World No.1 pickleball star Ben Johns has weighed in on the ongoing debate around paddle technology, saying that while foam paddles may deliver performance, they do not provide the level of feel and control he prefers.
Speaking about the evolution of pickleball paddles, Johns acknowledged that many players continue to favour the traditional honeycomb core design.
“Foam paddles are the future. I mean, I know that the Pro 5 still has honeycomb. I know a lot of pros love the honeycomb feel and response and consistency,” Johns said.
However, he stressed that the discussion around paddle technology ultimately comes down to feel and flexibility.
“So I think it again comes down to a lot around feel-based stuff. So as you’ve kind of noticed from the stuff I’ve talked about so far, flexibility is a big thing for me,” he explained.
Johns also pointed to one of the issues he experienced with foam-based paddles.
“I think that it was a small issue with like Pro 4 was the foam feel is very not dominant, but in certain spots you feel it more and it’s more of a stiff feeling.”
The 25-year-old said stiffness is a key reason he struggles to adapt to full foam paddles.
“I don’t like stiff feeling paddles. I have hit with all foam paddles and I would say the performance is pretty good for the most part,” Johns said.
While acknowledging the power and spin foam paddles can generate, he believes the lack of tactile feedback affects his control.
“But I personally don’t like the feel because it feels stiff and I don’t get as much feel in the ball. So I don’t have an awareness as much of where I’m able to put the ball when I don’t feel the ball as well.”
According to Johns, even if a paddle performs well on paper, feel remains essential for precision.
“Even if it’s coming off with good spin and good power, my control lacks because I don’t have feel.”
He added that the preference ultimately depends on the player.
“So for people that don’t mind the muted feel, I think all foam is fine for them.”
For Johns, however, feedback from the paddle remains critical to his style of play.
“For somebody like myself, I think the more feel I have, the better control I have, so that matters a lot to me.”
Summing up his stance on the debate, Johns said foam paddles do not suit his personal preferences.
“So for me, foam is not the future because it just doesn’t convey the right feel to me.”