Should this player be banned for life?

Anna Bright dishes on breakup with James Ignatowich

April 14, 2026

 

There have been a ton of new paddle releases in Q1 of 2026, leading many pro players to make equipment changes recently. With all those new paddles flooding the market, we thought it was a good time to take stock of what the top players have in their bag right now.

Spoiler alert: JOOLA leads the pack, with many sponsored (and some unsponsored) players making the switch to the new Pro V models. But other paddles are also generating buzz at the pro level, such as the Engage X2, 11SIX24 Vapor Power 2 and Luzz Glider. We break it all down below.

Also in this issue:

  • There’s no room for this behavior in pickleball 😡

  • Anna Bright dishes on breakup with James Ignatowich 🎧

  • We’re giving away 10 brand-new Engage X2 paddles 🙌

  • New reality series gives behind-the-scenes glimpse at pro pickleball 👀

  • Everything you need to know about the PPA Tour Sacramento Open 🏆

Let’s get cookin’. 🧑‍🍳

GIVEAWAY

We’re giving away 10 BRAND-NEW Engage X2 paddles!

We are partnering with ENGAGE to give away 10 of the brand’s new X2 pickleball paddles. ⚡️

HOW TO ENTER

  1. LIKE this post

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

  3. FOLLOW @thekitchenpickleball and @engagepickleball on Instagram

  4. SHARE this post to your stories

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

We will choose 10 random winners on April 20! 🥳

🔗 Check out our full review of the Engage X2 or shop all Engage paddles here — use code “KITCHEN” for 10% off

LOWLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Should this player be banned for life?

We’ve seen many paddle throws over the years, and we’ll be honest: Most of them are kind of funny as an outside viewer.

But this one was downright dangerous, and could have gotten somebody seriously injured. What should the punishment be for something like this? Is a lifetime bad too harsh?

A piece of advice for all the hot heads out there: If you’re going to chuck your paddle, make sure you chuck it into a wall/fence/open field where there’s no chance it could hit somebody.

🔗 Check out the replay on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok

PICKLEBALLERS

Anna Bright on dating James Ignatowich and breaking up

There’s been a lot of speculation about the Anna Bright-James Ignatowich breakup since the two former partners on and off the court split up.

To cut through all the BS, we went straight to the source. In a recent episode of Pickleballers, Bright opened up about their relationship, how they first met and what it was like dating while competing at the pro level. She also reveals whether they’re still cool or not.

Drama aside, the Anna Bright episode of Pickleballers is on its way to becoming our MOST-WATCHED EPISODE EVER. If you haven’t checked it out yet, we highly recommend.

🔗 Watch the full episode of Pickleballers with Anna Bright on YouTube or listen on Spotify

PADDLE CORNER

What the top pickleball pros are using right now

With several brands releasing new paddles in the first few months of the year, many of the top pro pickleball players have recently switched up their equipment.

So we thought it was a good time to take a closer look at exactly which paddle models are being used by the pros. We were especially interested in looking at what unsponsored pros are using (see JW Johnson and Catherine Parenteau below) — it’s usually a strong indicator that a paddle is really good when pro players are using it for free.

Ben Johns (JOOLA Perseus Pro V 16mm): It’s no surprise that Johns switched to the latest JOOLA model for doubles. What is somewhat surprising is that he’s also using it for singles — he previously had stuck with an older and much more plush-feeling JOOLA model for singles, but has said in interviews that he really likes the Pro V for both disciplines. Shop here.

JW Johnson (Franklin C45 Dynasty 16mm): Johnson’s contract with Franklin ended earlier this year, and for a few tournaments he had switched to the JOOLA Pro IV. He also used a PIKKL paddle for at least one tournament, but is now back to his trusty Franklin. Shop here.

Catherine Parenteau (JOOLA Scorpeus Pro V 14mm): Her multi-year contract with Selkirk was up at the end of February, and we believe she’s free to use whatever she wants right now. It’s a strong endorsement for the latest JOOLA release. Shop here.

Eric Oncins (Engage X2): Oncins has been having great results since switching to the Engage X2 earlier this year, and has now cracked the Top 10 in both the men’s doubles and mixed doubles points standings on the PPA Tour. Shop here.

Dekel Bar/Augie Ge (11SIX24 Vapor Power 2): The latest paddle from 11SIX24 has gotten a lot of buzz in the industry because of it’s extremely gritty surface texture. Shop here.

Kaitlyn Christian/Chris Haworth/Roscoe Bellamy (Luzz Glider): All three players are sponsored by Luzz, but this is a notable one because Luzz’s foam-core paddles have become very popular over the past year. Here’s the twist: The Glider (their latest paddle) has a “Gen 3” honeycomb core, indicating that Luzz could soon have very popular paddles in both the “Gen 3” and “Gen 4” categories. Shop here.

TRENDING

There are just two PPA Tour events remaining between now and the PPA Finals in early May.

That means there are limited opportunities for players to improve their standing in the points race ahead of the end-of-season championship in San Clemente, California.

The home stretch starts this week at the PPA Tour Sacramento Open. Main-draw matches start on Tuesday, with one round in every division to be played each day through Championship Sunday.

PICKLEBALL REALITY SERIES

Trailer for new show gives behind-the-scenes glimpse at pro pickleball

A new reality series called "Partners" is set to be released next month, showcasing the inner-workings of pro pickleball and the players who compete on the PPA Tour.

A trailer for the show was released last week, and all indications are that "Partners" will give fans a rare behind-the-scenes look at what really goes on off the court.

The six-part series, produced by Shutterstock Studios, follows more than 25 players, coaches and executives at the center of the PPA Tour. Prominent players in the trailer include Anna Leigh Waters, Anna Bright, Parris Todd, Ben Johns, Gabe Tardio, Hayden Patriquin, Christian Alshon, Hunter Johnson and more.

The series, which premieres on May 5, will air on Prime Video in the U.S. as well as on the PPA Tour YouTube channel and PickleballTV.

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