Racquet sports gear guides, built on each sport's rules.

Each guide builds on the equipment section and starts from what the governing bodies, their approval lists and the standards bodies publish, so you know what a rule, a list or a label means before anyone suggests you buy something.

How we recommend

We recommend gear by category and use, not by brand, and do not quote prices. We may earn a commission on purchases at no cost to you.

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This page explains what governing bodies, standards bodies and researchers publish. It is not a substitute for lessons from a qualified coach or for medical advice.

How we recommend

Our picks are categories of gear, such as pickleball paddles, squash eye protection or low-compression tennis balls, never particular models or brands. Each pick says who it may suit and which rule, list or standard applies to it, with the body, the document and its edition or date. We do not publish hands-on reviews, we do not rank products, and we do not quote or compare prices. The buttons take you to current listings so you can compare for yourself. Product links are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission at no cost to you; that never decides which categories we include.

Nothing in these guides says a product is approved, certified, safe or legal. A ball or paddle is on a body's approved list or it is not, and the body's list decides; eyewear meets a standard or it does not, as its documentation and the standards body say; and whether it is required depends on the body running the event.

Lessons come before kit

We suggest a first season starts with lessons from a qualified coach. The coaching bodies named for each sport, such as the ITF Coach Education Programme, the BWF coach education pathway and England Squash's coaching levels (the ITF and England Squash details rest on search summaries, as their pages could not be opened), are on how people learn. This site does not recommend any club, academy, coach or shop.

Seven things these guides keep repeating

Five sports, never merged. Tennis, pickleball, padel, squash and badminton each have their own world or national body and rule book: the ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, the FIP Rules of Padel applying from 1 January 2026, the World Squash Singles Rules 2025 and the BWF Laws of Badminton. A rule in one sport is never presented as a rule in another.
Some bodies keep lists, some do not. Every ball used in a tournament under the ITF rules must be on the ITF approved list, but the ITF keeps no approved-racket list. Sanctioned pickleball play needs a paddle on the USA Pickleball approved list, and professional PPA Tour and MLP play uses a separate UPA-A list. FIP official competitions use FIP-certified balls.
Squash figures are left out. The World Squash pages that set racket and ball measurements could not be opened for this site, so no squash dimensions appear in these guides.
Eyewear standards are given both ways. ASTM moved racket-sport eye protectors from F803 to F3164 in 2019, and F3164-24 adds pickleball; several squash bodies still name F803, and a 2025 listing of F803 names racket sports again. ISO 18527-2:2021 covers squash, and England Squash writes the British Standard as "BS EN 18527-2:2021".
No gear is prevention. No eyewear, shoe or other item is presented here as preventing injury. An injury needs medical care, and the research is in the safety section.
No fitting, sizing or stringing. Grip sizes, racket lengths for a person, string tension and stringing patterns are named but never described; they are for a qualified coach or professional in person.
No prices. The guides contain no money figures of any kind.

Where to start

New to tennis? The beginner tennis kit guide starts from Rule 4, Appendix II and the ITF ball list.
New to pickleball? The beginner pickleball kit guide sets out the USA Pickleball and UPA-A paddle lists.
New to padel? The padel starter kit guide covers the FIP racket rules, the wrist cord and certified balls.
New to squash? The squash starter kit guide puts eye protection first.
New to badminton? The badminton starter kit guide covers Law 4 rackets and feather and synthetic shuttles.
Protecting your eyes? The eye protection guide sets out the standards and who requires what.
Buying for a child? The kids' racquet kit guide starts from the ITF's 10-and-under balls and the junior eyewear rules.
Buying a present? The gift guide sticks to items that do not need fitting.

Racket dimensions for four of the sports can be checked against the rule books with the racket size checker, which leaves squash out for the reason above.

How we handle sources

The ITF, USA Pickleball, the FIP, World Squash, the BWF, national bodies, ASTM, ISO and BSI, regulators and peer-reviewed researchers are our primary sources. Where sources disagree, we give each version and who says it. Where a page could not be opened, as with the World Squash specification pages and the BWF's own site, we say so rather than fill the gap. Everything here is summarised as of 26 October 2026; the current text of the rule, list or standard takes precedence over this summary.

Sources

Beginner tennis kit

Lessons first, then the racket under Rule 4 and Appendix II (no approved-racket list), tournament balls on the ITF approved list, strings and dampeners as the rules treat them, shoes and the Grand Slam rules, and picks by category.

Beginner pickleball kit

Lessons first, then paddles on the USA Pickleball approved list for sanctioned play (and the separate UPA-A list for PPA and MLP pros), approved balls, non-marking shoes, eyewear with no rule requiring it, and picks by category.

Padel starter kit

Lessons first, then the racket under the FIP Rules of Padel 2026 (limits, perforated face, compulsory wrist cord), FIP-certified balls for official events and the altitude disagreement, shoes with no rule found, and picks by category.

Squash starter kit

Lessons first, then eyewear under World Squash Appendix 4 and the national rules (with the F3164 and F803 standards both ways), rackets with no figures given because they could not be verified, the PSA's ball dots, non-marking shoes, and picks by category.

Badminton starter kit

Lessons first, then the racket under Law 4, feathered and non-feathered shuttles under Law 2, the BWF's synthetic shuttle approvals and 2026 trial, strings, shoes, the net under Law 1, and picks by category.

Eye protection

Which bodies require eyewear (squash yes, in some events; the other four sports no), ASTM F3164 (2019 and 2024) against F803 with dates, ISO 18527-2:2021 and the national squash standards, what the documentation should show, and picks by category.

Kids' racquet kit

Lessons and safeguarding first, then 10-and-under tennis under ITF Appendix VIII (red, orange and green balls and smaller courts), a junior racquet recall, squash's junior eyewear rules both ways, junior pickleball, padel and badminton, and picks by category.

Gift guide

What is better left to the player (rackets and paddles on approval lists, shoes, eyewear, strings), balls by sport and their lists, small extras the rules allow, books on histories that disagree, and picks by category.