Every paddle on this store carries five scores out of ten: power, control, spin, forgiveness and manoeuvrability. This is where they come from — and, just as importantly, what they are not.
- The scores are our reading of published construction — core thickness, face material, core type, shape, weight.
- They are not lab tests, not review scores, and not comparable to another retailer's numbers.
- Nothing is weighted by price or margin.
- Use them to narrow twenty paddles to three. They cannot tell you how one will feel in your hand.
They are our assessment, from published construction
The scores are derived from what the manufacturer publishes about how the paddle is built: core thickness, face material, core type, shape, and weight. We read those specifications and translate them into a consistent scale so that paddles can be compared against each other.
That is the entire method. There is no proprietary index and nothing is weighted by price or margin.
What they are not
- They are not lab measurements. We do not own a ball machine, a swing robot, or a spin meter. No figure here comes from a test we ran.
- They are not review scores. No player has rated these paddles for us, and we do not aggregate ratings from elsewhere.
- They are not comparable to another retailer's numbers. A 7 here means a 7 relative to the other paddles we stock.
Every product page states this in the listing itself, not only here.
How construction maps to a score
| Score | Rises with | Falls with |
|---|---|---|
| Power | Thinner core, stiffer face, thermoformed build, foam-backed perimeter | Thicker, softer cores that absorb energy instead of returning it |
| Control | Thicker core, which lengthens dwell time and lets you shape a shot | Thin, firm cores that release the ball immediately |
| Spin | Unfinished or deliberately textured face — spin is friction | Painted or sealed faces, and any face polished smooth by wear |
| Forgiveness | Foam-filled perimeters, wider body shapes | Elongated shapes that concentrate the sweet spot |
| Manoeuvrability | Lower weight and swing weight | Elongated shapes and added perimeter mass |
Why some paddles score low on purpose
A training paddle with a deliberately narrow face scores 4 for forgiveness. That is not a criticism — it is the entire point of the product, and the listing says so.
Using them to actually choose
On the paddle collection page there are five sliders matching these axes. Set them to the balance you want and the range reorders by how closely each paddle matches, with a percentage on each card. It compares against every paddle in the collection, not just the ones on screen.
These scores tell you how a paddle is built and what that construction tends to do. They cannot tell you how it will feel in your hand. Use them to narrow a field of twenty down to three, then choose on the things a spec sheet cannot carry.