UPA-A Fires Back at 'Cannon' Paddle, Removes Entire Company from Approved List
The power paddle from Luzz Pickleball was never approved in the first place, but made the list due to a loophole.
All paddles from under-the-radar brand Luzz Pickleball have been removed from the UPA-A Approved Paddle List, effective immediately, the pro sport's governing body announced yesterday.
The decision came on the same day that paddle reviewer Pickleball Tech Dude posted a video reviewing a particular Luzz paddle under the title, "How did UPA-A approve this JOOLA MOD clone...?"
Erik Tice
“Violating UPA-A rules has consequences,” said Jason Aspes, President of UPA-A. “Our commitment to protecting the integrity of pickleball is absolute. Players, brands, and fans deserve a level playing field, and we will not tolerate actions that undermine that principle.”
How'd We Get Here?
It turns out that while one Luzz model—the ZZ—is approved by USA Pickleball for use in competitive amateur and recreational play, the model in question, aptly named the "Cannon," is not.
Meaning, it never should have been on the UPA-A Approved List in the first place.
According to the UPA-A:
The UPA-A Provisional Approval process was established to allow paddle brands already approved by USA Pickleball to compete at the highest levels of pickleball before the full UPA-A 2025 Certification takes effect on September 1, 2025.
The Cannon was submitted for UPA-A Provisional Approval under the Paddle Design Registration process, which allows paddle models with the same construction but different aesthetics to be listed on the UPA-A approved paddle list.
Once an investigation was complete, "it was determined that there were no submissions of Luzz paddles at pro level of UPA events, other than the 'ZZ' which had Provisional Approval."
As a result, the UPA-A decided to remove all Luzz paddles from its Approved List.
Alex E. Weaver
Crack in the System
Call it a loophole. Or a technicality. Maybe it was just an oversight. Regardless: The Cannon snuck through the cracks.
That's not to say this was an error on the part of USAP or the UPA-A. It wasn't
Whether intentionally or not, this comes down to one paddle (the Cannon) being submitted as a design variation of another (the ZZ), when in reality it should have been submitted as a separate model.
The Cannon is actively marketed on the company's website as being significantly more powerful than other models:
"Proven to increase explosive power by an impressive 35% compared to the LUZZ Pro1 ZZ series, your smashes explode like cannonballs, decisively overwhelming your opponents."
I reached out to Luzz for comment, and heard back from a member of their marketing team, Nancy.
"Our product team has been in touch with UPA, and we’ve learned that the provisional approval was withdrawn. We are now proceeding with the application for new official UPA approval," Nancy told me.
In the same breath, Nancy said the brand is also considering suspending sales of the Cannon entirely and offering product exchanges to any customers who have purchased one already.
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What Now?
As of the time of this writing, the Luzz Cannon is available for purchase on the company's website for $109.99.
If you look closely, there's also this: "Luzz's Cannon temporarily removed from UPA-A list—we're[sic] We are reapplying for certification."
Luzz currently sponsors a handful of lower-level players, including Frank Anthony Davis, Dusty Boyer, Abbigal Hatton, and Rex Thais, among others.
This is a developing story; we will add updates as they become available.
