First look at the JOOLA Agassi Pro and Graf Pro pickleball paddles

Alex Lantz

Director of Written Content

Last Edited

Mar 04 2025

Category

Gear

JOOLA made a huge splash in the world of pickleball with their first paddle release in 2022, and while that original Hyperion paddle was a seminal moment for the brand, this month's JOOLA X AGASSI release marks another major step for the company.

JOOLA partnered with tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf to release a paddle line catering to everyone from beginners to pros.

Naturally these paddles are geared toward former tennis players who are currently making the transition to pickleball or have already been playing for years but still want a paddle that mimics some of the characteristics of a tennis racket.

Women's pro Brooke Buckner immediately put this paddle into play on the PPA Tour a few weeks ago and is already seeing great results, pushing Anna Leigh Waters to three games in the women's singles final last week at the PPA Tour Mesa Cup.

The unique shape of the paddle face positions the sweet spot more toward the top 20% of these paddles, which is where players can get maximum power on groundstrokes and overheads. These paddles also have a 5.5-inch handle, which offers plenty of room for two-handed backhands -- a shot former tennis players often carry over to pickleball.

I was only able to play a few games with the Agassi Pro and Graf Pro paddles at a JOOLA pre-launch event in Las Vegas in February, but from what I could tell they played similar to the Perseus Pro IV, which was also released this week.

The paddles have the same tech as the Pro IV line -- an added foam section toward the bottom corners/throat of the paddle that JOOLA is calling "TFP," or Tech Flex Power -- just in a new shape.

The rest of the core is similar to JOOLA's 3S paddles that were released in the summer of 2024.

This added foam does a couple things, according to Austin Kim, the Product Manager for JOOLA. It adds a little bit of weight to this area of the paddle, which is the spot most most players chose to add weighted tape on previous models. The extra weight in this spot helps add stability and makes the sweet spot feel bigger.

It also narrows the channel of honeycomb leading from the handle to the head of the paddle, which allows the paddle to flex more. That flexing adds forgiveness and enhances feel, power and dwell time, which also leads to more spin.

Click here for an in-depth review of the Perseus Pro IV paddles.