The UPA-A has been implementing extra stringent onsite testing to ensure paddles are as much as par with efficiency laws.
Nevertheless, some paddles have been flagged onsite as a result of they produce extra spin than they’re allowed based mostly on the UPA-A’s new guidelines, which took impact on 1 September 2025. Whereas these paddles have been promptly faraway from play, the truth that they have been caught within the first place raises much more questions on testing requirements and protocols.
Unsurprisingly, the UPA-A has launched much more guidelines on the matter, together with the violation standards that can be used to check paddles on website. The UPA-A additionally imposed growing fines for repeat offenders that might attain USD $50,000.
“New UPA-A paddle guidelines went into impact 1/9/25,” the UPA-A wrote on X. “We’ve got confiscated and examined quite a few paddles from onsite testing and are working with manufacturers to make sure they continue to be eligible for play.”
Violation Standards and Fines, In response to UPA-A (Efficient 16 November 2025)
In response to the just lately launched UPA-A memo, a paddle could also be confiscated if it meets any of the next circumstances:
- Floor roughness studying exceeds 25% of the studying of the paddle(s) initially submitted for UPA-A Certification on the Starrett SR-160 Meter.
- Paddle floor reveals a special materials composition or end than what was initially submitted and authorized throughout certification.
First-time offenders with a spin score of ≤2,100 can be fined USD $1,000, whereas these with a spin score of ≥2,100 can be fined USD $5,000. The infraction in each circumstances can even be recorded in a compliance log. The fines will go as much as USD $5,000 and USD $10,000, respectively, and the paddle mannequin can be positioned underneath compliance overview and subjected to suspension. A 3rd offence would advantage a USD $50,000 effective, together with an investigation that might result in removing from the certification listing and/or extra fines.
These guidelines and laws being imposed by the UPA-A are designed to make sure that the identical fashions that handed preliminary testing are those being utilized in precise competitors. Nevertheless, historical past suggests this isn’t at all times the case, thus highlighting the necessity for stringent onsite testing.
