USA Pickleball granted the OWL paddle provisional certification in early 2024 but kept that status hidden from competitors, consumers and the public for more than two years — raising fundamental questions about regulatory fairness when one company receives an invisible exemption from standards enforced against everyone else.

Key Takeaways

  • USAP granted OWL provisional competition certification in early 2024, waiving surface roughness testing because the paddle “could not be certified by measuring roughness conventionally” — but kept provisional status internal, undisclosed to public or competitors
  • Independent testing shows OWL produces highest spin levels of any USAP-approved paddle; USAP’s lab spin test intended to resolve the question remains incomplete after two years
  • Other manufacturers under investigation or delisted for exceeding the same roughness standard waived for OWL, creating competitive imbalance through secret regulatory exemption

USA Pickleball granted the OWL paddle provisional competition certification in early 2024 but kept that status hidden from the public, competitors and consumers, allowing the paddle to be sold and used in sanctioned tournaments for more than two years under the appearance of full approval, as revealed in an article posted by pickleball.com.

Carl Schmits, USA Pickleball’s Chief Technical Officer, confirmed on the record that the OWL’s competition certification was provisional from the start, granted with the intent “to re-evaluate once spinrate had been completed.” The provisional status was kept internal by design. When asked whether the terms were published anywhere players, buyers or manufacturers would see them, Schmits replied: “Internal until ready for disclosure.”

The core issue is not whether the OWL paddle should be legal. The issue is whether a governing body can exempt one company from a published standard, keep that exemption secret for years, and maintain credibility when it enforces the same standard against others.

A Standard Waived, But Only for One Company

The OWL paddle, known for its Acoustene surface that significantly reduces the sound of ball contact, could not be measured by the standard surface roughness test that every other USAP-approved paddle must pass. Schmits confirmed the paddle “could not be certified by measuring roughness conventionally with a profilometer,” so the roughness requirement — a core component of paddle certification designed to limit spin — was waived entirely.

The paddle cleared other tests, including coefficient of friction and power limits, with no relief granted on those measures. But the absence of roughness testing, combined with a provisional approval no one outside USAP knew existed, created what investigative journalist Joseph Sutton, writing for Pickleball.com, described as “an extended commercial head start on a measurable on-court advantage, available to exactly one company, granted through a process no competitor could enter.”

Independent paddle testing by John Kew and Pickleball Studio has consistently found that the OWL produces higher spin than any other paddle on the USAP-approved list, particularly after the surface has been broken in through regular use. Competitive players who have faced the OWL report the same experience — spin levels that stand apart from the rest of the field.

USAP’s position, as laid out by Schmits, is that coefficient of friction is a “fundamental parameter in contact mechanics” that has “reliably held spin in check since its intro in 2020,” and that data gathered during the development of a forthcoming lab-based spin test supports that conclusion. Schmits also suggested that extreme textures may produce an “unexpected inverse result,” reducing the contact patch between paddle and ball and therefore limiting spin.

But USAP’s lab spin test is not yet complete, more than two years after the OWL received its provisional approval. The independent testing that does exist points in the opposite direction to USAP’s theoretical case, and the governing body has not published data to counter it.

The Problem with Secret Provisional Approvals

In the meantime, the OWL has been sold in multiple models across an expanding product line, all carrying full tournament approval as far as any buyer could tell. The PRNewswire release announcing the paddle’s competition certification in early 2024 described it as “100% USAP tournament play-approved and certified for amateur and professional players to use at any event or competition in the world.” The release went out the same day as the announcement of OWL’s partnership with the APP Tour.

The contrast with how USAP has treated other manufacturers is stark. Several small brands are currently under investigation or have been delisted for exceeding surface roughness limits, with those cases made public on USAP’s compliance page. The roughness test that was waived for the OWL is the same test being enforced against those companies.

Sutton’s analysis is direct: “A relief lane nobody can see is a relief lane nobody else can ask for.” The provisional approval may have been a reasonable response to a novel surface that solved a genuine problem — pickleball’s noise issue is real, and it restricts the sport’s growth in many areas. But keeping the provisional status secret whilst enforcing the full standard against everyone else created a competitive imbalance that no transparent regulatory system should permit.

The OWL entered the market through USAP’s Quiet Category, which was explicitly created for non-sanctioned play with specification relief. That made sense. The category existed to encourage solutions to the noise problem without requiring full competition legality. When the OWL moved to full competition certification, the assumption — because nothing in the public record suggested otherwise — was that it had cleared the same bar as everything else. It had not.

What Happens When the Lab Test Finally Arrives?

The unresolved question is what happens when USAP’s lab spin test, still incomplete after more than two years of development, eventually arrives. If the test confirms that the OWL exceeds acceptable spin limits, does USAP retroactively enforce the standard and delist the paddle? Or does the company receive grandfathered status because the provisional approval was extended for so long?

If the test shows the OWL within limits, does that vindicate USAP’s decision to waive roughness testing — or does it raise questions about why the provisional window lasted more than two years when the stated justification was to await test completion?

Either outcome leaves USAP in a difficult position. If the paddle is delisted, the governing body will have allowed thousands of units to be sold under false pretences. If the paddle remains legal, competitors will reasonably ask why they were not offered the same provisional pathway when developing novel surfaces.

Schmits pointed to precedent, citing the UPA-A’s use of provisional approvals roughly 15 months ahead of its formal specification rollout in September 2025. But Jason Aspes, President of the UPA-A, disputes USAP’s characterisation of that precedent. According to Aspes, the paddle Schmits appears to be describing — the JOOLA 3S — is still approved by both the UPA-A and USAP, the only difference being a smoother surface because the UPA-A measures spin rather than grit. The paddle that USAP delisted for excessive power, the JOOLA Gen 3, would not have passed UPA-A standards at any stage, provisional or otherwise.

If Aspes is correct, the precedent USAP is using to justify its handling of the OWL approval rests on a factual error about which paddle it is referring to.

What This Means

Governing bodies in emerging sports face genuine challenges when novel technology arrives faster than testing protocols can adapt. Provisional approvals can be a sensible regulatory tool — they allow innovation to proceed whilst data is gathered and standards are refined. But provisional approvals only function as safeguards if they are visible.

A secret provisional approval is not a regulatory safeguard. It is a competitive advantage extended to one company at the expense of everyone else who has to follow the published rules.

The OWL’s Acoustene surface is clever technology that addresses a real problem. The provisional approval may even have been the right call. But keeping it invisible was not. And the longer USAP defers to a spin test that has been “nearing completion” for more than two years, the harder it becomes to argue that the provisional window was ever meant to close.

USAP has not announced a timeline for completing its lab spin test or for resolving the OWL’s certification status. The paddle remains fully approved for tournament play.

Further Reading

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Chris Beaumont

Founder and Editor-in-Chief
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine. Chris follows the global game closely, reporting on the latest news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball Podcast, interviewing people at…

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