JOOLA Pro V Kosmos Review: Is It Better Than the Pro IV?

If there’s a video for this review, watch it for the full tone and demos — this post is the written companion.

I gave the Joola Perseus Pro IV MyPickleList’s paddle of the year for 2025. My definition of paddle of the year isn’t necessarily “best performance,” but the paddle that defined the year — and everyone and their mother had a Joola Pro IV. That’s still the case.

A few weeks ago Joola dropped the Pro V. It caught some flak for still leaning on gen 3-style tech when a lot of brands have pushed hard into gen 4 cores. From what I’ve seen, the Pro V is a slight tweak more than a revolution — but they did add a hybrid shape called the Kosmos.

Here’s how the Kosmos (and Pro V line in general) performed for me.

Intro

My name is Pickle Li. I’m a 5.0 pickleball player and I’ve reviewed over 50 paddles on this channel. I created MyPickleList, which does community-driven paddle ratings, and there are currently over 900 ratings.

Caveats & Disclosures

Reminder: This is a first impressions review, not a full review.

I played with this for a few days, so I can’t speak to long-term durability.

I’ll be rating this paddle on MyPickleList at the end of this write-up, so stay tuned for that.

Shout out to Premier Racquet Sports for letting me borrow this paddle. Let them know I sent you if you decide to pick one up.

Quick Specs Overview

The Pro V line is a slight modification of the Pro IVs: same gen 3 floating core style, with a core update aimed at launch angle (per Joola’s messaging).

You get the usual shapes in 14mm and 16mm. I hit most of the shapes at least a little and chose to focus this review on the Kosmos 16mm because it’s new — and I’m a hybrid / widebody guy, so it fit.

• My sample weight: 8.06 oz
• Setup: Stock the whole time

On-Court First Impressions

Pop

The Kosmos is above average on pop and similar to the Pro IVs in my book — maybe a touch less, especially if the Pro IV is broken in.

There’s enough pop to potentially bag someone if you flick it at them, but nothing where you instantly win off pop alone. I never felt like pop was a problem.

Control & Feel

Hitting Pro Vs back to back with Pro IVs, the Pro IV felt lighter and poppier off the face compared to a Perseus Pro V — but my Pro IV had a lot more miles on it, so break-in matters here.

Overall the feel is pretty close; the pop-to-power ratio feels similar.

Sweet spot: Good, not enormous. I could reset fine — no big complaints.

I think the Pro V is a bit less poppy and powerful than the Pro IVs, which made some shots a bit easier to control.

The paddle felt intuitive; I could usually get the shot I wanted.

Grit: Typical Joola feel — pretty smooth. It gets the job done but I wouldn’t call it elite spin.

Power

Power sits in the mid-tier range for me, like the Pro IVs — more than enough for most players, though I’d still say slightly less than Pro IVs in my sessions.

I could still sail the ball out if I wasn’t careful. Overall it’s a good amount of power: get the job done without over-hitting too often.

Verdict & MyPickleList

MyPickleList is a site I built for community-driven paddle ratings — a quick way to see how a paddle stacks up without watching a full review. We have 250+ members and 900+ ratings; more ratings make it better, so please join if you haven’t.

If you’re in the Atlanta area, we’re running $20 gift cards to Premier Racquet Sports when you rate and comment on 5 paddles on the site.

Back to the paddle.

The Joola Pro V line feels like a small variation on the Pro IV — not a must-upgrade for everyone. Very slightly less power and pop, a bit easier to control. I’m not sure I noticed the marketed launch-angle difference in a dramatic way, but I didn’t play badly with it either.

Rating: 8/10 (Pro V Kosmos)

I like that Joola finally put out a hybrid; the Kosmos does what you’d expect from that shape. Pro IVs were already strong; Pro Vs are similar, maybe slightly more control-focused.

• Consider it if you like Pro IVs and want something a touch more control-oriented.
• Skip it as a “change of pace” if you’re bored of Pro IV DNA — this isn’t a totally different animal.

If I had to pick a Joola in this family, I’d probably lean Kosmos as my main — but having reviewed a ton of paddles, I could play relatively similarly on a Pro IV or a Pro V.

Bottom line: Good paddle, new hybrid is welcome (better late than never). It doesn’t rewrite performance compared to Pro IV; if you loved Pro IVs and want slightly more control, the Pro V (especially Kosmos) is worth a look.

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