Gordon Kaye has served as JOOLA’s Chief Experience Officer for the past three years.

With a career rooted in racket and professional sports, he’s had a front-row seat to the explosive rise of pickleball and to JOOLA’s pivotal role in driving that momentum.

Like so many others, Kaye was hooked on pickleball almost immediately.

“Pickleball is just incredible. I found the sport later in my life, and it’s become my social community. What I love about pickleball is the diversity that it brings—people from all walks of life, all ages—whether you’re athletic or not, it doesn’t matter. Everyone can come together and literally just have fun,” said Kaye. “That’s the incredible thing about pickleball, that it’s truly a unifying sport. For us at JOOLA, we want to live that up. We want to lift up the community.”

JOOLA is one of the world’s leading pickleball paddle manufacturers, with top athletes like Ben Johns, Federico Staksrud, Anna Bright, and many others choosing their gear.

The company views its pros as ideal ambassadors to help drive the sport’s continued growth.

“Our roster of pros is really important to us, and it’s important that they understand our values as much as we understand theirs. Ben, Brooke Buckner, Tyson McGuffin, these are the best players in the world, but if you look at the way they interact with fans and interact in their communities, they’re our best evangelists. They live in the JOOLA family and it’s a community,” said Kaye.

“We love to see our players supporting each other. I love watching Kate [Fahey] and Brooke. They’re two of the best singles players in the world, and yet they’re supporting each other and sitting on each other’s bench. This sport is more than just a paddle.”

JOOLA remains one of pickleball’s most innovative paddle brands, constantly pushing technological boundaries to elevate the game even further.

“There are a lot of great companies in pickleball, right? We’re just one of them. We spend a lot of time talking about innovation, inspiration, and inclusion. Those principles are who we are. Looking at paddles, apparel, bags or nets, everything ties back to what we can do to move the sport forward—not just grow JOOLA, but grow the sport. If we can work together with the UPA to achieve that, that’s good for everybody,” stated Kaye. 

“We have a dedicated team that works on nothing but paddles. When we’re working on paddles, we’ll go through literally thousands and thousands of prototypes to study. Our engineers will literally study the way a ball interacts with a paddle and the way you, as a player, will interact with a paddle. Before we even go to market, we’ve done years of research.”

Kaye emphasized that the heart of the brand’s mission is enhancing players’ enjoyment of pickleball.

From advancing paddle technology to designing stylish, comfortable apparel, JOOLA aims to bring more people into the sport and help them fall in love with it.

“It all ties back to what we can do to make your pickleball experience better,” concluded Kaye. “If that’s a paddle that makes you feel more confident or clothing that makes you look better, if it’s a tournament we run, we love being a part of it.”

To keep up to date on all things pickleball, follow us on Instagram or X (formerly Twitter).