Paddletek associates JW Johnson with its Tempest Veyra, launched November 1, 2026, and The Kitchen reports he uses the elongated version. His playing weight, tape, grip, overgrip, apparel and shoes are pending; his last sourced tape setup is from his earlier Franklin C45 (2025).
JW Johnson is a right-handed professional pickleball player from Pittsburg, Kansas, listed on his PPA Tour athlete profile as based in Boynton Beach, Florida. He was introduced to pickleball there as a kid, then moved with his family to Naples, Florida to pursue tennis, and later returned to pickleball before turning pro in 2020. His sister Jorja is also a tour pro and signed with the same paddle group he did in July 2026. His public equipment record is strongest on the paddle model and the 2026 sponsor change; none of the customization detail is public.
Current equipment
What is on the record now?
A sponsor deal or product page tells you the brand and model, not the exact match paddle, weight, or tape. Each field below shows its own source and date.
Brand-reported: Paddletek's Tempest Veyra pages name JW and Jorja Johnson as the pros behind the paddle but do not say which shape each uses; the elongated shape is reported by The Kitchen, which listed him with it at the November 2026 World Championships. His PPA Tour profile still named the pre-release PIKKL Hurricane Pro X on November 7, 2026. Color and any pro-only build are unverified.
Paddletek's elongated Tempest Veyra, launched November 1, 2026, for pre-order. Paddletek's product page names JW and Jorja Johnson under "Trusted by the Pros" without saying which shape each uses; The Kitchen reports that JW Johnson uses this elongated version. Paddletek sells it in one thickness (16 mm) and three colors; the color a player uses and any pro-only build are not stated. Retail specification only, not a measurement of any player's paddle.
Shape
Elongated, 16.5 x 7.5 in (Paddletek)
Core Thickness
16 mm, the only thickness offered (checked 2026-11-07)
No press release, tour profile, or brand page names a footwear brand or model for him. An undated third-party shoe roundup, titled for 2025, says he and his sister wore K-Swiss and that he has more recently been seen in Winners Edge, attributed to a conversation with his mother; it cites nothing, gives no date for the observation, and the Winners Edge brand's own About page did not name him on September 16, 2026, so the claim is recorded as found and rejected rather than adopted.
Pending for JW Johnson's current paddle (checked Nov 7, 2026). The most recent sourced tape setup is from the earlier Franklin C45, 2025. It is shown here for reference and is not carried over. See the full earlier setup.
Tape placement (Franklin C45, 2025)
Earlier: Franklin C45, 2025Tape
Both lower sides and both upper sides, in his own undated Franklin quote; an April 2025 write-up that groups him with Will Howells describes it as each corner
Lead tape, about 1 g on each lower side and each upper side, in his own undated Franklin quote. An April 2025 write-up put it at 1 to 2 g per corner in a setup it groups with Will Howells'
7.74 to 8.04 oz final, in his own undated Franklin quote. An April 2025 setup Pickleball Effect credits jointly to JW Johnson and Will Howells measured 8 oz static and 111 swing weight, with a 6.34 twistweight, against a 7.7 oz, 107 swing weight, 5.65 twistweight stock paddle
16mm, per Paddletek, which sells the Tempest Veyra (elongated and widebody) in one thickness only. Paddletek's figure, not a measurement of his paddle. The thickness of the pre-release paddle he played before launch was never published.
Model specifications describe the retail paddle. A player may use a custom build; we have not measured their paddle.
Paddletek Group, PIKKL's parent company, signed July 7, 2026, a sponsorship, not proof of match use: the announcement names no paddle model for him; Team Paddletek lists him (checked November 7, 2026), while Team PIKKL did not list him on September 16, 2026
Pending: Retail specs, handle, playing weight, weight added, grip build, overgrip, apparel. Checked Nov 7, 2026
Retail specs
Pending
Not confirmed as measurements of JW Johnson's own paddle. Paddletek's retail Tempest Veyra Elongated specification, checked November 7, 2026: 16.5 x 7.5 in, 5.75 in handle, 16 mm core, 7.5 to 8.0 oz static weight, 113 swing weight, 6.0 twist weight. He played a blacked-out pre-release version for months before the launch, so his gamer may differ.
No source gives his handle length, grip circumference or grip size. Paddletek lists a 5.75 in handle for the retail Tempest Veyra Elongated; that is a retail specification, not his paddle.
Checked Nov 7, 2026
Playing weight
Pending
No source gives a static weight or swing weight for his Tempest Veyra. Paddletek's 7.5 to 8.0 oz is a retail range, not his paddle. His 2025 Franklin-era setup is kept in the previous-era record below.
Checked Nov 7, 2026
Weight added
Pending
Nothing public describes how much weight, if any, he adds to the Tempest Veyra. His 2025 Franklin-era setup is kept in the previous-era record below.
Checked Nov 7, 2026
Grip build
Pending
No public source describes his grip build, handle wrap count, or grip size on his current paddle.
Checked Nov 7, 2026
Overgrip
Pending
No sourced description of his overgrip brand, model, or number of layers exists.
Checked Nov 7, 2026
Apparel
Pending
No 2026 source names an apparel sponsor or on-court kit. A 2023 interview listed Franklin, Day One and Yobow, which is stale: the Franklin split was reported in January 2026.
Before the launch he played it as a blacked-out, unreleased PIKKL-branded paddle; his PPA Tour profile still used that pre-release name, the PIKKL Hurricane Pro X, on November 7, 2026.
Previous-era setup
Earlier setups, with dates
These setups are sourced but belong to an earlier paddle or sponsor, so they are not carried over to the current setup above.
PIKKL Hurricane Pro X (name used before release)
Reported May to October 2026, before Paddletek launched the paddle as the Tempest Veyra on November 1, 2026
Sourced
Before launch he played a blacked-out, unreleased PIKKL-branded paddle. The Kitchen's May 21, 2026 count listed it as the 'PIKKL Hurricane Pro X (unreleased)', its September 11 tracker as an 'Unreleased PIKKL paddle', and its September 21 preview said it would be released as a Paddletek model later that fall. The Kitchen's November 1, 2026 launch story says this paddle is the one now launching as the Paddletek Tempest Veyra. PIKKL never listed a Hurricane Pro X. His PPA Tour profile still showed the Hurricane Pro X name on November 7, 2026. The link between this name and the Tempest Veyra rests on The Kitchen; Paddletek has not used the Hurricane Pro X name.
Franklin sponsorship, 2025: an undated Franklin quote and an April 20, 2025, write-up
Sourced
Pickleball Effect describes a setup credited jointly to JW Johnson and Will Howells; the article lumps the two players together and never separates their numbers. Its spec table describes the paddle the reviewer tested (a Franklin C45 Hybrid, 16.3in x 7.6in, 14mm polypropylene core), and the article adds that the series was then sold only in the hybrid shape. It does not confirm that JW Johnson's own match paddle was that same C45 variant, so no paddle record is attached to this entry. A November 29, 2025, third-party page claims he played a Franklin Carbon STK 14.5mm; it cites no source, so no Carbon STK era is recorded here either. Franklin India's undated C45 page carries his own setup quote, added October 11, 2026. The entry is historical: the Franklin split was reported January 22, 2026.
Playing weight
7.74 to 8.04 oz final, in his own undated Franklin quote. An April 2025 setup Pickleball Effect credits jointly to JW Johnson and Will Howells measured 8 oz static and 111 swing weight, with a 6.34 twistweight, against a 7.7 oz, 107 swing weight, 5.65 twistweight stock paddle
Lead tape, about 1 g on each lower side and each upper side, in his own undated Franklin quote. An April 2025 write-up put it at 1 to 2 g per corner in a setup it groups with Will Howells'
Both lower sides and both upper sides, in his own undated Franklin quote; an April 2025 write-up that groups him with Will Howells describes it as each corner
Observed at the Utah PPA event, late March 2026, while he was between paddle sponsors
Sourced
The Kitchen counted six different paddle models in his hands across 2026 through May 21, 2026: Franklin C45 Tempo 16mm, Franklin C45 Dynasty 16mm, JOOLA Perseus Pro IV 16mm, JOOLA Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm, an unreleased PIKKL Hurricane Pro X, and the Paddletek Honeyfoam TKO-X. That is one outlet's own count, taken mid-year, so it covers neither the pre-split January weeks separately nor the stretch to the July signing, and it is not a closed list: the same outlet's July 7, 2026, story names the brands he cycled through as JOOLA, Selkirk, Paddletek and PIKKL, and no Selkirk model appears in the six. The Dynasty is the one a dated tracker entry places in his hand at a named event. The trackers name paddles only; none of them gives weight, tape, or grip detail.
Official history lists gold in Men's Doubles with Dylan Frazier; Finals date 2025-09-28. Official recap states the Pickleball Central Sacramento Vintage Open featured pros using wood paddles and that no other 2025 PPA tournament would use them.
Official history lists gold in Mixed Doubles with Jorja Johnson; Finals date 2025-09-28. Official recap states the Pickleball Central Sacramento Vintage Open featured pros using wood paddles and that no other 2025 PPA tournament would use them.
Official history lists gold in Men's Doubles with Dylan Frazier; Finals date 2024-05-19.
Window: Nov 9, 2023 to Nov 9, 2026. Selected verified results, ordered by finish and then date. This record may not cover every tournament appearance. Tournament results do not establish which paddle was used.
Change history
What changed, and when?
Each sponsor or gear change, with its date and source.
Jan 22, 2026
Sponsor · sponsor switch
No paddle sponsor announced
Franklin→No paddle sponsor announced
JW, Jorja and Julie Johnson all split with Franklin. The article says the announcement came 'on Thursday'; January 22, 2026, was a Thursday, so the date is inferred from the article's own timestamp.
No paddle sponsor announced→Paddletek Group, PIKKL's parent company
The signing date is the announcement date. Neither source names a paddle model for him; The Kitchen's same-day story is brand-level and describes the period before the announcement, so the paddle change is recorded as a separate, later-dated entry.
Franklin C45, then a rotation The Kitchen counted at six paddle models across 2026→PIKKL Hurricane Pro X (unreleased)
Dated to the first in-hand observation after the signing rather than to the July 7 announcement, which named no model. The model name is older than this date (The Kitchen's May 21, 2026, count already listed a PIKKL Hurricane Pro X (unreleased) among the models in his hands) and it is the name his PPA Tour profile carried on September 16, 2026. A competing third-party report dated August 18, 2026, says he had been playing the Paddletek Honeyfoam TKO-X since July; it cites no source and is superseded by the September 11 tracker and the live tour profile, but it is recorded here rather than left in a footnote. The TKO-X was itself one of the six models in the May 21 count.
PIKKL Hurricane Pro X (unreleased)→Paddletek Tempest Veyra Elongated
The launch of the pre-release paddle under its retail name, not a sponsor change: Paddletek owns PIKKL. The elongated shape is reported by The Kitchen; Paddletek's page names the model only. PPA's profile had not been updated on November 7, 2026.
Paddletek's Tempest Veyra product pages, live since its November 1, 2026 launch, name JW and Jorja Johnson as the pros behind the paddle. The Kitchen reports that he uses the elongated version and listed him with the Tempest Veyra Elongated at the November 2026 World Championships; Paddletek does not say which shape each sibling uses. Paddletek sells the Veyra only in 16mm. Before the launch he played it as a blacked-out, unreleased PIKKL-branded paddle, which his PPA Tour profile still called the PIKKL Hurricane Pro X on November 7, 2026.
Pending. No source gives a static weight or swing weight for his Tempest Veyra; Paddletek's 7.5 to 8.0 oz is a retail range, not his paddle. On his Franklin C45, his own undated quote on Franklin's C45 page gives a finished weight between 7.74 and 8.04 oz, and an April 2025 Pickleball Effect write-up that groups him with Will Howells measured 8 oz static, 111 swing weight and 6.34 twistweight, against a 7.7 oz, 107 swing weight, 5.65 twistweight stock paddle.
Pending for his current paddle. On his Franklin C45, his own undated quote on Franklin's C45 page says he added about 1 g of lead to each lower side and each upper side, and an April 2025 Pickleball Effect write-up that groups him with Will Howells described 1 to 2 grams on each corner. An uncited November 2025 page claims lead near 3 and 9 o'clock on a Franklin Carbon STK; it cites no source and is not relied on. Nothing in the public record describes tape on his Tempest Veyra.
Pending. No press release, tour profile, or brand page names a footwear brand or model for him, and his pickleball.com sponsors tab showed no sponsors listed on September 16, 2026. An undated third-party shoe roundup says he and his sister wore K-Swiss and that he has more recently been seen in Winners Edge, attributed to a conversation with his mother; it cites nothing, gives no date for the observation, and the Winners Edge brand's own About page did not name him on September 16, 2026, so the claim is recorded as found and rejected rather than adopted.
Pending. No public source describes his grip build, handle wrap count, grip size, or overgrip. The most detailed setup article written about him, an April 2025 Franklin C45 analysis, publishes the reviewed paddle's stock grip circumference and handle length but nothing about his own grip build or overgrip. An uncited November 29, 2025, page claims one or two overgrips on a Franklin Carbon STK; it names no brand, cites no source, and predates the January 2026 Franklin split.