Chaos or order: Which playing style will prevail?

Win the newest paddle from 11six24

January 29, 2026

 

We are entering interesting times at the top of pro pickleball. For a long time now, order has prevailed and the best teams have relied on fundamental pickleball to rack up wins — drop, move forward, dink, wait for a mistake. Rinse, repeat.

We know the game has been getting faster and more chaotic in recent years, but still the top teams have remained the top teams. Could 2026 be the year that all changes, and we see a new style find the winner’s circle more often? We discuss below.

Also in this issue:

  • Win the newest paddle from 11six24 🙌

  • We’re feeling nostalgic about this epic MLP point 😍

  • Pickleball influencers face off in (mostly) friendly competition 👀

  • Ranking our Top 10 paddles on the market right now 🤓

Let’s get cookin’. 🧑‍🍳

NEW YEAR, NEW GEAR

Win the newest paddle from 11six24

To celebrate the New Year, we are partnering with 11six24 to give away a brand new 11six24 Vapor Power 2 pickleball paddle. 💥

HOW TO ENTER

  1. LIKE this post

  2. TAG a few friends (every tag is a new entry!)

  3. FOLLOW @thekitchenpickleball and @11six24_pickleball

  4. SHARE this post to your stories

***YOU MUST COMPLETE ALL STEPS TO BE ELIGIBLE***

Giveaway ends LATER TODAY!

🔗 Shop 11six24 paddles here — Use code “KITCHEN” at checkout for 10% off

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

MLP will be here before we know it

The first Major League Pickleball trade window opened earlier this week. That means we can almost certainly expect a few trades ahead of the free-agency draft late next month.

As the offseason hype ramps up, we couldn’t help but look back on some of the best MLP points from years past. This one involving Ben Johns, Collin Johns, JW Johnson and Augie Ge is especially nostalgic. It’s one of our most-viewed highlights ever … and for good reason.

🔗 Check out this insane point on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok

THE PROS

Chaos or order: Which playing style will prevail in 2026?

We are entering interesting times at the top of pro pickleball. For a long time now, order has prevailed in the men’s and mixed doubles divisions.

Ben and Collin Johns were able to wear opponents down with a steady soft game diet. Drop, move forward, dink, wait for a mistake or a ball that Ben could attack. Pretty simple.

Even in mixed doubles, Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters play a mostly ordered game. Waters will speed up off the bounce sometimes, but it’s usually order first. “Boring” perhaps, but effective enough for Johns to rack up more than 50 men’s doubles gold medals and Johns and Waters to be the most dominant mixed doubles team in history. Not too shabby.

Earlier this month, during the PPA Tour Masters, we got to see Hayden Patriquin (who some argue is poised to take over as the most dominant men’s doubles player in the game) bring his approach – chaos you might say – to the final against Johns in both men's doubles and mixed doubles.

There has been chaos before. Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu were able to make some waves in 2025 using a full-throttle shake & bake approach. But order was able to adapt and reassert its dominance in the second half of 2025.

Patriquin's partnerships with Alshon in men’s doubles and Anna Bright in mixed doubles makes it likely that he and Johns will be facing off a lot in 2026. And Patriquin brings a different form of chaos to those matches.

His athleticism, footwork, court vision and fearlessness set up what should be a very interesting test for Johns’ ordered play.

In this article we will take a closer look at how order might be challenged in each of the three doubles divisions -- men's, women's and mixed -- this year.

FEATURED STORY

Pickleball influencers face off in (mostly) friendly competition

Many of the biggest paddle reviewers and personalities in pickleball are now competing against each other in a new competition organized by Pickleball.com.

The contest -- appropriately called Pickleball Pick'em -- involves teams of 3 making their picks for every PPA Tour event. The participants are asked to make their selections for each bracket (men's singles, women's singles, mixed doubles, men's doubles and women's doubles), and a running score total is kept throughout the season.

Here are the teams in the competition:

IDENTIFY AS A 5.0 (past champions)
Captain: Marcus Noftle (Pickleball.com personality)
Brett Mack (personality)
Samson Falau (paddle reviewer)

PICKLEBALL STUDIO
Captain: Chris Olson (paddle reviewer, 2nd place last year)
Aizec Olson (paddle reviewer, 2nd place last year)
Sam (fan/player)

THE KITCHEN
Captain: Alex Lantz (writer)
Katie (fan/player)
Mary (fan/player)

TEAM KEW
Captain: John Kew (paddle reviewer)
Levi (fan/player)
Clayton (fan/player)

PICKLEBALL EFFECT
Captain: Braydon Unsicker (paddle reviewer)
Aaron The Editor (creator)
Wesdawg (creator)

The teams are competing for bragging rights and a trophy at the end of the season.

GEAR

Our Top 10 pickleball paddles on the market right now

We’ve tested the best paddles from the top brands in the game for hours on the court, sought feedback from pros and put together a comprehensive list to help you find the perfect paddle for your game. Below you'll find what we believe to be the best paddles available right now.

We update the list monthly as new paddles are released and we get our hands on the latest and greatest technology in the sport. In many cases, using code "KITCHEN" at checkout will get you a discount -- using our code also helps us continue to produce this type of content.

  1. JOOLA PRO IV SERIES: The JOOLA Pro IV series has been at the top of our list since it was released last year, and while there have been many great paddles released since then, this one is standing the test of time (for now). An added section of high-density foam inside the bottom corners/throat area of the Pro IV models allows the paddle to flex more than prior models, which adds forgiveness and enhances feel, power and dwell time. Check out our in-depth review of the JOOLA Perseus Pro IV or find a breakdown of the entire Pro IV line here.

  2. RPM FRICTION PRO: This paddle -- designed by pro player James Ignatowich -- has everything a player could want: Top-tier spin, great power and effortless control. There's a real argument to be made for this paddle to be No. 1 on our list, but we gave JOOLA the slight edge because of the various shape and thickness options of the Pro IV series. Right now the RPM comes in 3 options: 16mm elongated, 14mm elongated and 16mm widebody. Find our in-depth review of the RPM Friction Pro here.

  3. SIX ZERO BLACK OPAL: Six Zero's latest paddle is geared toward advanced players (4.5 or 5.0+), but it has an extremely high ceiling if you're willing to invest the time to get the touch dialed in. It's a true power paddle that also offers great shot-shaping ability -- particularly for players with shorter, whippy strokes. The 14mm foam core feels very satisfying when you connect with the center of the paddle, but if there is a knock on this paddle, it's that the sweet spot isn't as big as the two paddles ahead of it on this list and several others behind it. But because of its top-tier potential when in the hands of a good player, it goes high on our Top 10. Find our in-depth review of the Six Zero Black Opal here.

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