Pickleball Paddle Swingweight Explained

In simple terms swingweight conveys how heavy or light a paddle feels while swinging it. If we get more technical, swingweight is the measurement of a paddle’s resistance to swinging about an axis near the end of the handle. It is a dynamic measurement, and the numbers are used to describe how much effort it takes to get the paddle moving (inertia). The higher the swingweight number the more effort it takes. Conversely, paddles with lower swingweight numbers should feel easier to maneuver. Your paddle's overall weight, the distribution of its weight (balance), along with the length of a paddle all contribute to its swingweight.

A great tool to help anyone detect differences in swingweight is a hammer. Due to the extreme disparity of weight at either end of a hammer, it is ideal for getting a feel for either a higher or lower swingweight.

Waving the hammer back and forth a few times is all it takes is to feel that disparity of weight on one end of the hammer compared to the other. Holding a hammer the traditional way, the tool feels noticeably heavier swinging it. Flip the hammer around, with the mallet end in your hand, and it is far easier to maneuver. The takeaway is that although the weight of the hammer does not change, the effort required to swing it does.

Two paddles that are the same in every way except for their swingweight are going to feel noticeably different. The paddle with the lower swingweight will be easier to swing. The lighter swinging paddle will probably feel more adept near the kitchen line but may require more effort from the player to generate power from the baseline. The paddle with the higher swingweight will feel heavier on the swing, which adds easy power, especially from the backcourt (serve, return and groundstrokes), but it could be more of a challenge to keep up with fast volley exchanges near the kitchen.

Devices that measure paddle swingweight attach at the handle and allow the paddle to swing back and forth several times. From that movement, the device produces a swingweight reading or number.

Because there are variances within the manufacturing process and materials like graphite, carbon and polypropylene are not completely uniform, no two paddles are going to be equal in all aspects, and that would affect swingweight readings.

In addition, different measuring devices could result in varying numbers. How far up or down the handle the device holds the paddle changes the reading, and not all swingweight machines attach to the handle at same spot.

Pickleball Warehouse uses the HEAD 4-in-1 diagnostic machine. This machine measures static weight, balance, twistweight and swingweight. We measure a sample set of the same model and use the average as the swingweight number posted on our paddle descriptions.

Overall the goal is to use a pickleball paddle that complements your strategies and approach to striking the ball. On the other hand, if you are seeking to duplicate a particular paddle’s performance in another (whether it's the same or a different model), swingweight numbers become more important.

Key things to remember:

• Swingweight is the measurement of a paddle's resistance to swinging about an axis near the end of the handle.
• Swinging a household hammer from both ends is one of the better methods to discover what higher and lower swingweights feel like. It’s hard to swing with the weight away from your hand, and if you hold the mallet end, the hammer is easier to maneuver.
• A higher swingweight equates to more power.
• A lower swingweight puts a premium on paddle maneuverability and finesse over power.