the competitive scales.
Where We Stand
At Mint Sport, we've always designed paddles to enhance natural ability rather than replace it. Watching PBCoR take effect felt like validation. Our philosophy aligned perfectly with where the sport was heading.
The sport evolved. We all evolved with it. And that line in the sand? It has become the foundation for a new future of the game.
Learn More
PBCoR compares the rebound speed to the incident speed of the ball hitting the padel. This quantifies the 'power' of a paddle. If you'd like to read more, visit USAPA's press release Advanced Equipment Testing with PBCoR.
