The Proton Series Three - Project Flamingo has been one of the most-talked about paddles of the 2025 season.

One of the reasons for the hype is the success that players using the paddle have had so far in 2025.

Andrei Daescu, Proton’s most recognizable pro, has amassed five men’s doubles medals this year, a feat highlighted by a run of four straight titles from February to March.

Then there’s the lefty CJ Klinger, who himself has earned three doubles medals with the Flamingo.

On the women’s side, Kaitlyn Christian made three consecutive finals—including a title run at the Proton Australia Pickleball Open—using the Flamingo to start off the year.

There are also several players not sponsored by Proton who have been seen using the Flamingo.

The most memorable example of this, of course, came when Selkirk-signed star Quang Duong switched to a blacked-out model of the Flamingo in the middle of a match at the season-opening Zimmer Biomet Masters.

Additionally, Jackie Kawamoto and Jade Kawamoto were quick to switch to the Flamingo after parting ways with Selkirk earlier this year.

Now that the Flamingo is available exclusively at Pickleball Central, I wanted to take a chance to see what’s so special about Proton’s newest paddle.

Here’s what I found.

At a glance

Here are the specs of the Proton Series Three – Flamingo:

• Average Weight: 8.0oz
• Weight Range: 7.8-8.2oz
• Paddle Length: 16.5”
• Paddle Width: 7.5”
• Handle Length: 5.375”
• Paddle Face: Roughness-enhanced Aerospace Grade Carbon Fiber
• Core Material: Velocity Core, Polypropylene Honeycomb
• Core Thickness: 15mm (0.591”)
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Things to Note: “Velocity Core” and Balancing Power with Control

With the Flamingo, Proton has built on the raw carbon fiber, thermoformed construction of its Series Three paddles and added a proprietary “Velocity Core,” which the company says gives the paddle increased dwell time and control without sacrificing power.

Pickleball Central product manager Joseph Sutton went ‘under the hood’ of the Flamingo in a video review of the paddle to show off some of its unique features.

 

One thing he notes is the paddle’s additional layer of foam around its upper portion that, in his words, “allows the core to reflect more energy back into the ball.”

Even though that additional layer of foam gives the paddle added pop, Sutton also points out the use of 6mm cells in the core, a change from the 8mm cells used in the original Series Three models.

Those smaller cells, he explains, are far more common in control paddles, not power paddles.

Thus, the Flamingo gives players the best of both words with regard to both power and control.

“We’ve got the benefits of Gen 3 construction with that additional layer of foam that gives you an enlarged sweet spot with a little bit more power, and we’ve got the control-oriented cell size at 6mm working together to create a really unique feel,” Sutton mentioned.

Now, to how the paddle plays.

How it plays/Final thoughts

Before I go into my thoughts on the Proton Series Three – Flamingo, I should take a moment to describe my athletic background and playstyle.

I’m a former tennis player who now plays pickleball at the 4.5 level. I like using a lot of spin and generally alternate between using one hand (slice) and two hands (topspin) on my backhand drops, drives, and dinks.

Let’s get into the good stuff.

• Power: This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the Flamingo’s power is supremely impressive. The aforementioned “Velocity Core” certainly provides in full, but it didn’t feel overwhelming or uncontrollable. It took a little while to get fully dialed in at the kitchen line, but the baseline is really where I felt the Flamingo shine. It felt like the ball was flying off the paddle without having to swing particularly hard.
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• Spin: The spin is what makes the Flamingo special. The roughness-enhanced carbon fiber surface makes it feel like there is no limit to how much spin a player can create with this paddle. That felt clear right off the bat from the baseline, and I experienced the benefit of top-tier spin on both my drives and drops. That topspin helped keep the ball low as it crossed the plane of the net to be falling as the players on the other side tried to hit their fourth shots. At the kitchen line, I was able to hit some of the heaviest, most aggressive topspin rolls that I’ve ever been able to hit.
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• Control/Defense: When trying to block or reset balls from the transition zone, I still felt like I had good control of where the ball would go off the paddle. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than other power paddles I have used (a notable exception here is the JOOLA Pro IV because I haven’t hit with that paddle). This actually makes sense when you consider Proton’s use of 6mm cells as opposed to 8mm cells, but it was still a pleasant surprise when I picked up the paddle for the first time without having done any prior research.
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• Grip: If there is a shortcoming with the Flamingo, it’s the grip. I’ve never been a fan of the stock grips from Proton because they can get wet quickly, but it’s an easy fix with an over grip of your choice.
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Overall: For some of the reasons discussed at the beginning of this article, I was pretty pumped to have a chance to try the Proton Series Three – Project Flamingo.

I’m happy to say that my excitement wasn’t misplaced.

The Flamingo builds on the benefits of new-age power paddles while also giving players a degree of a control that outperforms the newer power models.

It’ll be interesting to see what direction the ever-innovative Proton goes with its next paddle, as it will be tough to top the Flamingo.

Where to buy

Want to try Proton’s latest revolutionary paddle? Click here to experience the Flamingo today, and go through Pickleball Central to get:

• A 30-day risk-free paddle test drive
• Fast, free shipping on all orders over $49
• Rewards points on every purchase that are redeemable for store credit on future orders
• Access to best-in-class customer care