How to Store Pickleball Paddles & Balls Without Damaging Them

The safest default for pickleball gear is simple: store paddles and balls indoors, dry, clean and away from temperature extremes. A room-temperature closet or similar indoor space is usually a better home than a car trunk, uninsulated garage or permanently packed sports bag.

The goal is not to create a perfect climate-controlled equipment vault. It is to avoid the storage conditions most likely to change plastic balls, stress paddle materials, trap moisture or turn a bag into a humid box.

The Best Default Storage Setup

• Paddles: indoors, dry, at normal room temperature, ideally in a protective sleeve or dedicated compartment.
• Balls: indoors at a stable temperature, loose enough that they are not being crushed or distorted.
• Bag: empty or partially open after sweaty/wet sessions so moisture can escape.
• Wet towels/clothing: remove them from the equipment bag instead of storing them beside paddles and balls.

Selkirk’s current paddle-care guidance specifically recommends a dry, room-temperature storage space and warns against prolonged exposure to extreme heat or cold. Its ball guidance also explains that plastic pickleballs become more brittle in cold conditions and softer in heat.

Storage Location Matrix

Location	Good long-term storage?	Main issue
Indoor closet	Yes	Stable, dry environment
Dedicated sports shelf indoors	Yes	Good if gear is dry before storage
Sports bag indoors	Usually	Do not seal wet gear inside
Car trunk	No	Large temperature swings
Hot parked car	No	Heat can affect paddles and soften balls
Unheated garage	Not ideal	Cold and temperature swings
Damp basement	Not ideal	Moisture and slow drying
Outdoor storage box	No	Temperature and humidity exposure

Do Not Use Your Car as Permanent Paddle Storage

A car is convenient, but it is one of the worst places to treat as permanent equipment storage because the cabin and trunk can move far beyond comfortable indoor temperatures.

Selkirk warns that extreme heat can soften paddle materials and may contribute to delamination, while extreme cold can make materials more brittle. JOOLA even markets an insulated paddle case specifically around protection from temperature extremes and heat damage.

Leaving your paddle in the car for the drive to and from the courts is normal. Leaving it there day after day is the avoidable part.

What About a Garage?

A climate-controlled garage can be fine. An uninsulated garage that gets very hot in summer and very cold in winter is less suitable.

If you are unsure, use the same rule you would use for other temperature-sensitive sporting equipment: if the space regularly becomes much hotter or colder than the rest of the house, it is not the best long-term location.

How to Store Pickleball Paddles

1. Put Them Away Dry

Do not deliberately store a wet paddle in a closed bag. Selkirk advises keeping paddles dry and avoiding submersion because moisture can enter some honeycomb-core constructions.

If your paddle was used in light rain or exposed to sweat, wipe it down and let the grip and cover dry before closing everything up.

2. Use a Cover for Impact Protection, Not Climate Control

A paddle cover is useful for preventing scratches, abrasion and accidental contact with other gear. It does not make a hot trunk safe.

Think of a normal neoprene or fabric cover as mechanical protection. Temperature protection requires the surrounding environment itself—or a purpose-built insulated case—to remain reasonable.

3. Avoid Heavy Compression

Do not store a paddle at the bottom of a pile of heavy equipment where the face, edge guard or handle is constantly loaded. A dedicated paddle compartment or shelf removes that unnecessary stress.

4. Keep Abrasive or Dirty Gear Separate

Shoes, loose court grit, keys and metal accessories do not need to share direct contact with the paddle face. A separate paddle sleeve or compartment is an easy way to avoid cosmetic damage.

For actual cleaning methods by face type, use our paddle care guide. This page is about where the equipment lives between sessions.

How to Store Pickleballs

Pickleballs are simple plastic objects, but temperature changes their behavior.

Selkirk explains that cold makes the plastic harder and more brittle, increasing cracking risk, while heat softens the plastic and can make balls feel mushy or go out of round.

For normal storage, that points to the same practical answer as paddles: keep balls indoors at a stable temperature when you are not playing.

Do Balls Need to Be Refrigerated?

No. There is no general reason to refrigerate pickleballs for routine storage. The goal is stability, not making them artificially cold.

Likewise, do not store them beside a heater or in direct sun to make them “softer.” You want normal equipment, not deliberately conditioned equipment.

Let Cold Balls Acclimate

Selkirk’s cold-weather guidance recommends storing balls indoors and allowing them to acclimate gradually before cold-weather play rather than shocking them with abrupt temperature changes.

If you routinely play outside in winter, keep your main supply indoors and bring only the balls you need to the court.

Keep Match Balls Separate From Old Practice Balls

Storage is also organizational. If every ball goes into one bucket forever, it becomes hard to know which ones are still round and consistent enough for serious games.

• Match / fresh balls: keep together.
• Normal practice balls: separate bin or compartment.
• Cracked, warped or clearly soft balls: remove rather than letting them drift back into rotation.

Our ball replacement guide covers cracks, softness and out-of-round shape.

Do Not Store Wet Gear in a Closed Bag

The bag itself is often the overlooked part of the storage system.

After a hot session you may have:

• a sweaty towel;
• damp clothing;
• wet socks;
• a moist overgrip;
• rain-exposed gear;
• a water bottle that leaked.

Do not zip all of that together and leave it for several days. Take wet textiles out, wipe obvious moisture from hard gear and let the bag air out.

This is less about exotic paddle chemistry than simple housekeeping: dry equipment is easier to keep clean, grips last better and the bag does not become a humid storage environment.

Should You Leave Paddles in the Bag?

Yes, if the bag is indoors, dry and not compressed under heavy objects.

ONIX recommends using a dedicated paddle slot or protective paddle cover when packing a pickleball bag. That is a sensible setup for ordinary storage too: it separates the paddle from shoes, balls and loose accessories.

The bag is not the problem by itself. The problem is using the bag as a sealed container for wet gear or leaving the entire bag in a hot or freezing location.

Long-Term or Off-Season Storage

If you will not play for several weeks or months:

1. Clean the paddle according to its surface type.
2. Let the paddle, grip and cover dry fully.
3. Inspect the edge guard and face for existing damage.
4. Remove wet towels, clothing and food from the bag.
5. Sort cracked or warped balls out of the supply.
6. Store paddles and balls indoors at a stable temperature.
7. Keep the bag somewhere dry rather than on a damp floor.

You do not need to loosen anything inside the paddle or perform a special preservation treatment. Normal indoor storage is enough.

Storage Myths to Ignore

“A Paddle Cover Protects Against Any Temperature”

A normal cover protects mainly against scratches and impact. It cannot prevent a paddle from eventually reaching the temperature of a hot car.

“Cold Storage Keeps Balls Fresh”

Cold changes ball hardness and brittleness. Stable indoor storage is the better default.

“If the Garage Is Dry, Temperature Does Not Matter”

Dryness helps, but large heat and cold swings still matter for both paddles and plastic balls.

“The Bag Is Always the Safest Place”

Only if the bag itself is stored well. A sports bag sitting in a hot trunk is still a hot environment.

A 60-Second Post-Session Storage Routine

1. Remove wet clothes and towel.
2. Check whether the paddle or grip is damp.
3. Wipe visible moisture or dirt.
4. Separate cracked balls from good balls.
5. Leave the bag open until damp gear is dry.
6. Move the bag indoors instead of leaving it in the car.

That routine solves most storage problems without buying anything special.

Bottom Line

Store pickleball paddles and balls indoors, dry and at a stable room temperature whenever possible. Use covers and dedicated compartments for physical protection, but do not confuse a bag or sleeve with climate control.

Keep gear out of long-term hot-car, freezing-garage and damp-bag storage. Let balls and paddles return gradually toward playing conditions when weather is extreme, and keep wet textiles out of the equipment bag between sessions.

Sources

• Selkirk Sport: Pickleball Paddle Care Guide
• Selkirk Sport: How Temperature Affects a Pickleball
• Selkirk Sport: Cold-Weather Pickleball Tips
• ONIX Pickleball: How to Pack Your Pickleball Bag
• JOOLA: Pro Pickleball Paddle Case