Happy Presidents' Day! Today is a federal holiday in the US thanks to the 1968 Uniform Monday Holiday Act. However, today's holiday was originally established in 1885 to celebrate President George Washington’s birthday. 🎂

Let us celebrate 🥳 with another day on the pickleball courts... we know at least one former president (President George W. Bush) loves pickleball...

#1. 7 TIPS FOR WHEN YOU ARE LOSING ON THE PICKLEBALL COURT

Pickleball is a game, so there are winners and losers. And, eventually, we all do it… we all lose on the pickleball court. While we try to avoid losing, we cannot always win and come out on top.

What do you do if you find yourself losing on the pickleball court? Is there anything that you can do during the game to salvage a win? If you find yourself on the verge of losing a pickleball game, try these 7 tips to help turn the game around and grab a win! 😉

#2. PICKLEBALL WEDDINGS: FROM 0-0-2 TO "I DO"

Would you believe it... pickleball and weddings do go together! After all, pickleball is a game most commonly played as doubles and touted as the most social of sports. So, it was bound to happen that pickleball friendships, for some, would turn into pickleball romances followed by pickleball weddings.

​Click here to learn about pickleball weddings, including the historic pickleball wedding - the one that put the “0-0-2” into the words “I do” - that happened in Surprise, Arizona, 20 years ago this month. 👰🤵

#3. HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR PARTNER TO IMPROVE YOUR PLAY

If you play doubles pickleball (as opposed to singles pickleball), then communication must be an important part of your game. And, this communication should take many forms, including before, during, and after a pickleball game.

​Click here to learn how to better communicate 📣 on the pickleball court, and why partner communication is critical to being a good partner and having success (i.e., winning more games).

​A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR: VISTA TRAVEL & ROYAL CARIBBEAN​

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Adventure, the ocean, piña coladas 🍹, and pickleball games await...

#4. MURMURS FROM THE LOSERS' BRACKET: TIME TO GET HELP AT BANGERS ANONYMOUS

If you are one of those players that refuses to dink and remains stubborn in your banging ways, then we here at Murmurs from the Losers' Bracket (*for those new to Murmurs, this is a humorous tongue-and-cheek opinion piece - don't take us too seriously... we are trying to have fun, just like we do on the pickleball court) will like to refer you to our support group, Bangers Anonymous, a 12-step program designed to get you and others like you up to the Non-Volley-Zone line for some soft play. Are you one of these bangers?

​Click here to have a laugh with Pickler writer, Frank Cerabino, and see if you need to join Bangers Anonymous. 🤣

#5. QUICK TIP - WHEN TO TAKE RISKS

Pickleball is a game of percentages and risks. Do you want to play a high percentage shot, or do you want to take a risk with a shot that may mean you either win or lose the point on that shot? 📉

If you decide you want to take a few risks out on the pickleball court, be sure to take more risks when you are serving, rather than when you are receiving. This is because a risk when you are serving - unlike when you are receiving - does not result in a point for your opponents. So, take more risks on the serve!

#6. PICKLER THE PODCAST - WHO IS "THE PEOPLE'S CHAMP" & MORE

Pickler The Podcast co-hosts, Stacie Townsend and John "The People's Champ" Davison, break down the latest news in the pickleball world, including a recap of the APP Tour's major announcement taking pickleball to Flushing Meadows (i.e., where the USTA US Open is played 🎾). Plus, get to know "The People's Champ" and learn Stacie's and John's celebrity pickleball partner wish list? Who would be your dream celebrity partner? Tune in and catch up! 🎧

And, don't forget to subscribe to Pickler's YouTube page, so you never miss another Pickler video - whether it be a podcast, pickleball tip video, or other can't-miss video.

#7. DO YOU HAVE PICKLEBALL MAGIC?

During an episode of Pickler The Podcast, guest and #1 men's senior pro pickleball player, Mircea Morariu, briefly touched on what makes pickleball magic, which is when you have both game chemistry and personal chemistry with your pickleball partner. 🎩

Do you have this game chemistry and personal chemistry with your pickleball partner? If not, you may not be reaching your full potential on the pickleball court.

​Click here to watch the full episode and subscribe to Pickler's YouTube page.

Do you have any questions that you would like Stacie and John to address? Or, do you have any ideas for a guest? 💡 Let us know by emailing stacie@thepickler.com!

​A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR: LIFE LINE SCREENING​

Playing better pickleball starts with your health. As they say, "your health is your wealth" or, in our case, what allows us to keep playing pickleball. Stay ahead of the game by going to those doctors' appointments and preventative screenings, which can help you detect and get ahead of any issues early. Our friends at Life Line Screening have already screened over 10 million people to help save countless moments on and off the pickleball court. Click here to schedule 🗓 your preventative screening today.

#8. RULES REFRESH - DROP A LINE CALL?

Line calls can be a difficult task on the pickleball court, especially if you are moving and the pickleball is unbelievably close to the line. In recreational play, most players will be deferential to their opponents. However, in competitive play, line calls can be a source of contention. 👊

If you find yourself on the wrong end of what you think is a questionable line call, do not question your opponents' line call. It is your opponents' line call to make. Even if you disagree with the line call, shake it off and move on to the next point. Unfortunately, given the pace of a pickleball game, we all make bad line calls - even the pros (as shown by the video above) from time to time and even if unintended (we would like to think that no one intentionally makes a bad line call).

However, if you are in a competitive play situation and there is a referee, then you may appeal any line call to the referee at any time prior to the next serve. If the referee clearly saw the call, then the referee will state his or her ruling. If the referee could not see the call, then your opponents' line call will stand.

For a deeper breakdown on all of the rules of pickleball, check out Pickler's Ultimate Guide to the Rules of Pickleball.

Have you had an interesting rules issue on the pickleball court? Send it to us at stacie@thepickler.com, so we can share with the rest of the pickleball community in a future newsletter.

#9. HEADLINES FROM THE COURT

Another wild couple of weeks of pickleball headlines... Catch up quick! 🗞

• Pickleball is saving lives 🆘... literally. One pickleball player saved the life of a tennis player who had collapsed on the tennis court. And, another pickleball player received an early cancer diagnosis thanks to a freak pickleball injury. Also, pickleball is helping disabled veterans heal!
• The number of countries playing pickleball is up to 70! Just 5 short of the required 75 countries to be considered for the Olympic Games.
• Pickleball hits the media circuit with features in New York Times, NPR, Fox Business, and the AARP Magazine! As the New York Times put it, "Pickleball Is Ready for Prime Time"! 📺
• The numbers are out... there are 4.8 million pickleball players in the United States, which represents an almost 40% jump in just 2 years. 📈

• The greatest barrier to the growth of the sport of pickleball is the number of courts (or lack thereof). And, one of the barriers to more pickleball courts is noise complaints. Unfortunately, not everyone loves the sound of hitting a pickleball with a paddle as much as we do. One accordion player poked fun at the noise complaints in Coquitlam (BC, Canada) with this pickleball parody. 🎶
• Utah Senator Dan McCay is proposing that the state spend $5 million of its surplus to build 50 pickleball courts, which will fuel economic and social development in the state. Senator McCay notes that pickleball is the most inclusive sport he plays and describes the sport as bipartisan. If we were Utah residents, you'd have our vote, Senator!
• Pickleball is hitting college campuses, as collegiate pickleball clubs are starting to have inter-school competitions. For instance, Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is challenging UCLA, and Texas Christian University (TCU) is challenging Texas A&M. We love to see it!
• The PPA Arizona Grand Slam finished yesterday with their 5-match (best of 5 game) Championship Sunday. There were some big performances:
  • Ben Johns took home the triple crown 👑 - winning a gold in pro mixed doubles, pro men's doubles, and pro men's singles. His mixed partner, Anna Leigh Waters, took home a pair of gold medals 🥇🥇 of her own - winning the pro mixed doubles and pro women's singles. She and her mother, Leigh Waters, also took home the bronze 🥉 in pro women's doubles, for a total of 3 medals on the weekend. Ben's and Anna Leigh's performances could be an early indicator of a runaway tour season for both of them...
  • Tyson McGuffin and Catherine Parenteau also had strong showings, competing in two finals each. However, both fell short and had to settle for two silvers 🥈🥈. Also, shoutout to Lauren Stratman, who partnered with Tyson in mixed, who had a great run in both mixed doubles (taking silver 🥈) and women's doubles (taking 4th place).
  • Lucy Kovalova likely had the picture of the tournament as she flexed proudly after a let cord winner took her and her partner, Callie Smith, to match point against Team Waters. Lucy and Callie eventually went on to win gold 🥇 for the second tournament stop in a row.

• Other key takeaways include...
  • The PPA also flashed some stats for us throughout the broadcast of Championship Sunday. One such stat was the average number of shots per rally for the pro mixed doubles match, which was 8.3 shots per rally. Thanks to Irina Tereschenko, who was announcing on the day, we have a comparison to tennis, which is only 2 shots per rally. Per Irina, these longer rallies could be a sign that pickleball will be more entertaining for the fans than tennis. Well, we know for sure that the stats and Irina's announcing were both entertaining... PPA, give us more of both, please!
  • A couple of teams that were picked to win along the tour stops are having slow starts... it will be interesting to see if #1 seed Matt Wright and Lucy Kovalova can pick it up in pro mixed doubles, and if Tyson McGuffin and Jay Devilliers can start to sync.
  • Lastly, one team - JW Johnson and Andrea Koop - donned Swiss flag 🇨🇭 shirts in a live streamed match. As two notable unsigned players (compared to the others mentioned above that have signed exclusivity deals with the PPA), they could be making a statement that they are remaining neutral between the two competing tours - the PPA and the APP.

• Mark your calendars 🗓 for live pro pickleball at the PPA Indoor Championships and the APP Punta Gorda Open on Thursday, February 24th through Sunday, February 27th. Plus, look forward to more major pickleball tournaments and events next month!

#10. ASK PICKLER - OVER-AND-BACK PICKLEBALL?

Question: I hit a pickleball just barely over the net into the opposing side of the Kitchen and it immediately bounced back into my side of the Kitchen without the pickleball being touched by the other side. Did I lose the point? 🤷

Answer: Good question. What you are describing is known as the "over-and-back pickleball," which is a rare occurrence on the pickleball court, but happens with a lot of spin and possibly some wind.

If you hit the pickleball over the net into your opponents' side of the court, and it bounces back onto your side untouched, then you win the point. Your opponents must hit the pickleball for them to win the point.

To note, this is the one time that your opponents may cross the plane of the net before hitting the pickleball. However, they may not cross the plane of the net until after the pickleball has crossed back over the plane of the net to the other side of the pickleball court. Again, if your opponents do not touch the pickleball, then you will win the rally.

If you find you are on the opposing side of an "over-and-back pickleball," then be sure to race to the net (without touching it!), wait until the pickleball crosses the plane of the net, and then reach over the net and try to at least make contact with the pickleball. And, if possible, try to hit the pickleball into your opponents' side of the pickleball net, which will immediately end the point in your favor.

Do you have a pickleball question? Ask Pickler. Reach out to stacie@thepickler.com. Plus, your question may be featured in the next newsletter.

#11. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP ON THE PICKLEBALL COURT

What do you learn from watching this point from the PPA Arizona Grand Slam, featuring Damien Spizzo? 👏

​Click here to learn our takeaways in the latest Lessons from the Pickleball Court! As a preview, we are channeling our inner Winston Churchill...

GET THE PICKLEBALL GOODS!

We know how much time you spend playing pickleball... us, too. Make sure you have the pickleball goods you need to make the most out of your time on the court! Plus, get 10% off with the code “10PICKLER” (some exclusions apply). 🔥

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BALL'S IN YOUR COURT...

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