6 Best Pickleball Paddles for Women

Are you looking to elevate your pickleball performance with a fresh new paddle? You’ve come to the right place! Female pickleball players usually have different requirements than men. As a result, the ideal pickleball paddles for women differ from what men might favor.

Let us help inform you what to look for when shopping for the best pickleball paddles for women. We’ll also provide some of our top recommendations to save you the trouble.

Featured Products

• HEAD Extreme Tour Lite — Best Overall
• Pickleball Central Rally Tyro 2 — Budget Choice
• Selkirk Amped Epic — Premium Pick

Read Next: Best Pickleball Paddles

Women’s Pickleball Paddle Buyer’s Guide

As with many sports, men and women have different requirements when it comes to equipment. Therefore it’s understandable to expect dedicated men’s and women’s paddles when searching around.

However, this is not the case in pickleball. Rather, almost all paddles are unisex. Instead, this forces us to break down the qualities women generally seek in a racket. Of course, everyone is different, and there are always exceptions to the rules.

Weight

Women, on average, weigh less than men and have less musculature. These factors mean that the best pickleball rackets for women are usually lighter paddles weighing 7.3 oz or less. Of course, average weighted paddles can still be a good option at 7.3 to 8.4 oz. However, heavy paddles at 8.4 oz are probably not a good choice.

Read Next: Best Pickleball Paddles for Beginners

Grip Size

Women are smaller than men and usually have smaller hands. As such, the best pickleball paddles for women have small grips. This ensures comfort and a firm grip on the racket while playing.

Fortunately, pickleball paddles with small grips are very common. The smallest grips are usually 4 ⅛,” but some rackets go as low as 4”.

Power

This quality is a little more debatable. Nonetheless, it is worth discussing. Due to less muscle mass than men, women cannot generate as much power. This means it might not only be a good idea to purchase a lightweight pickleball paddle with a small grip but also one with a lot of power. Perhaps with a graphite face or a particularly thick core.

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Best Pickleball Paddles for Women

HEAD Extreme Tour Lite — Best Overall

Specifications

Face material: Graphite

Core material: Optimized Tubular Core (polypropylene honeycomb)

Shape: Slightly elongated

Paddle dimensions: 16” x 7 ⅞”

Grip circumference: 4 ⅛”

Grip Length: Not listed

Weight: 7.2 oz

Pros

• USAPA approved
• Available in 2 colors
• Well-priced
• Good spin
• Control Stabilizer Technology
• Comfort grip
• 2-year warranty

Cons

• Fairly expensive

Rating: 9.7

As the lightest paddle in the Extreme Series by HEAD, the Extreme Tour Lite makes for an excellent women’s paddle. It weighs just 7.2 oz and has a fairly small handle to go with it at 4 ⅛”.

It’s also a top performer across the board. The Extreme Tour Lite features an Optimized Tubular Core with a super spinny graphite face. Despite its lightness, it still produces plenty of snap for you to hit winners.

One of the advanced pieces of technology it uses is its Control Stabilizer tech. This is only present on HEAD’s most advanced rackets. It mitigates twisting of the paddle for even the most impactful shots, thereby helping to keep your wrist stable and your shots precise.

There’s also no denying the fact that this racket simply looks gorgeous. I, for one, love the yellow and could easily see myself using it. However, you can also pick it up in silver if that’s more your color. Aesthetics aside, it’s the best women’s pickleball racket, in my opinion.

Prince Spectrum Pro

Specifications

Face material: Fiberglass with textured UV coating

Core material: Polypropylene honeycomb

Shape: Wide-body

Paddle dimensions: 15 ¾” x 8 ¼”

Grip circumference: 4 ⅛” or 4 ⅜”

Grip Length: 5”

Weight: 7.2-7.6 oz or 7.7-8.3 oz

Pros

• USAPA approved
• Available in 4 colors
• Multiple handle options
• Very responsive

Cons

• Fairly expensive

Rating: 9.3

The most striking aspect of the Prince Spectrum Pro is its irregular shape. Its corners are rounded, which helps to enlarge the sweet spot area for higher quality shots.

Moving on to the internals, Prince has used a 9/16” polypropylene honeycomb core for power. However, while thicker than conventional paddles, HEAD wants to clearly distinguish between its core and indiscriminate speed. They instead refer to its pace as “linear progressive.” This means you get amplified speed as you exert more force, but it is predictable and controllable.

As for the weight, you can pick this paddle up in either the standard or lightweight version. For most women, the lightweight version is probably most suitable. These rackets fall within the 7.2-7.6oz range. For standard, it’s instead 7.7-8.3 oz. You can also choose your handle size between either 4 ⅛” or 4 ⅜”. Once again, the smaller version is likely your best choice as a lady.

Read Next: Best Pickleball Set

GAMMA Neutron 2.0

Specifications

Face material: Textured graphite

Core material: Nomex honeycomb

Shape: Wide-body

Paddle dimensions: 15 ⅜”  x 8 ⅛”

Grip circumference: 4”

Grip Length: 5 ¼”

Weight: 7 oz

Pros

• USAPA approved
• Fast
• Very light
• Very thin handle

Cons

• Expensive
• Loud
• No color options

Rating: 9.6

While the Gamma Neutron 2.0 features a graphite face like the HEAD Extreme Tour Lite, it does not use polypropylene for the core. Instead, it uses Nomex, which we see less and less. Its lightweight and hard feel characterize Nomex. The drawback is its loudness. If you plan on playing outside your house, you might irritate neighbors.

Weighing in at 7 oz, the GAMMA Neutron 2.0 is the lightest racket thus far, and it also has the smallest pickleball paddle grip at 4”. This makes it the ideal pickleball paddle for women with a smaller stature.

Christine McGrath Signature Paddle

Specifications

Face material: Fiberglass

Core material: Polypropylene honeycomb

Shape: Slightly elongated

Paddle dimensions: 15.9” x 8”

Grip circumference: 4 ¼”

Grip Length: 5”

Weight: 7.6-8.1 oz, 7.9-8.3 oz

Pros

• USAPA approved
• Used by pro player Christine McGrath
• Superb spin
• Fast

Cons

• Might be heavy for some players
• No color options

Rating: 9.2

The Christine McGrath Signature paddle is slightly different from the other rackets on this list because it is notably heavier. It has two versions: the 13mm core and the 16mm core. It can be 7.6 oz at its lightest and at its heaviest, 8.3 oz—the latter ranks right at the top end of average weighted paddles.

The fact that pro player Christine McGrath uses it to great effect shows that light paddles are not always the best choice for women. Rather than a loose tendency. You should ultimately decide how heavy you want your paddle to be.

This signature racket features a fiberglass face and, at its thickest, a 16mm core which provides plenty of pace. The fiberglass face also uses MaxGrit material. This gives it optimal grip making it excel for spin shots.

Pickleball Central Rally Tyro 2 — Budget Choice

Specifications

Face material: Fiberglass

Core material: Polypropylene honeycomb

Shape: Wide-body

Paddle dimensions: 15 ¾” x 7 ⅞”

Grip circumference: 4”

Grip Length: 4 ⅞”

Weight: 6.9-7.2 oz

Pros

• USAPA approved
• Inexpensive
• Very light
• 1-year warranty
• Satisfaction guaranteed

Cons

• Very plain-looking
• Only for beginners

Rating: 9.2

The Rally Tyro 2 is the ultimate pick alongside the GAMMA Neutron 2.0 for particularly small women. The handle circumference is just 4”, the thinnest you can get, and the racket weighs from just 6.9-7.2 oz.

Despite being so light, the racket uses a 1/2” thick polypropylene, which is adequate to produce enough pace on your shots. But what’s even more impressive is the price tag. It costs less than half of the paddles on this list which is rather impressive. Of course, it does lack premium features, but this is to be expected as it is more of a beginner paddle than an advanced one.

An interesting point I thought I’d mention is that while previously this racket was not USAPA approved because of an uneven surface texture, it now meets USAPA rules. It became legal in 2021, sometime after its initial release in 2014.

My only real issue with this paddle is its design. Frankly, it’s the worst-looking paddle I have seen because it is so damn plain! Why Pickleball Central didn’t give it a little splash of color is beyond me. Fortunately, this doesn’t affect performance, so it’s still a top buy.

Selkirk Amped Epic — Premium Pick

Specifications

Face material: FiberFlex Fiberglass

Core material: Polypropylene X5 honeycomb

Shape: Wide-body

Paddle dimensions: 15 ¾” x 8”

Grip circumference: 4 ¼”

Grip Length: 5 ¼”

Weight: 7.3-7.7 oz or 7.8-8.4 oz

Pros

• USAPA approved
• Available in 3 colors
• Fast
• Great appearance
• Choose your desired weight

Cons

• Might be too heavy for some players
• Expensive

Rating: 9.6

Our final racket is the Selkirk’s Amped Epic paddle, which is the most expensive. It is a very nice-looking racket in three bold colors — certainly one of the best in our opinion.

The core, like most, is made from polypropylene honeycomb, but this one is a little more advanced. Named the “X5 Honeycomb core”, it is thicker than most other models, which helps give it a sweet spot size advantage while minimizing vibrations for a superior feel.

But I hear you. A lot of premium rackets have thick polypropylene cores. And you’re right. So instead, I’ll turn your attention to a different quality which is a little less common, and that’s the handle. While it has the thin 4 ¼” handle circumference we want, it’s longer than typical rackets at 5 ¼”.

This is because Selkirk wants players to be able to hit two-handed shots comfortably. So if you’re lacking power on your backhand side, the Amped Epic paddle could be a good choice if you can stomach the cost.

Read Next: Best Pickleball Bags

Conclusion

While ladies can favor a variety of racket specifications, the best pickleball paddles for women tend to be lightweight and have small grips.

Taking this into account, we find the best women’s pickleball paddle to be the HEAD Extreme Tour Lite. It weighs 7.2 oz, has a 4 ⅛” grip, and is loaded with advanced tech. In fact, the regular HEAD Extreme Tour (not the lite version) topped the list of the best HEAD rackets. So clearly, we are big fans of these remarkably similar paddles.

I also think it’s worth highlighting just how much of a good buy the Pickleball Central Rally Tyro 2 is. Sure it has a boring appearance, but its low cost blows the other options out of the water in terms of value, and it’s one of the lightest paddles you can buy at 6.9-7.2 oz.

FAQs

Are Pickleball Paddles Unisex?

Almost all pickleball paddles are unisex. Only a select few rackets are specifically marketed towards women; even then, they can still be good choices for men.

What Is the Standard Size of a Pickleball Paddle?

Standard pickleball paddles measure 16” long by 8” wide and are usually in the wide-body form. This falls within the 24” total requirement for rackets to be of legal size.