A
nyone who’s ever played a racquet sport
will likely recognize the global brands
Wilson Sporting Goods, HEAD, Babolat and
FILA. As four of the best-known sporting
gear manufacturers worldwide, these companies
are now competing to outfit a slice of the country’s
exploding pickleball population, which, according to the
USA Pickleball Association (USAPA), now numbers more
than 3 million players rallying on nearly 21,000 courts
across the country.
Wilson Sporting Goods first entered the pickleball
market in 2014 with paddles, according to Ben Porter,
the company’s pickleball product manager.
“We dove into the industry because of the excitement
we shared with the public for the game,” he says. “We
also knew that we have a global footprint that we
could use to help spread awareness and grow the sport
further.”
Today, Wilson offers several different paddles as well
as shoes, bags and other accessories to outfit even the
most competitive pickleball players. The company’s
paddles and shoes are selling well, notes Porter, thanks to
the company’s commitment to improving the research,
quality and performance of its product assortment.
Wilson created the first metal-frame tennis racquet back
in the late 1960s and is now applying its long history of
innovation to pickleball.
“We are taking the fabric of what makes Wilson
successful—the people, research, processes and
innovation—and investing this in pickleball,” explains
Porter. “By investing the right resources in the right
places, we are creating cutting-edge products
that provide unique added value for
various player types.”
As of press time, Wilson was
planning to introduce two
new “groundbreaking”
pickleball products in
late 2019—a ball with a
cutting-edge design,
and new footwear that
is designed to optimize
player movement on
the court.
The ball, branded
TRU32, has a brand-
new hole design that has
been approved by the USAPA
for competitive play. TRU32 sets
a new standard for true pickleball
performance, thanks to two defining
characteristics: hole pattern and composition, says
Porter. It features a patented, 32-hole design that rotates
evenly on any axis for “superior flight and bounce
consistency,” he adds.
Wilson’s new pickleball shoes, dubbed the Rush Pro
2.5, come “armed with increased rubber density on the
outsole to maximize durability for pickleball,” according
to Porter.
Like Wilson, HEAD decided to make a move into
pickleball after following the growth of the game for
several years, says Ben Simons, Senior Business Manager
for HEAD Pickleball. The company entered the pickleball
market in 2017 with a line of paddles.
“It is never an easy or quick decision for us to enter a
new market, as it is a major commitment of resources,”
explains Simons. “We had been watching the sport for
several years and it got to a point where we felt that
pickleball fit into our company objectives and that we
could bring a benefit to the game through product and
investment in the sport.”
Today, HEAD offers an extensive line of pickleball
products. In addition to paddles, the company carries
bags, footwear, grips, eyewear, gloves, Penn pickleballs,
portable nets, training aids and more.
“One of the benefits of HEAD is we have a lot of
crossover products that benefit the consumer,” says
Simons. “Players can get everything they need for
pickleball.”
The company, which recently launched its
“Margaritaville” line of cosmetic pickleball paddles as
well as Penn 26 Indoor pickleballs, plans to continue to
innovate and design new products for the sport—with
more items on the way.
“We are always working on new products and finding
ways to improve our current products, and to make the
consumer experience with our product better,” explains
Simons. “Our new Penn 40 Outdoor and Penn 26 Indoor
[pickleballs] have taken years to develop. We must have
a high-quality product to put the Penn name on it and I
feel we accomplished that with both products.”
In response to the sport’s growth and demand for
high-quality products, Babolat is also poised to fully
enter the pickleball market in 2020. The company
currently offers a line of performance footwear that has
been used by both professional and amateur pickleball
players for several years.
“A lot of the movements that pickleball players
make on the court are similar to those of tennis and
badminton players, and our shoes are designed to meet
those needs,” says Susan DiBiase, General Manager of
Babolat USA.
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