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RESEARCH · Published May 16, 2026 · Updated November 8, 2026

Pickleball Index 2.0: Selkirk and JOOLA Lead in AI Answers

Selkirk: 109/288 (37.8%; 95% interval 32.4–43.6%). JOOLA: 97/288 (33.7%; 95% interval 28.5–39.3%). Their 95% intervals overlap; neither can be called the sole leader.

288

AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity

37.8%

of answers named Selkirk, the most-named (109 of 288)

32

tracked brands named at least once (of 34)

65.4%

of Google searches showed an AI Overview (34 of 52)

Version 2. This version replaces the first version of this study, first published May 16, 2026. It uses measured counts, so the two versions are not comparable. Version 2 asks 24 questions three times each on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity (288 answers) and adds Google AI Overviews. Every rate comes with its count and a 95% interval.

What the data shows

01

Selkirk and JOOLA

Selkirk and JOOLA lead this measured set. Selkirk: 109/288 (37.8%; 95% interval 32.4–43.6%). JOOLA: 97/288 (33.7%; 95% interval 28.5–39.3%). Their 95% intervals overlap; neither can be called the sole leader.
02

34/288 (11.8%)

Selkirk was the first brand named in 34 of 288 answers, more than any other tracked brand. Its average first position was 2.5.
03

27/72 (37.5%)

Claude named Pickleheads in 27 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 6 to 10 of 72.
04

27/72 (37.5%)

Claude named USA Pickleball in 27 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 12 to 18 of 72.
05

97/288 (33.7%)

Pickleheads' own domains were cited in 97 of 288 grounded answers, more than any other tracked brand. Pickleball Central followed at 70 of 288. 7 of 34 tracked brands had 0 of 288, and 1 had no tracked own site.
06

34/52 (65.4%)

Google AI Overviews appeared on 34 of 52 searches (CI 51.8–76.8%). On the other 18, no overview was shown.
07

10/34 (29.4%)

Selkirk was the brand named most often in AI Overviews, at 10 of 34, followed by JOOLA at 10 of 34 (29.4%). In the four-engine set, Selkirk was named in 109 of 288 answers (37.8%).
08

97/288 (33.7%)

pickleheads.com was cited in 97 of 288 grounded four-engine answers, with 112 of 2,325 citations (4.8%). pickleball.com came second with 101 citations in 60 answers (20.8%).

Appearance rate across 288 four-engine answers. The bar is the 95% confidence interval; overlapping bars cannot be told apart at this sample size.

Which brands AI engines name

Selkirk
37.8%
JOOLA
33.7%
USA Pickleball
25.0%
Pickleheads
18.1%
DUPR
16.7%
The Picklr
15.3%
PPA Tour
14.6%
Pickleball Kingdom
13.5%
Engage
13.2%
Franklin
12.8%
Paddletek
12.5%
Major League Pickleball
11.8%
Pickleball Central
10.8%
Onix
10.4%
Vatic Pro
10.4%
#NameNamed inAppearance rate95% interval
1Selkirk109/28837.8%32.4–43.6%
2JOOLA97/28833.7%28.5–39.3%
3USA Pickleball72/28825.0%20.4–30.3%
4Pickleheads52/28818.1%14.0–22.9%
5DUPR48/28816.7%12.8–21.4%
6The Picklr44/28815.3%11.6–19.9%
7PPA Tour42/28814.6%11.0–19.1%
8Pickleball Kingdom39/28813.5%10.1–18.0%
9Engage38/28813.2%9.8–17.6%
10Franklin37/28812.8%9.5–17.2%
11Paddletek36/28812.5%9.2–16.8%
12Major League Pickleball34/28811.8%8.6–16.0%
13Pickleball Central31/28810.8%7.7–14.9%
14Onix30/28810.4%7.4–14.5%
15Vatic Pro30/28810.4%7.4–14.5%

The full list

Own-domain citation is the share of 288 grounded answers that cited the tracked name's own domains (subdomains included). Citation share is of all 2,325 citations.

#BrandNamed inAppearance rate95% intervalFirst mentionOwn-domain citationCitation share
1Selkirk109/28837.8%32.4–43.6%2.56.6% (19/288)0.8%
2JOOLA97/28833.7%28.5–39.3%34.2% (12/288)0.6%
3USA Pickleball72/28825%20.4–30.3%2.413.2% (38/288)4.3%
4Pickleheads52/28818.1%14–22.9%1.933.7% (97/288)4.8%
5DUPR48/28816.7%12.8–21.4%1.88% (23/288)2.6%
6The Picklr44/28815.3%11.6–19.9%1.85.9% (17/288)0.7%
7PPA Tour42/28814.6%11–19.1%1.68% (23/288)1.6%
8Pickleball Kingdom39/28813.5%10.1–18%1.91% (3/288)0.4%
9Engage38/28813.2%9.8–17.6%3.60.7% (2/288)0.1%
10Franklin37/28812.8%9.5–17.2%3.81.4% (4/288)0.2%
11Paddletek36/28812.5%9.2–16.8%3.50.3% (1/288)0%
12Major League Pickleball34/28811.8%8.6–16%2.62.4% (7/288)0.3%
13Pickleball Central31/28810.8%7.7–14.9%1.424.3% (70/288)3.1%
14Onix30/28810.4%7.4–14.5%3.14.5% (13/288)0.6%
15Vatic Pro30/28810.4%7.4–14.5%3.40% (0/288)0%
16Six Zero29/28810.1%7.1–14.1%3.50% (0/288)0%
17Amazon26/2889%6.2–12.9%4.12.1% (6/288)0.3%
18APP Tour23/2888%5.4–11.7%2.72.4% (7/288)0.3%
19Gearbox22/2887.6%5.1–11.3%42.8% (8/288)0.3%
20Dick's Sporting Goods19/2886.6%4.3–10.1%3.64.2% (12/288)0.6%
21ProKennex19/2886.6%4.3–10.1%3.50.7% (2/288)0.1%
22Ace Pickleball Club18/2886.3%4–9.7%2.50.7% (2/288)0.1%
23CRBN17/2885.9%3.7–9.2%41% (3/288)0.1%
24Life Time Pickleball16/2885.6%3.4–8.8%2.53.1% (9/288)0.4%
25Head14/2884.9%2.9–8%5.70% (0/288)0%
26ASICS12/2884.2%2.4–7.1%4.70.3% (1/288)0%
27Skechers11/2883.8%2.1–6.7%3.70% (0/288)0%
28Chicken N Pickle10/2883.5%1.9–6.3%3.81.4% (4/288)0.2%

The full list (continued)

None means no own site is tracked for that name.

#BrandNamed inAppearance rate95% intervalFirst mentionOwn-domain citationCitation share
29K-Swiss10/2883.5%1.9–6.3%10% (0/288)0%
30Babolat7/2882.4%1.2–4.9%4.10% (0/288)0%
31Gamma7/2882.4%1.2–4.9%5.40.3% (1/288)0%
32Stack Athletics7/2882.4%1.2–4.9%3.40% (0/288)0%
33Nike Pickleball0/2880%0–1.3%–NoneNone
34The Dink0/2880%0–1.3%–8.3% (24/288)1%

The top eight, side by side

#NameAppearance rateAnswers and intervalOther measures
1Selkirk37.8%109/288 answers · 95% CI 32.4–43.6%first-mention position: 2.5; owned-domain citation (19/288): 6.6%; citation share: 0.8%
2JOOLA33.7%97/288 answers · 95% CI 28.5–39.3%first-mention position: 3; owned-domain citation (12/288): 4.2%; citation share: 0.6%
3USA Pickleball25.0%72/288 answers · 95% CI 20.4–30.3%first-mention position: 2.4; owned-domain citation (38/288): 13.2%; citation share: 4.3%
4Pickleheads18.1%52/288 answers · 95% CI 14–22.9%first-mention position: 1.9; owned-domain citation (97/288): 33.7%; citation share: 4.8%
5DUPR16.7%48/288 answers · 95% CI 12.8–21.4%first-mention position: 1.8; owned-domain citation (23/288): 8%; citation share: 2.6%
6The Picklr15.3%44/288 answers · 95% CI 11.6–19.9%first-mention position: 1.8; owned-domain citation (17/288): 5.9%; citation share: 0.7%
7PPA Tour14.6%42/288 answers · 95% CI 11–19.1%first-mention position: 1.6; owned-domain citation (23/288): 8%; citation share: 1.6%
8Pickleball Kingdom13.5%39/288 answers · 95% CI 10.1–18%first-mention position: 1.9; owned-domain citation (3/288): 1%; citation share: 0.4%

Claude named Pickleheads in 27 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 6 to 10 of 72. Claude named USA Pickleball in 27 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 12 to 18 of 72.

ChatGPT

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Same questions, different answers

Selkirk
37.5%
JOOLA
25.0%
Engage
25.0%
Paddletek
22.2%
USA Pickleball
20.8%
Onix
18.1%

Claude

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

USA Pickleball
37.5%
Pickleheads
37.5%
JOOLA
34.7%
Selkirk
31.9%
DUPR
22.2%
PPA Tour
22.2%

Gemini

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Selkirk
45.8%
JOOLA
40.3%
USA Pickleball
25.0%
The Picklr
16.7%
Pickleball Kingdom
16.7%
Vatic Pro
16.7%

Perplexity

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Selkirk
36.1%
JOOLA
34.7%
USA Pickleball
16.7%
The Picklr
16.7%
Paddletek
13.9%
DUPR
12.5%

Google AI Overviews were captured through 52 U.S. desktop searches and scored only where an overview appeared, so five-engine figures use 288 + 34 = 322 answers.

The fifth engine

65%

Trigger rate: 34 of 52 searches

Google AI Overviews appeared on 34 of 52 searches (65.4%, CI 51.8–76.8%). The other 18 searches showed no overview. Within the 34 overviews, Selkirk was named in 10 (29.4%), JOOLA was named in 10 (29.4%), DUPR was named in 7 (20.6%), USA Pickleball was named in 5 (14.7%). youtube.com was the most-cited source, with 44 citations and an appearance in 23 of 34 overviews.

Five-engine rankNameFive-engine rateFour-engine rank
1Selkirk37.0%1
2JOOLA33.2%2
3USA Pickleball23.9%3
4Pickleheads17.1%4
5DUPR17.1%5
6The Picklr14.9%6
7PPA Tour14.6%7
8Pickleball Kingdom13.4%8
9Franklin12.4%10
10Engage12.1%9

Who each question surfaces first

Six questions from the set. Each tile uses that question's own four-engine answers as the denominator.

QuestionLeaderNextAI Overview
Q01 · 12 answersOnix 66.7%Selkirk 66.7%; Vatic Pro 66.7%AI Overview shown on 2 of 3 searches
Q02 · 12 answersSelkirk 83.3%Six Zero 75.0%; Vatic Pro 50.0%AI Overview shown on 2 of 3 searches
Q03 · 12 answersSelkirk 100.0%JOOLA 100.0%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q04 · 12 answersJOOLA 100.0%PPA Tour 33.3%; Franklin 25.0%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q05 · 12 answersASICS 100.0%Skechers 91.7%; K-Swiss 83.3%AI Overview shown on 0 of 3 searches
Q06 · 12 answersUSA Pickleball 100.0%JOOLA 83.3%; Selkirk 75.0%AI Overview shown on 0 of 1 searches

The four engines produced 2,325 citations in total. pickleheads.com was cited most often, with 112 citations (4.8%) across 97 answers. Next came pickleball.com (101), apps.apple.com (83), pickleballcentral.com (71), reddit.com (62), usapickleball.org (62).

Four AI engines · share of 288 grounded answers

Most-cited domains

pickleheads.com
33.7%
pickleballcentral.com
24.3%
pickleball.com
20.8%
reddit.com
18.4%
forwrd.co
14.6%
usapickleball.org
11.1%
bestpicklepad.com
10.4%
apps.apple.com
9.4%
pickleballpaddlelab.com
8.7%
youtube.com
8.7%

Google AI Overviews · share of 34 overviews

youtube.com
67.6%
reddit.com
32.4%
facebook.com
23.5%
pickleballcentral.com
23.5%
pickleballeffect.com
11.8%
instagram.com
8.8%
pickleball.com
8.8%
dupr.com
8.8%
get2eleven.com
8.8%
joola.com
8.8%

Citation share by source type

Share of all citations by the type of site cited.

Source typeFour AI engines (of 2,325 citations)Google AI Overviews (of 168 citations)
Other / unclassified1,304 (56.1%)52 (31%)
Company / brand sites688 (29.6%)31 (18.5%)
Community / social102 (4.4%)80 (47.6%)
General news / business press92 (4%)3 (1.8%)
Research / data providers42 (1.8%)1 (0.6%)
Reference32 (1.4%)0 (0%)
Review / comparison publishers27 (1.2%)0 (0%)
Trade / specialist press15 (0.6%)0 (0%)
Directories / rankings14 (0.6%)1 (0.6%)
Institutions / trade bodies5 (0.2%)0 (0%)
General news / sports media3 (0.1%)0 (0%)
Official / government1 (0%)0 (0%)

How can brands improve their AI visibility?

These steps follow from the measured results above. They describe what the engines cited in this study and are not a guarantee of results.

StepWhat this study measured
Put your facts on your own domain.Pickleheads' own domains were cited in 33.7% of grounded answers, Pickleball Central's in 24.3% and USA Pickleball's in 13.2%. Pickleheads was named in only 18.1% of answers, yet its own domains were cited in 33.7%.
Keep your facts accurate on the sites engines cite.The most-cited sites other than the tracked names' own were pickleball.com (in 20.8% of grounded answers), reddit.com (18.4%), forwrd.co (14.6%), bestpicklepad.com (10.4%) and apps.apple.com (9.4%). Community and social supplied 4.4% of citations and general news and business press 4.0%.
Check each engine separately.Claude named Pickleheads in 37.5% of answers against 8.3% on Perplexity. Claude named USA Pickleball in 37.5% of answers against 16.7% on Perplexity.
Watch names outside the tracked list.Pickleball Galaxy (17 answers), CourtReserve (14 answers), PlayTime Scheduler (12 answers), Dill Dinkers (11 answers), PickleballTV (10 answers) were named often but were not tracked.
Re-run the same questions every month.Compare counts and intervals, not ranks. The 24 questions are in the appendix.

What AI answers

Which watch brands lead these AI answers?

Selkirk and JOOLA lead this measured set. Selkirk: 109/288 (37.8%; 95% interval 32.4–43.6%). JOOLA: 97/288 (33.7%; 95% interval 28.5–39.3%). Their 95% intervals overlap; neither can be called the sole leader.

Which brand is named first most often?

Selkirk was the first brand named in 34 of 288 answers, with an average first position of 2.5.

How often do Google AI Overviews appear for these questions?

An overview appeared on 34 of 52 searches (65.4%, CI 51.8–76.8%). Within those 34 overviews, Selkirk was named most often, in 10 (29.4%).

Which sources do the engines cite?

Across 2,325 four-engine citations, pickleheads.com was cited most (112 citations, in 97 of 288 grounded answers), followed by pickleball.com (101 citations).

Do the four engines agree?

Only in part. Claude named Pickleheads in 27 of 72 answers, against 6 to 10 of 72 on the other engines. Claude named USA Pickleball in 27 of 72 answers, against 12 to 18 of 72 on the other engines.

How this study was measured

24 questions × 3 runs each × 4 AI engines = 288 answers + 52 Google searches · 34 AI Overviews

24 questions asked three times on each of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, measured November 2 to 3, 2026. United States, English; Google retrieval uses desktop results. Models: gpt-5-mini, claude-sonnet-5-5, gemini-3.6-flash only, sonar-pro. Google AI Overviews come from DataForSEO, not inferred chat answers. Appearance counts returned text, including ungrounded answers; citation rates use grounded answers. Longer overlapping names suppress shorter ones; First mention is the earliest eligible name order. Own-domain rates include declared domains and subdomains; shared parent scopes may count for multiple names and cannot be summed as unique citations.

EngineModel IDs calledAskedReturnedGrounded
ChatGPTgpt-5-mini727272
Claudeclaude-sonnet-5-5727272
Geminigemini-3.6-flash727272
Perplexitysonar-pro727272
Google AI OverviewsDataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced)5234 shown34

Own-domain citations count a domain plus all its subdomains, with the same rule in every table.

Definitions

  • Appearance rate: answers naming the tracked name ÷ answers returned, with Wilson 95% intervals.
  • First mention: average order in which the tracked name first appears (1 = first).
  • Own-domain citation: grounded answers citing the tracked name's domains ÷ grounded answers.
  • Citation share: citations to the tracked name's domains ÷ all citations.

Limits

  • Only 34 tracked brands are ranked; results are not an exhaustive market ranking.
  • Only the tracked brands were scored. Untracked names that appeared often were not scored, including Pickleball Galaxy (17 answers), CourtReserve (14 answers), PlayTime Scheduler (12 answers), Dill Dinkers (11 answers), PickleballTV (10 answers).
  • 340 of 360 planned results were returned. 20 AI Overview lookups were excluded after at most three total attempts.
  • 52 successful Google searches: 34 overviews shown; 18 without an overview. Failures are excluded, not scored as zero.
  • All returned chat answers had search sources.
  • Questions 3, 6, 9 and 10 name Selkirk, JOOLA, USA Pickleball, Pickleball Kingdom, The Picklr and DUPR, so each of those counts includes up to 12 answers to a question that names it.
  • USA Pickleball is the sport’s governing body and DUPR is a player rating system; they are tracked in the same list as the paddle and equipment brands.
  • Measured across two days, November 2 to 3, 2026.
  • Removing 4 Core questions naming tracked subjects leaves 240 eligible answers. The top two are Selkirk (88/240) and JOOLA (75/240); their order does not change.
  • Names with no tracked own site are shown as None. Source types use Company / brand sites only for verified official organisations; other unresolved sites are Other / unclassified.
  • Wilson 95% intervals are descriptive; overlapping leading intervals do not establish a sole leader. Measurements do not endorse medical, legal, financial or product claims.
  • The PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball are part of Pickleball Inc. Major League Pickleball lists 20 teams for its 2026 season. Selkirk announced its Bread & Butter acquisition on May 12, 2026. No current Picklr franchise count is asserted.
  • Google Shopping links and Google redirect URLs are not counted as cited sources; original URLs remain in the evidence.
  • Answers were collected through each engine's API using the model IDs listed in the methodology. The consumer ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity apps can answer differently.

Appendix: The 24 questions

Questions marked "Core question" are the original study questions, asked word for word. The others are added neutral questions.

#QuestionGroupSource
01What is the best pickleball paddle for beginners?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
02What is the best pickleball paddle for control?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
03Selkirk vs JOOLA which is better?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
04What paddle does Ben Johns use?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
05What are the best pickleball shoes?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
06Which pickleball paddles are approved by USA Pickleball?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
07What is the best indoor pickleball club franchise?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
08Is a pickleball club membership worth it?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
09Pickleball Kingdom vs The Picklr?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
10How do I get a DUPR rating?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
11How can I watch pro pickleball?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
12Where can I buy pickleball gear online?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
13What is the best app to find pickleball courts near me?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
14What is the best paddle for tennis elbow?Pickleball Index 2.0Core question
15What are the best pickleball paddles for advanced players?Pickleball Index 2.0Added question
16What is the best pickleball paddle for power?Pickleball Index 2.0Added question
17What is the best pickleball apparel brand?Pickleball Index 2.0Added question
18Which indoor pickleball clubs offer beginner lessons alongside memberships?Pickleball Index 2.0Added question
19What are the professional pickleball tours?Pickleball Index 2.0Added question
20Who governs the rules of pickleball in the US?Pickleball Index 2.0Added question
21Which online pickleball retailers offer paddle demo or return programs?Pickleball Index 2.0Added question
22Where can I buy pickleball balls in bulk?Pickleball Index 2.0Added question
23Which pickleball rating apps support tournament result imports?Pickleball Index 2.0Added question
24What is the best app for organizing pickleball games?Pickleball Index 2.0Added question

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