PROKENNEXBlack Ace Pro - Pickleball Paddle with Toray 700 Carbon Fiber Face - Comfort Pro Grip - USAPA Approved

I have 5 ProKennex tennis racquets and have used them for years. They helped remove my tennis elbow. Moving to Pickleball, I didn't know much about the different brands of paddles out there when I started and someone recommended Engage. Tried Engage and my tennis elbow came back. I then went through a number of different paddles with Selkirk, Head, and Babolat. The tennis elbow was getting worse and was happy to see ProKennex again. I bought a Pro Speed II and the tennis elbow didn't get any worse, but it wasn't improving. The Pro Speed II was fine, but the face became delaminated very quickly and returned it.I then decided I would turn to the Black Ace Pro and after reading plenty of reviews online from Pickleball Paddle reviewers (mostly on YouTube), I didn't have very high expectations. They were pretty hard on it. I was surprised to see just how wrong I felt they were in most areas after receiving it and getting some time to play with it. It is far and away my favorite paddle and it has greatly increased my enjoyment of the sport. I enjoy playing Pickleball, but simply put, I enjoy playing more with this paddle. Here are my thoughts.The sweet spot is indeed smaller than other paddles as I test it, but during game play and just in normal hitting it basically goes away. I don't notice it as a problem at all and I can control the ball just as well or better when compared to other paddles. It is a power paddle, which is nice especially for those with tennis elbow. You can use less force on your arm to generate the same amount of ball speed when compared against other paddles. I was surprised to find the difference in sound is something people have noticed. Yes, it is different especially when slamming an overhead, but not so much that I probably would not noticed if reviewers hadn't pointed it out. Also, no one else on the courts I play on notice either. It feels like this is blown out of proportion in the same way other dinks (pun intended) against the paddle are. I was a little worried about the longer handle on this paddle. It isn't too much longer than the other paddles I've played with, but it is longer. I thought I might find this bothersome and instead it feels like the perfect length to me. The aesthetics and ACE decal that sit on the face are another thing reviewers sort of said negatively about this paddle. Personally, I think the ACE look looks pretty cool. It looks a little different and I like it for that. The decal hasn't worn off yet and does not seem to impact game play at all. If you are hitting the ball on the decal that close to the handle then you are mishitting on any paddle anyway. I've not seem any RPM spin tests on this paddle, but I wish someone would do one. My guess is that it is somewhere around 1700 - 1800. Not a ton of spin, but still enough there to generate some. Finally, I should make mention of something for those that have never hit with this paddle. That is, there is little to no dwell time or absorption with this paddle. You can really feel the dwell time on the Engage and Head paddles. I'm guessing the less dwell time results in greater power. You would think there would be some trade-offs there, but as I said, this paddle can somehow still generate spin with pretty much no dwell time. I'm assuming you have the carbon fiber face to thank for that. I would have also thought the little to no dwell time would result in less control, but I'm not seeing that. This paddle is just as predictable, if not more predictable, than all the other paddles I've tried.Like I said, surprisingly, just a lot of fun to play with and delivers in all the areas I hoped for. The only question I have at this point is just how durable it might be, but I can only answer that after having more time with it. For now, I'm super happy with it.**UPDATE - 7 months later** - This is still my "go to" paddle and thought I might speak a little to durability now that I've had this paddle 7 months. I serve and drive the ball hard and have plenty of speed ups and slams at the kitchen line. Basically, I've been hard on this paddle and it has held up extremely well. I saw some YouTube posts early on with this paddle where people showed some delamination and pockets of deformity on the face, but I'm not seeing any of that. I can only assume ProKennex resolved those issues by the time I got this paddle.Additionally, I have a ProKennex LG as my backup paddle. I do like the LG for the longer handle and reach, but for control I still come back to the Black Ace Pro. Some who have two-handed backhands might prefer the LG with the extra-long handle, but the Black Ace Pro has a pretty nice long handle already so it still might work for some with two-handed backhands. The LG is $250 right now with the Black Ace Pro at $150. Regardless of price I still prefer the Black Ace Pro.

Great paddle. Light-weight, but powerful enough for competitive play. Great price for a Premium paddle. Gives good control, balance and spin.

Received this paddle yesterday and I love it. I have seven other paddles and this bar far is my favorite. I almost didn’t purchase this paddle due to other pickleballers reviews however I am glad I did. I started playing two months ago and I find this paddle to be very forgiving. I am able to get shots over that may not go over with my other more expensive paddles. The power is great, the sound isn’t as loud as what I was expecting. I have nothing bad to say about the black ace. The handle is thin so I plan on adding a different grip to thicken it up. I just hope it will hold up as I plan on using this as my number one go to paddle.

I like the lightweight and the pop off the paddle. Spin was not bad, but probably not as good as a thicker carbon fiber paddle. Sweet spot is fairly large, probably because of the carbon fiber. Extremely low swing weight makes for great maneuverability. Dinking is good because of the light weight. I would recommend this paddle, but it takes a while to get used to the rebound. Blocking sometimes leads to ball sailing out, if the angle is not correct. I would recommend putting topspin to keep the ball in. Slicing should be avoided as the ball will sail. Overall, a great powerful paddle if you have some topspin skills.Downside of this paddle is that if you are prone to tennis elbow, the paddle may not help. Try some other solutions: form, grip, etc.

I got this at a great price compared to $250 not so lunch ago. The paddle came with a nice carrying bag.The paddle is light and quick but hard to control and take awhile to get use to.Not for beginner.

This paddle answers when you call; I have played with a number of paddles and this one has aced them all.

Bought this one a bit out of desperation because of tendonitis/tennis elbow. It looked to be the best paddle option for those symptoms.Was pleasantly surprised that it plays very well overall; it has great power and good spin, so it wasn't a huge letdown when I set aside my thermoformed paddles to play with this.The swing weight is low so you can quickly maneuver for hand battles. BUT, the sweet spot is definitely smaller, so you may find yourself catching some volleys on the edge of the paddle that fall dead or mishit badly (when with a wider paddle with larger sweet spot, you may have been able to get it back over).It's loud - but not obnoxiously loud. Although, one crisp volley I had actually made my ear ring for a second!Serving is solid. You don't have to rip really hard to get a good serve in, but you can, and you can rely on spin to keep the ball down.If this helps my tennis elbow go away, I'll call it a win-win and keep playing with it even beyond that!-- 3.5-3.75 player

This paddle is extremely loud and hits like a cannon, but I couldn't control my shots at all. It was quite expensive, and I bought it hoping it would resolve my tennis issues, but it didn't help. The frustration of not being able to break it in after two months is overwhelming. In contrast, the Hurache Control 16MM from 11SIX24, made of raw carbon fiber, has been a game-changer. It has eliminated my wrist and elbow problems. Priced at only $69.99 with the discount code WELCOME, it offers exceptional quality and value. Suitable for beginners, intermediates, and some advanced players, this paddle has remained in excellent condition after a year of use. Having tried numerous paddles, none compare to the performance and comfort of my Hurache paddle. As a 5.0 control player with a tennis background, I highly recommend it.