USA Pickleball has filed a countersuit against Sport Squad, Inc., the parent company of JOOLA, in response to JOOLA’s initial lawsuit filed in June of 2024.

In this suit, which was filed on April 18, USAP alleges that JOOLA intentionally submitted models of their Gen 3 paddle line for testing and approval that were significantly different than the paddles they sold to the public.

 

 

 

 

 

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Here’s a statement from USAP’s suit that summarizes the allegations:

• “Thus, as USAP learned, JOOLA was selling an entire “Gen 3” product line to the public in 2024 bearing USAP’s supposed stamp of approval [that] were not the paddles that JOOLA had submitted to USAP for approval in 2023. It was a classic bait-and-switch. Each paddle had far more foam (sometimes double the amount of foam or more) than the original paddles, which heightened the illegal “trampoline effect” when players made contact with the ball.”
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This move is just the latest in what it is becoming a lengthy legal battle between USAP and Sport Squad, Inc. (who will be referred to as JOOLA from this point forward), so let’s go back to the beginning to put this countersuit into context.

The Rise and Fall of Gen 3

During the middle and later stages of 2023, JOOLA sent their Gen 3 paddles to USAP to be tested for certification and approval.

After passing all tests, the paddles were approved; JOOLA launched them in April of 2024.

They were a huge hit, thanks in large part to their power and to being marketed as having a “catapult effect” for extra pop.

Suffered my first (with many to come) headshot from a @joolapickleball paddle today. They’re out of control and ruining the game @PPAtour @MajorLeaguePB @Pickleball

— Zane Navratil (@ZaneNavratil) May 15, 2024

Over the next two months, USAP published a series of statements explaining that JOOLA informed them that the paddles initially submitted for testing and approval were different from the ones that were being sold.

This caused USAP to remove all of JOOLA’s Gen 3 paddles from its approved paddle list.

JOOLA then sent the ‘correct’ paddles for expedited testing and certification, but this next round of testing found that the paddles were not compliant with USAP standards. As such, USAP upheld their de-listing of the Gen 3 paddles.

June 2024: JOOLA’s Initial Lawsuit

As a result of the de-listing, JOOLA filed a $200 million lawsuit against USAP. That suit goes into a lot of different topics, but the main allegation is that USAP acted with bias against JOOLA and used different testing methods and standards that caused the Gen 3 paddles tested in May to fail.

Another big point of the initial complaint revolves around Rule 2.F.1 of the USAP Equipment Standards Manual, which requires USAP to give 18 months’ notice before revoking the approval of equipment.

After a ten-month period filled with motions from both sides—and a failed motion by USAP to dismiss the initial lawsuit—USAP has now filed a countersuit against JOOLA.

April 2025: USAP's Countersuit

In a 23-page document, USAP alleges that JOOLA knowingly submitted toned down versions of its Gen 3 paddles for certification just to get the USAP stamp of approval. Once JOOLA had the approval of the model, the suit claims, JOOLA mass-produced more powerful paddles than what had been initially approved and sold those instead.

One of USAP’s main points is that the market versions of the Gen 3 paddles have significantly more foam in them than the ones that were submitted for testing back in 2023.

• “In short, the publicly available paddles were not the same as the paddles submitted for approval. Instead, JOOLA had doubled (or more) the amount of foam in the mass-produced paddles. The paddles were also lower quality based on the irregular, expanding foam around the rim. JOOLA had never disclosed this to USAP yet continued to represent to the public that the paddles were “approved.” USAP had never approved this different paddle, which JOOLA deceptively marketed to the public under the same name as the approved paddle.” -statement from USAP's lawsuit.
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What USAP wants

Here’s what USAP is asking for in its countersuit:

• Compensatory damages, including treble damages. This essentially means 3x the monetary amount of financial damages awarded to USAP, if a jury renders a verdict in their favor.
• A disgorgement of JOOLA’s profits, including treble damages. This means that USAP wants the monetary amount (multiplied by three) that JOOLA made from its Gen 3 paddle line.
• Compensation for punitive damages.
• That the court file a declaration saying that JOOLA misrepresented and/or mislabeled one or more paddles as approved by USAP without having been submitted for testing.
• Prejudgment and postjudgement interest on all applicable amounts listed above.
• Reasonable compensation for its attorney’s fees and costs.

 

This legal battle has been going on for already about ten months at this point, and it looks like we could just be getting started.