TMPR Sports is a relatively new paddle brand that has been around since 2018. They continue to gain in popularity and their momentum is only going to continue with their new line of paddles called the Luxe Series.
The Ascend LX is one of four paddles in TMPR’s Luxe series. It’s one of their most unique shapes and was designed with tennis pros to cater to players with a tennis or racquetball background.
TMPR Sports is very progressive with the shapes of their paddles and is not afraid to break the status quo. They’ve done their research and have developed a series of paddles that each have their own strengths. I’ve been very impressed with all the paddles in this series and am confident you can find one that fits your game.
You can learn more about TMPR Sports from their website.
After drilling and playing over 20 games with the Ascend LX, here is my review on its performance.
Get $10 off of TMPR Paddles
If you think the Ascend LX is the right paddle for you, get $10 off at tmprsports.com using the coupon code, PBFX10.
SHOP ASCEND LXPaddle Design
Core & Construction
All paddles in the Luxe Series feature a thicker, high quality polymer core with a textured fiberglass face. Thicker cores help soften the paddle and increase feel, while a fiberglass face is known for adding extra power. The combination of the fiberglass face with the thicker core is a winning mix to create a superior control paddle with enough power to speed up the ball when you need to.
The core of this paddle is designed to be a control paddle, but I found that it carried more punch than other thicker core paddles that I’ve tested.
Shape
The shape of a paddle has a major impact on its performance and playabilty. Although each paddle in the Luxe Series has the same core and face, they all play a little differently depending on the shape.
The Ascend LX has a smaller, lower profile head size with a steep neck line. It also features a longer handle at 5.5″. The typical length of a handle is 5″ or shorter. Because of the steep neck and longer handle, the total length of the paddle is 16.25″ which is nearly as long as an elongated paddle, so this paddle plays with extended reach.
The smaller profile head shape was designed to be quick in your hands and make it easy for flicking movements like forehand or backhand rolls.
The longer handle and steep neck put the face of the paddle further away from your hand like a tennis or racquetball racquet, giving it a familiar feel to people with those backgrounds. Having the face further away from your hand can make it more difficult to play with players new to the sport and don’t have much racquet sport experience.
Ascend LX
Playabilty
Soft Game & Defending
I felt most comfortable with this paddle when I was at the net. It has fantastic feel that translated to a strong dinking game and the length of the paddle gave me a little extra reach that made it easy to take dinks out of the air.
Third shot drops and drops in general were easy to control to get the distance and pace right. However, I did have some trouble with my drop shots when the ball was coming at me fast or had a lot of spin. I found myself catching the edge of the paddle more than usual in those situations, probably because of the smaller head shape combined with the longer handle. I hit less edge shots the more I played with the paddle but it took some time to get used to having the head of the paddle further away from my hands.
Defending with the paddle was great. The quickness of the paddle combined with the little extra reach came in handy when scrambling and when I was forced to stretch for a ball.
Attacking
Attacking at the Net
Attacking and playing at the net was the highlight of the Ascend LX. I could disguise my speed ups and attacks by using the leverage of the long handle and small profile of the paddle to generate some power and spin without a big swing. It was also easy to put away pop ups or any shot that was high enough to swing down on. The long paddle, long handle, and small profile allowed you to flick your wrist to generate speed to put away the ball.
Out of all the paddles in the Luxe Series, I could generate the most power at the net with the Ascend LX. However, it was a different story for me with drives and slices from the baseline.
Drives and Return of Serves
Hitting drives and other shots that use a bigger swing like a return of serve was difficult at first. I found myself catching these shots on the edge of the paddle more than normal. However, overtime, I got better and starting catching those shots in the middle of the paddle. This paddle shape is so different from other paddles I’ve grown accustomed to that it took me a while to adjust to it.
I think the combination of the face of the paddle being farther away from my hands and the smaller head is what gave me troubles at first.
I got comfortable with paddle from the baseline as time went by and was consistently hitting good shots. But I never got as comfortable from the baseline with this paddle as I did with the other paddles in the Luxe Series.
Other Opinions
I sought out a couple of friends who I knew had strong backgrounds in tennis and racquetball to get their opinions since those are the folks this paddle was primarily designed for.
The first friend I shared it with is a big time racquetball player who has been playing pickleball for the last 6 months or so. He is still newer to game and hasn’t found a paddle that fits him well. We hit with the Ascend LX for a while and then found some people to play against. He was raving about the paddle the whole time and kept telling me how natural it felt compared to other paddles he has played. He has already bought himself the paddle.
The other friend I shared it with has been playing tennis at the local club in my area for a long time. He has also been playing pickleball for over year with a Gearbox paddle that he likes. He didn’t have as much trouble as I did with drives and other shots from the baseline though he did mention he had a couple more mishits than usual. He kept talking about the soft feel and control the paddle had compared to his Gearbox, he liked that a lot. Since then, he has been bugging me to play again so he can give the paddle another try. He thinks it might be his new paddle of choice.
Overall, advanced players I shared the Luxe Series paddles with tended to like the Ascend LX while intermediate and beginner level players gravitated to the other paddles in the Luxe Series.
Customizations
This paddle has four different colors you can choose from. These include:
- Blue
- Red
- Yellow
- Pink
It also has three different weight options. Not very many companies offer these many weight options, it’s nice to have the options to suit your preference. The weight options include:
- Light Weight (7.1 – 7.5 oz.)
- Medium Weight (7.6 – 8.0 oz.)
- Heavy Weight (8.1 – 8.5 oz.)
The lighter the weight the easier it is to maneuver and handle, but will require you to swing harder to put more power on it. The heavier the paddle the more weight is behind the ball so dinks and hard shots don’t have to be swung as hard to add more power.
Summary and Recommendation
The highlights of this paddle for me were its control and ease of attacking at the net. It’s longer length, small profile, and quick maneuverability made it easy to disguise attacks and put balls away.
And, like all paddles in the Luxe Series, it had fantastic control with dinks and finesse shots.
On the flip side, it was difficult for me to consistently hit good return of serves and strong groundstrokes from the baseline at first. I got better with it as time went on but I never felt as comfortable with this paddle in my hands as I did with the others in the Luxe Series.
If you are an advanced player or have a strong tennis or racquetball background, then you will like the familiarity this paddle has with those sports. You’ll also benefit from the quickness of the paddle at the net and it’s extra length.
If you are newer to the sport or would be interested in a more player-friendly paddle then I would recommend the other paddles in TMPR’s Luxe Series.
Get $10 off of TMPR Paddles
If you think the Ascend LX is the right paddle for you, get $10 off at tmprsports.com using the coupon code, PBFX10.
SHOP ASCEND LX
