Review: The Veloz Ellipse 16mm pickleball paddle

Florida Tennis got its hands on a state-of-the-art Veloz Ellipse pickleball paddle and turned it over to one of our contributors who is a 4.0 pickleball player. His review of the racket follows...

I’ve owned a number of paddles, beginning with lower quality (and less expensive) composite paddles and slowly graduating to higher quality (and more expensive) equipment. Having played with many paddles, I can confidently say that the Veloz Ellipse 16mm paddle provides the right combination of control, spin, and touch that is essential as you become a more accomplished player.

Although the Veloz Ellipse I’m reviewing is 16 mm wide, it offers the control and quickness of a thinner paddle. The Ellipse is built using a 360-degree carbon fiber (CF) “edgeless wrap,” which is all-the-rage among advanced pickleball players. CF provides excellent spin control for topspin drives and for cut shots necessary for effective third shot drops. Its honeycomb core provides a soft feel for dinks and reset shots. The Ellipse is slightly head-light, allowing you to respond quickly when speed-ups occur at the net. It’s perfect for power players who can put pace on their shots without any extra help from their paddle. There isn’t much impact transfer from the paddle to your arm, and that’s good news for anyone with elbow or shoulder problems.

Call me crazy, but I think the look of your sports equipment can affect the way you play. Because the Veloz Ellipse is built using 1-piece construction with an edgeless design, it has a sleekness that makes other paddles look kind of clunky.  It looks thinner than it actually is.

I’ve put a few hours of play on the Ellipse, and so far, the surface and edges have held up well. I do worry that a long stretch for a low ball might scratch the CF edge, even though it does have a thin bumper guard along the sides and top of the paddle.

Overall, the Veloz Ellipse is a five-star paddle—high quality, great look, and most important, superb playability. It’s a good choice if you want to improve your game.

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Roger Pressman is a longtime tennis player who over the last few years has drifted into competitive Pickleball. Even more recently, he has become an evolving Padel player.