We asked the experts for their picks for the best pickleball paddles, balls, running shoes and more to improve your game as a beginner

• Will these $23 socks last my entire life? I took 150,000 steps to find out

• Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things

Maybe it was the contrarian in me, or maybe just the tennis player, but I must confess that I spent years dissing pickleball during its meteoric rise. When I finally decided to give up my grinching and try the sport I had derided as “mini tennis”, I discovered what I’d been missing.

Learning how to play was fun, simple and affordable. I began my journey with a beginner class at Court 16, a New York-based indoor tennis and pickleball club where I started working with coach Dylan DeBiase, assistant director of tennis.