When choosing pickleball equipment, you can consider your skill level, playing style, and budget. Beginners might want paddles that are forgiving and offer control, along with durable pickleballs that are suitable for their environment. More experienced players can look for paddles that are tailored to their preferences and style.  There are also many different brands of balls on the market.

How Do You Tell the Difference between Indoor and Outdoor Pickleballs?

To the untrained eye, indoor and outdoor pickleballs might look similar enough. Once you’ve held an indoor and outdoor pickleball or had them side by side, the differences become more apparent.

Indoor and outdoor balls are unique in the following ways:

1. Number of Holes: Indoor balls have 26 holes while outdoor balls have 40.
2. Hole Diameter: Indoor balls have holes with wider diameters than outdoor balls.
3. Weight: Outdoor balls tend to be heavier than indoor balls.
4. Hardness: Outdoor balls tend to be harder plastic than indoor balls, aiding with more bounce.
5. Durability: Because outdoor pickleballs are harder they tend to crack quicker than softer indoor pickleballs.

What paddle should I buy?

This depends on how often you plan to play pickleball.  We suggest that for your first few times playing you borrow a paddle from someone if possible. If you can’t borrow a paddle then consider the following:

• How often do you plan to play?
• What is your budget?
• Do you hope to advance quickly and play competitively, or do you only plan to play socially?

If you plan to play more than once or twice a week it may be worth purchasing a quality paddle right from the start. There are a lot of good options starting from around $70.

Popular brands you may often see around Alexandria include: 

• Joola – pronounced YOH la 
• Selkirk 
• CRBN – pronounced Carbon 
• Diadem Edge 
• Six Zero 

We recommend only purchasing from a reputable source such as pickleballcentral.com, Amazon, or directly from the manufacturers website.

Shoes

They make shoes specifically for pickleball, the difference being they are made for side-to-side motion instead of forward motion.  Starting out any type of non-marking tennis shoes will be fine however as you progress you may find better stability in dedicated court shoes.

When playing be sure to change into your court shoes once you arrive. Rocks and debris can easily damage court surfaces.