Paddle Maker Sues USA Pickleball After Certification Rescinded

The USA Pickleball Association, the sport’s national governing body, tricked Sport Squad Inc. into making more than 150,000 paddles that are unsellable because the organization unjustifiably rescinded its approval, the paddle maker says.

Less than a week before the paddles were about to hit the market, USAP said “out-of-the-blue” that it planned to end approval for the paddles because they allegedly violated design requirements, the complaint filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Maryland says.

Sport Squad is the owner of pickleball equipment brand Joola. Consumers have sued Sport Squad for allegedly deceptively marketing its paddles ...