How Long Does it Take to Develop a Pickleball Paddle?

As someone who works behind the scenes in developing paddles, both as a consultant and product designer, I wanted to pull back the curtain on what actually goes into creating one. Most players see the finished product on store shelves, but there's normally 9-18 months of work that happens before launch.

I use a Gantt chart to map out the entire process. For those unfamiliar, it's basically a project management tool that shows different phases over time, with bars indicating how long each step takes and which ones can overlap.

From the first meeting where we're discussing ideas to actual launch is nine months minimum in a best-case scenario. And that's if everything goes perfectly, which it never does. You have to build a cushion because things can take twice as long, shipments get lost, and things never go as planned.

That’s why it’s tough to hear people saying they can buy a paddle for $50 somewhere else because that’s what it costs to manufacture. Here’s what goes behind the scenes for every paddle that actually does its own R&D.

Phase 1: Research and Conceptualization (Weeks 1-8)

Market Research (Ongoing)

This never stops. You constantly need to know what's currently on the market, what players want, and where you need to compete. The pickleball paddle market has evolved rapidly, and player preferences are getting more sophisticated by the month. You can't just make something cool and hope it sells. You need to understand the competitive landscape and where your paddle will fit within it.

Ideation and Conception

This phase typically happens in concert with the team at the brand. Sometimes they have pros who want something different, sometimes it's the actual people who work there brainstorming, and increasingly, brands hire consultants like me to tell them what's best or help fill out their lineup.

A lot of the designs I work on these days start from the concept phase. We're asking core questions: What problem does this paddle solve? What performance niche will it occupy? How is it different from what's already out there?

CAD Design and Technical Planning

Once we have approval on the concept, I create the CAD (Computer-Aided Design) files. I've learned that communicating with factories in China can be difficult. Even though many of them do have English speakers on staff, communication can be a barrier.

When you're able to create plans with CAD files that they can use directly on their machines and create molds, you eliminate the chance for miscommunication. You can't mistranslate millimeters.

Get the Factory on Board

After making the plans, you need approval. Not just from the brand, but from the factory too. You have to ask if they’re willing to take it on. Especially if it's something a little bit different, you need to get them on board to iterate on the idea. Not every factory wants to tool up for novel designs.

Phase 2: Prototyping and Iterative Testing (Weeks 8-32)

This is where the real work happens—and where most of my time goes.

Sample Production Rounds

You'll order multiple rounds of prototype samples. I'm literally looking at two boxes right here in my office. One has 15 paddles in it, one has 12 paddles—and those are round two and round three of the same paddle I've been working on.

You order multiple versions because you don't know what will work. It's all trial and error. You might try different densities of foam, different layups, different thicknesses, maybe different shapes. Then it's a lot of testing to narrow down which ones are performative and which ones need to be explored further.

You might narrow down 15 samples to three. Then you realize, "Oh, we need to make these changes." So you go back, update the plans, and order your next round of samples. Those three become 12 again because now you're iterating down that branch. It's very much like a decision tree.

Then the same thing happens. You test those 12 and get down to a final two or three. You might need another round, you might not. But this cycle of testing and iteration is where paddles are really made or broken.

The Testing Protocol

When I say testing, I mean several things:

Play Testing: Actually getting out on court and hitting with these paddles. I do most of this myself, but you also need feedback from players at different skill levels to understand how it performs across the board.

Manufacturing Inspection: I do a lot of dissection work to make sure everything looks good on the manufacturing side—that the construction quality matches specifications and there aren't hidden issues.

Regulatory Testing: This is the big one. You have to be really conscious of PBCoR (Paddle Ball Coefficient of Restitution) testing and deflection—the actual testing required by USA Pickleball for approval.

The Approval Challenge

When you're getting close and thinking, "Man, this could be good. We may need a couple more changes, but this might be awesome," that's when it's time to send paddles off for PBCoR testing. 

You can get this done through third parties or directly from the organizations at this point, and it costs a lot of money. It takes time, but you need to make sure you're going down a road where you actually have a legal paddle.

Here’s the caveat. Paddles often don't pass right away, especially right now where everybody wants to make a power paddle. If they fail, it becomes another process of iteration. You’re now wondering what you need to change. 

How do we get this to a place where it's legal but we don't lose the playability characteristics that we've built up to this point and really love?

This testing-iteration-testing-iteration cycle can repeat many times. It's play testing, dissection, approval body testing, make changes, repeat. This is why the timeline stretches out.

Phase 3: Pre-Production Planning (Weeks 20-36, Overlapping)

During all this testing and iteration, these other items are happening in the background. Everything overlaps during this phase:

Order Volume Assessment

This goes back to market research. You need to know how many paddles you think you’re going to sell. You base this on your own history as a company, how many of these other paddles are selling, whether this is hot, whether the timing is good, all of that. Get this wrong and you either have expensive excess inventory or you miss sales opportunities.

Graphic Design

You need to start doing graphic design once you get to a good place in development. The visuals need to be ready before launch, which means starting this work before you've finalized the build.

Media Samples

Once you have a promising design, you'll start ordering what they might call media samples. These might not be the exact final build, but they look like it on the outside. That way you can start filming videos, doing commercials, doing ad content—because that stuff takes a while. You want to have that all ready before launch.

So sometimes you have to film content before you have the actual final build. You'll make these media models of the paddles just for that purpose.

USA Pickleball Approval

For real approval, you have to wait a while. This is the official process that allows the paddle to be sold for sanctioned play. It's a critical path item that can delay everything if not managed carefully.

Phase 4: Production and Launch (Weeks 32-40)

Full Production Strategy

You'll start your full production order, but you'll often have a big number for full production, but you'll tell the factory, "Hey, we'd like you to make this many paddles for us and we'll have them by launch, but can you send us X amount first?"

Let's say it's a 5,000-paddle order, but you want a thousand ASAP. That way you can get that thousand and start pre-sales, start sending to reviewers, start doing all that stuff while the rest of production continues.

Product Videos and Reviewer Distribution

This all happens around the same time. There's a lot of communication that goes on behind the scenes with reviewers, making sure everything lines up to build the buzz and hype just in time to launch the paddle.

Pre-Launch Coordination

There's a lot that goes into launching a paddle internally. You need to figure out the economics and how it works for your brand. You also need to look at the seasonality of what's going on in the market—when you want to release your next paddle matters.

Because here's the thing: all of this stuff I'm describing is happening in parallel with multiple other projects if you're doing R&D properly. You're doing this entire paddle development timeline for one model, and then maybe you're three months behind with the next model, and then maybe you're three months behind that with the next model.

So it's parallel development across multiple paddles. Sometimes you hit on something and it goes quicker, sometimes you hit snags and it goes slower. You have to switch the order of which paddle you want to release when and why based on how development is actually progressing.

Catalog Paddles and Copycats Skip Ahead

Now, here's where you can expedite things significantly: if you're not doing R&D on something unique, you can skip a lot of the testing and iteration.

With a catalog paddle—basically a design the factory already makes that you're just putting your branding on—you can skip right to the step where you're talking about order volume assessment, graphic design, getting approval, all that. You skip the design phase, you skip the CAD files, you skip the iteration cycles.

This can bring the timeline down to maybe three or four months minimum, though you still have to account for ship times from Asia. That's about the fastest you could possibly do it.

Two years ago, catalog paddles were popping up everywhere. They still are, though it's not quite as frequent because approval costs have increased significantly compared to a year and a half ago. But it remains a viable path if speed to market is your priority.

Why Big Brands Take Longer

You'll notice companies like Selkirk and JOOLA take a long time to produce new paddles. The bigger you are, the longer this process takes. You have more stakeholders to satisfy, more internal approvals needed, higher standards to maintain because your reputation is on the line, and frankly, more bureaucracy to navigate.

There are so many T's to cross and I's to dot when you're a larger company. Making a new paddle is not guaranteed to be a glamorous and successful launch—it's actually quite risky. So the extra diligence makes sense even if it extends timelines.

The Real Cost of Innovation

Understanding this timeline helps explain why truly innovative paddles command premium prices. When you look at what goes into development:

• Consultant fees (I can tell you from experience, comprehensive development isn't cheap)
• Multiple prototype runs
• Regulatory testing fees, potentially multiple submissions (extra for expedited approvals)
• Mold development for new shapes
• Marketing and content creation
• Months of staff time across multiple functions

All of these costs have to be recovered across your projected sales volumes. That's why genuinely innovative paddles typically start at $150-$250, while catalog paddles can retail under $100.

Final Thoughts

For anyone wondering why their favorite brand takes so long between releases, or why that promising prototype they saw never made it to market, or why prices vary so dramatically between paddles that look similar—this is why. It's a nine-month minimum journey with countless decision points, potential failure modes, and significant financial investment.

It's a lot more complex than most people realize.

And honestly? Even after all this work, there's no guarantee the paddle will be successful. But that's what makes it interesting.

About the Author: Justin Barton

Justin Barton is the founder of Pickleball etc., a consulting business that helps pickleball brands thrive with operational insights, R&D, and product testing. With a background in small business consulting, Justin leverages his industry knowledge to help clients improve their products and expand their market presence. He also co-hosts the Pickleball Pursuit podcast, staying engaged with the latest trends and developments in the sport.

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