New 5W research finds the answer-box leaders in America’s fastest-growing $4.5B sport are not the retail and Amazon leaders — and AI engines now drive more first-time-paddle decisions than any other channel.

NEW YORK, June 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Selkirk, JOOLA, and Paddletek lead the inaugural Pickleball AI Visibility Index 2026, released by 5W. The index is the first research-grade ranking of how generative AI engines surface pickleball brands to America’s roughly 40 million pickleball players. The full report is available free at 5wpr.com/research/pickleball-ai-visibility-index-2026.

Striking divergences from traditional commercial rankings define the index. Wilson and Babolat — both global tennis-and-racquet-sports incumbents with dominant retail distribution and large Amazon presence — rank outside the top 15. Franklin Sports, the official ball partner of the Professional Pickleball Association, sits at #11 despite category-leading awareness. Meanwhile, smaller brands including Six Zero, Vatic Pro, and ProKennex punch above their commercial weight, scoring in the top 10 by AI citation share due to depth of editorial authority and credentialed-player partnerships.

The index analyzed more than 50 consumer-intent queries across paddles, balls, shoes, apparel, court equipment, and instruction, scoring 25 leading brands on AI citation share, ranking position, and recommendation accuracy across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Top-ranked queries included “best pickleball paddle for intermediate players,” “best beginner pickleball paddle 2026,” “best pickleball shoes,” and “what paddle do pros use.”

The top ten brands by AI citation share, in order: Selkirk, JOOLA, Paddletek, Engage, CRBN, Six Zero, ProKennex, Vatic Pro, Gearbox, and Diadem. The full top-25 ranking is published in the report.

“Pickleball is the most underbuilt category in AI search right now,” said Ronn Torossian, Founder and Chairman of 5W. “Forty million Americans play. Every one of them asks ChatGPT or Google AI Overviews before buying their first paddle. The category leaders that built distribution on Amazon and big-box retail are not winning AI citation share. The brands that invested in editorial authority, founder voice, and clinical-style product education are. The window is wide open. It will not be open in 24 months.”

The report identifies the four signals driving Pickleball AI citation share: depth of player-led editorial content, structured product-spec data (paddle weight, core thickness, surface roughness), credentialed-pro partnerships, and recency of content updates aligned with the sport’s rapid spec evolution. Top-ranked brands score highly on all four; the brands ranking outside the top 15 typically score on two or fewer.

The study also documents the most consequential strategic finding for the category: brands ranked in the top 10 of the AI Visibility Index produce, on average, 47% higher e-commerce conversion rates from non-paid traffic than brands ranked 11-25. AI citation share now correlates more strongly with non-paid conversion than retail distribution does — a structural inversion of the category’s commercial logic.

The Pickleball AI Visibility Index 2026 is the latest installment in 5W’s AI Visibility Index series, which has now ranked categories from medical aesthetics to luxury real estate to streaming.

The full report is available free at 5wpr.com/research/pickleball-ai-visibility-index-2026.

5W is the AI communications firm behind the AI Visibility Index Series, with a dedicated Generative Engine Optimization practice helping the world’s leading brands earn citation authority across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. The agency is a leading PR and digital media agency.

About 5W

5W is the AI Communications Firm — building brand authority across the platforms where decisions now happen: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews, alongside earned media, digital, and influencer channels. 5W combines public relations, digital marketing, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and proprietary AI visibility research to help clients measure and grow their presence in AI-driven buyer research.

Founded in 2002, 5W is recognized as a Top U.S. PR Agency by O’Dwyer’s, named Agency of the Year in the American Business Awards®, honored as a 2026 Top Place to Work in Communications by Ragan, and named to Digiday’s WorkLife Employer of the Year list. 5W serves clients across B2C sectors — Beauty & Fashion, Consumer Brands, Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Travel & Hospitality, Technology, and Nonprofit — and B2B specialties including Corporate Communications, Reputation Management, Public Affairs, Crisis Communications, and Digital Marketing across Social, Influencer, Paid Media, GEO, and SEO.

Learn more at 5wpr.com

Media Contact
Chris Bergin
[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/selkirk-joola-and-paddletek-lead-5ws-first-pickleball-ai-visibility-index–but-wilson-and-babolat-top-brands-by-retail-distribution-rank-outside-the-top-15-302776501.html