National Pickleball Month (April) continues to roar on, as the largest pickleball tournament in the world kicked off yesterday (Sunday, April 16th) in Naples, Florida. With over 3,000 players (from all 50 states and 29 countries), 30,000 expected fans, and $10 million of economic impact to the local community, the US Open Pickleball Championships is certainly aiming to live up to its reputation as the “biggest pickleball party in the world.” 🥳
Speaking of a party, check out the incredible composition below by Pelle Cass, an artist and photographer from Boston. 🔥
Now, let's dive into your pickleball tips, strategies, stories, news, and more! 👏
#1. WHY MAXIMIZING YOUR ANGLES & MINIMIZING YOUR OPPONENTS' ANGLES ARE KEY TO YOUR PICKLEBALL GAME
The ability to maximize your angles, while minimizing your opponents’ angles, can be the difference between winning and losing in pickleball. Learn 4 tips to maximize your angles, and 3 tips to minimize your opponents’ angles, in order to win more points on the court. 👏
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#2. WELCOME TO PICKLEBALL, WALMART SHOPPERS
Walmart has discovered pickleball. America’s largest retailer will be introducing pickleball opportunities to the millions of shoppers 🛍 who frequent the 4,717 Walmart stores in the U.S. With those kind of numbers, the Walmartization of pickleball could introduce some interesting changes to the game. Learn more.
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#3. 10 TIPS IF YOU ARE PLAYING IN A PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT TODAY
“The biggest pickleball party in the world”—the US Open Pickleball Championships held in Naples, Florida—kicks off for the seventh year this week. In honor of the largest pickleball tournament in the world, here are 10 tips to know if you are playing in a pickleball tournament today! 💪
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SELKIRK POWER AIR: PERFORMANCE POWER & MAXIMUM SPIN
As professional pickleball became increasingly focused on power and spin, the larger community discovered the benefits of power and spin, especially when it comes to dominating opponents. After two years of research and development (in partnership with pickleball pros, like Tyson McGuffin), the VANGUARD Power Air was developed to champion these players and provide a paddle that enables full control of the court, with performance power and maximum spin. 🔥
While edgeless technology has been around for several years, Selkirk is committed to introducing many new performance innovations to edgeless paddles. The Power Air focuses on durability, offers an elevated feel, complete with a polymer honeycomb core, and is the power paddle the pickleball community has been asking for. 🙌
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#4. MURMURS FROM THE LOSERS' BRACKET: BEFORE WE PLAY, PARTNER, PLEASE SIGN THIS...
In an attempt to make pickleball partnerships as amiable as possible, Murmurs from the Losers' Bracket has drafted a pregame document ready for signatures to address 10 important items for partners to live by “til 11 do you part.” ✍️ Speak up now, or forever hold your serve! (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.)
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#5. THE MIND GAMES PLAYED WITHIN THE PICKLEBALL GAME
There are a variety of mind games and psychological strategies that can be seen on the pickleball court (particularly, by pro players in a competitive event). Learn some common mind games that you may see, which are each used to try to gain an advantage over opponents. 🧠
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#6. QUICK TIP - HIT DOWN ON THE PICKLEBALL
When you are the receiving team, you want to keep the serving team back by the baseline. To do this, you typically are looking to be aggressive when hitting the fourth shot and take the pickleball out the air in order to take time away from your opponents. However, not every shot should be taken out of the air. For instance, if your opponents hit a third shot that will land in the Kitchen, but will bounce up above the net, then it is better to let the pickleball bounce, wait for it to rise above the net, and then aggressively hit down on the pickleball—just like pro James Ignatowich does in the point below. 👇
The alternative would be to take the pickleball out of the air, but then you would be forced to hit up on the pickleball with a less aggressive shot. Do your best to take time away from your opponents, but look for opportunities to hit down on the pickleball toward your opponents’ feet. 💥
#7. RULES REFRESH - BEWARE OF BUGS
Imagine a bee or other insect suddenly flies on the court and lands on a player, who is scrambling on defense with his partner at the baseline. The player immediately calls a hinder, as he swats at the bug and as his opponents are about to strike the pickleball for another aggressive shot. What is the call? Can a bug result in a hinder (and, as a result, a replay of the point)? 🦟
According to the rules, a hinder is “[a]ny transient element or occurrence not caused by a player that adversely impacts play, not including permanent objects. Examples include, but are not limited to, balls, flying insects, foreign material, players or officials on another court that, in the opinion of the referee, impacted a player’s ability to make a play on the ball.” In other words, under the rules, a hinder specifically includes an insect that adversely impacts play. So, the promptly called hinder will result in a replay of the rally (even though the opponents seemed to have had favorable court positioning on the rally).
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#8. WHAT IS A NO-LOOK SHOT IN PICKLEBALL & WHEN TO USE IT
A no-look shot in pickleball is an advanced shot that is hit without looking at the ball. Instead, you rely on your instincts and muscle memory to hit the pickleball. Learn the benefits of a no-look shot and when to (and when not to) hit one on the pickleball court. 😵
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#9. HEADLINES FROM THE COURT
Serving up the latest pickleball headlines over the last two weeks... 🗞
- Pickleball and baseball ⚾️ are mashing up the oldest and newest of America’s pastimes, as the Tampa Bay Rays have announced a pickleball night on April 23rd and pickleball pro Tyson McGuffin was on the mound to throw out the first pitch for the Arizona Diamondbacks recently. And, in even bigger news, a newly formed group—Pickleball4America—has announced a Ballpark Festival Series, which will transform ballparks across the country into pickleball festivals. More details to come, but the first two events will take place at Boston’s Fenway Park and San Francisco’s Oracle Park.
- Pickleball pleasantly surprised with viewership numbers 📈 on ESPN, as The Pickleball Slam—which featured tennis greats John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, and Michael Chang 🎾 on the pickleball court—drew 669,000 viewers (with a peak of 796,000 viewers). This beat out other live sports on at the same time, such as an NHL game and ATP Miami Open final. This event was the first of a five-event deal, so there seems to be more “pickleball slams” to come. With the recent social media post of Serena and Venus Williams holding a pickleball paddle, maybe the Williams sisters will be next up on court?
- Dude Perfect celebrated its new ownership of a professional pickleball team with pickleball trick shots—check it out! 🤯
- Learn more about pro Zack Taylor, from him in his own words, as he takes the confidence that he gained from “American Idol” 🎤 to represent the LGBTQIA+ community on the pickleball court.
- The unit deployment manager for the 142nd Maintenance Operations Flight (MOF) ✈ Tech. Sgt Nicole Cooper finds stability and direction in her life from both the military and pickleball. Learn more about Cooper.
- A new 24/7 streaming channel called PickleTV just launched on Amazon’s Prime Video. PickleTV will stream pro pickleball matches, tutorials, interviews, and original content. 📺
- At just 16 years old, Anna Leigh Waters is the world’s #1 pickleball player and is earning six figures as a result. Learn how she handles the pressure on and off the court with her mental toughness. 💪
#10. ON THE TOUR - DOUBLE GOLD IN RED ROCK FOR TYSON MCGUFFIN
After withdrawing from Major League Pickleball due to injury, pro Tyson McGuffin bounced back to earn two gold medals 🥇🥇 at the PPA Red Rock Open in St. George, Utah, which included a gold in men’s doubles with his partner Brendon Long (who hilariously made his own player graphic prior to the event (pictured below 👇), as he did not receive one from the PPA Tour to promote).
On-court and off-court partners, James Ignatowich and Anna Bright also took home their first mixed doubles gold medal 🥇 as a duo, while the Utah ladies Meghan Sheehan-Dizon and Etta Wright grabbed gold 🥇 in women’s doubles. Get the full recap here.
Don't forget to mark your calendars for more pro pickleball action this month... 🗓
#11. WHAT IS A DELAMINATED PICKLEBALL PADDLE & WHY IS IT A PROBLEM?
In recent weeks, there has been a flurry of discussion, tweets, debates, and challenges related to delaminated pickleball paddles. Pro players, in particular, have voiced concerns over delaminated paddles and their effects on the court. Learn what a delaminated pickleball paddle is (including signs of delamination), why it is a problem, and what the potential proposed solutions could be. 🤔
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Grab 10% off a new paddle, shoes, and more pickleball necessities from Fromuth Pickleball (some exclusions apply) with the code 10PICKLER! 💸
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