What’s in your Bag, Ekaterina Biakina?
The Essentials, Pro Edition With Ekaterina Biakina
Based in Honolulu, Kata Biakina is making quiet moves and big statements on the pro pickleball tour. Seeded 14th at the 2024 PPA Hyundai Masters, she made headlines by defeating former tennis star Genie Bouchard in straight games, 11–1, 11–7. With a DUPR rating of 5.227 and over 20 pro events under her belt, Kata’s ranked inside the top 50 in women’s singles and continues to rise.
We caught up with Kata between tournaments to see what she carries on (and off) the court.
Q: What brand is your pickleball bag, and what do you like about it?
Mypickleballbag is Proton, and I have it because I play witah the Proton paddle. And I like the color. They have this bag in different colors, but I think blue kind of fits me best. It’s simple but pretty.
Q: What shoes do you play with?
I play with HEAD shoes. They started making a separate line for pickleball, so I’ve been trying out different shoes of theirs, and all of them fit. I move a lot, so not all shoes fit me. Some other brands really destroyed my feet. So I had to choose something that is soft enough, but hard enough to withstand.
Q: What do you like about the Proton paddle?
I like that they have a lot of power. And I like the shape. It’s a little bit on the harder side—some paddles feel a little softer.
I play with the Flamingo now, but before that, I played with the Series One.
This paddle doesn’t fail—if you go to a tournament for testing, you know that you will pass. You know that you will play with the same equipment and material that you’ve trained with, and for me, that is really, really important.
Passing paddle deflection tests at tournaments is critical for pros like Kata. Some paddles change over time and can fail under scrutiny.
Of course, if you get a lot of paddles from your company and you have the luxury of always playing with a new one, it probably won’t bother you as much. But I have been in situations where I’ve been at a tournament—and back then I played just with the Series Three (not the Flamingo version) and I had no more paddles. I had to completely find some other (paddle). It was very stressful.
For recreational players, this might never be an issue. But for Kata, who trains and competes, this is a major concern. That experience helped solidify her loyalty to more consistent models like the Series One and now the Flamingo.
Q: What snacks or drinks do you keep in your bag?
I have Liquid I.V. And balls, a towel, and water.
I have a separate towel for my paddles and a separate towel for myself, because I clean the face and the overgrip. Painkillers, emergency stuff like shoelaces— just in case. These shoes never betrayed me, but you never know.
Another headband, a rubber band, things like that. Anything can happen and you want to be prepared.
Q: Any quirky or sentimental items in your bag?
I like to carry little things from different tournaments. Like this little pin from Six Zero. It can be something that I hang on the bag—it’s all from tournaments.
My bag also has a lot of stickers on it. It makes it feel more personalized, like it’s been part of my journey. If I changed the bag, I would probably put all these little things on that bag.
It’s not about the bag—it’s about the little things.
Q: What’s the one item you can’t live without on the pickleball court?
Well, I guess it’s the paddle that I play with. If anybody wants to really throw me off, they’d have to steal my paddle—the exact one that I’m playing with right now.
