Happy Monday! With summer behind us, the sport of pickleball is still the hottest thing out there 🔥. The pickleball community is garnering attention across the globe for not only the sport itself, but also the people in it. We celebrate the sport and the community every day, but we will certainly celebrate on World Pickleball Day...

Read on to learn more about World Pickleball Day, as well as some tips and strategies to improve your game, top headlines from the pickleball court, and great stories from those in our community! 👏

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#1. MIND YOUR P'S FOR IMPROVING YOUR PICKLEBALL PLAY

There are a lot of “P’s” in the sport of pickleball… pickleball, paddle, Pickler, etc. If you want to get the most out of your time on the pickleball court, learn how to mind your P’s. This will help you enjoy the "Q" - the Quickest growing sport, which is, of course, pickleball (see what we did there 😉)!

​Click here to learn how to mind the "P's" of the sport of pickleball.

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#2. 7 TOP PICKLEBALL TIPS IF YOU ARE PLAYING TO WIN

The sport of pickleball is not all about winning. With that said, pickleball is a game, and sometimes, pickleball is played to be competitive and for there to be a winner and a loser—for instance, in any pickleball tournament. There are different things to consider if you are playing pickleball to win (i.e. playing competitively), as opposed to recreationally.

​Click here for 7 top pickleball tips if you are playing to win! 💪

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#3. ARE PICKLEBALL GIFTS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON IN SHORT SUPPLY?

It’s no secret that supply chains across the country, in just about every industry - from construction to toilet paper to pickleballs to Christmas trees - are in disarray. These product shortages could put a damper on the holiday season, which is our time to eat, dink, be merry & play pickleball.

To get ahead of any holiday shortages, and avoid an Arnold Schwarzenegger moment from the movie, Jingle All the Way (there are only 82 days left before Christmas anyway!), consider getting a jump on your holiday shopping. And, if you are shopping for a pickleball enthusiast, we have your pickleball gift ideas covered with our handpicked pickleball gifts. Click here for the best gifts to give to a pickleball player this holiday season. 🎁

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#4. WATERS SPOTLIGHT - AL + JW

Anna Leigh Waters (also known as "AL") and JW Johnson lit up Rockwall, Texas at the PPA Texas Open this past weekend. With just 4 letters to their names and 3 years of friendship, the 2 teenagers (AL is just 14 years old, and JW is 18 years old) from Delray Beach, Florida took on the pro mixed doubles bracket, which featured a very deep field. The result... 1 powerhouse team that took home the bronze medal 🥉. Although this was just their second pickleball tournament together, their success is likely due to their friendship on and off the court. Chemistry, knowing how to pick each other up, and knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses can go a long way in tight matches... and these two know how to keep it fun on the pickleball court!

AL and JW also had success across the board, as JW took home a silver medal 🥈 in pro men's singles and AL took home both a gold medal 🥇 in pro women's singles and a silver medal 🥈 in pro women's doubles with her mother and partner, Leigh Waters.

There must be something in the water (pun intended) in Delray Beach, Florida... 💦

Continue to follow Leigh's and Anna Leigh's journey here in Pickler's free pickleball newsletter, as well as on Instagram and Facebook. Also, mark your calendars 🗓 to watch Leigh and Anna Leigh compete in the PPA Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday, October 20th through Sunday, October 24th! You can catch them in action on the PPA Tour's YouTube channel.

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#5. WILL PLAYING SINGLES PICKLEBALL HELP YOUR DOUBLES GAME?

The sport of pickleball is most commonly played as a doubles game. However, pickleball can also be played as a singles game. Although singles pickleball and doubles pickleball are very different games, one common question when it comes to singles pickleball is whether playing singles will help a player’s doubles game. The short answer is a resounding yes. Click here to learn why now. 🤔

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#6. QUICK TIP - AVOID MOVING VIOLATIONS

Moving your feet when striking the pickleball is a recipe for unforced errors on the pickleball court (as oftentimes, you will overrun the pickleball and make contact behind your body). As a result, it is important to split step (i.e. a small hop into an athletic position - imagine a small hopscotch jump where you land with your legs in an athletic stance) in order to remain balanced, react to the shot, and hit the pickleball out in front of your body. You should split step just before your opponent makes contact with the pickleball.

Bottom line: Split step before every shot. 🛑 If you do not hit the pickleball out in front of you (but rather move and hit at the same time such that the pickleball is behind you), your unforced errors and mistakes will amplify by tenfold. Keep the pickleball out in front of your body!

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#7. WOMEN'S CORNER - JULIE JOHNSON MAKES IT ALL HAPPEN ON THE PRO PICKLEBALL TOUR

The Johnson family—mother, senior pro pickleball player, Julie Johnson, and her two pro pickleball playing kids, JW Johnson and Jorja Johnson—are taking the pro pickleball world by storm... so much so that they may even be solving the age-old question of nature versus nurture. Click here to learn more about the Johnsons and their quest to dominate the pro pickleball tour together as a family. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

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#8. RULES REFRESH - KNOWING WHERE TO SERVE AND RECEIVE

This edition of Rules Refresh may go without us saying, but the pros even mess this up (including a recent key pro women's doubles match, where the serving team served from the incorrect place at 9-9-1 😱 and then went on to lose the match)! With that said, this is a good reminder for everyone, especially those players that love to stack and switch on the pickleball court. Let's get to it...

Player positioning is important on the serve and the return of serve on the pickleball court. The correct server must serve the pickleball from the correct side of the court, and the correct receiver must return the serve from the correct side of the court. The correct side of the pickleball court is dictated by the score of the pickleball game:

• If the score is even (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc.), then the player that started on the even/right-hand side of the pickleball court to start the game should be on the even/right-hand side of the pickleball court.
• If the score is odd (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, etc.), then the player that started on the even/right-hand side of the pickleball court to start the game should be on the odd/left-hand side of the pickleball court.

Good luck staying on the correct side of the pickleball court! Avoid those needless faults!

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.

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#9. NOTEWORTHY - WORLD PICKLEBALL DAY IS COMING ON 10/10/2021

Every pickleball game (unless you're playing singles) starts with three important numbers - 0-0-2! So, I suppose it makes sense that World Pickleball Day incorporates those numbers... 10-10-20__! In other words, October 10th of each calendar year is World Pickleball Day. 🌎

​Click here to learn more about World Pickleball Day, and why it should matter to you.

Will you be celebrating on 10/10/2021?!

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#10. HEADLINES FROM THE COURT

It's time to catch up quick on the happenings in the pickleball community! Serving up the headlines...

• We saw a picture of a bird (which looked to be a blue heron - see below) with its beak trapped inside the holes of a pickleball. We would like to give everyone a gentle reminder to please throw away (or recycle, if possible) and otherwise properly dispose of your pickleballs. ♻️

• A Boston Globe article circulated the pickleball community these past couple weeks, which touted the sport of pickleball’s unprecedented growth. However, one line struck us in reading this article, which was said by Kelly Canniff of Massachusetts – “Think of all the money we’d save on Medicaid if we got all the seniors up and playing pickleball.” I think Canniff might be on to something… 💵
• Celebrities are making space for private pickleball courts in their backyards. For instance, celebrities like Kylie Kardashian and George Clooney have courts and more are under construction (such as in Kyle Richards' backyard (from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills)). Could pickleball courts become commonplace in the world of luxury?
• In pickleball paddle news, the international brand of Adidas has made a splash into the sport of pickleball, as Adidas launched its first line of pickleball paddles. This entrance of a major international player in the sporting world could be a sign that pickleball has a prosperous future (i.e. continued growth). Also, another paddle brand, One Shot Pickleball, unveiled a new pickleball paddle with an interesting aerodynamic design. This design features 8 half-circle holes along the right and left sides of the face of the pickleball paddle. One Shot Pickleball has even gone so far to file a patent to protect its innovative design. Has anyone had a chance to swing with either of these paddles? If so, let us know your review!

• A new organization, Major League Pickleball, held its first draft on Friday, October 1st (… in-person at a castle! 🏰). This first draft featured most of the top pro pickleball players, who were drafted into 8 teams of 4 players each (to note, the pro players were selected by the teams’ owners, along with their senior pro pickleball advisors, and the first women’s player picked was Catherine Parenteau and the first men’s player picked with Ben Johns). Major League Pickleball will hold one event this year on November 5th through November 8th in Dripping Springs, Texas. The event will be a showdown between the 8 teams, as each team will play a women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles match-up against each other team. Then, the top two teams will face off for the finals. With $150,000 on the line, the pro players will certainly be giving it everything they have. With that said, it could be interesting, as there will be new pairings that we have never seen before. The winners of the Major League Pickleball event could come down to who has the best court chemistry – as we all know chemistry and how two players play together could be more important than their individual skills. It is also worth noting that all pro players will be mic’ed up 🎤, and coaching will be permitted from off of the pickleball court during play, which will hopefully make the play more entertaining for the fans.
• The APP Tour announced registration requirements for pro pickleball players. Pro players must play at least 6 APP Tour events in the previous 12-month period in order to play in a Tier 1 APP Tour event. Pro players could also apply for one of 12 wild card spots, which will be allocated in the discretion of the APP Tour leadership. Will these requirements deter some of the PPA-committed players from competing (to note, these players are only permitted to play 7 non-PPA events)? Or, is there enough room and leeway that we will see the top pro pickleball players compete on both professional pickleball tours?
• The PPA Las Vegas Open, which was played on top of the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, was dominated by Vegas’ own, AJ Koller. Koller had a standout performance taking home both the pro men’s doubles and pro mixed doubles gold medals 🥇🥇. Koller has slowly been making waves over the past few weeks across the pro tour stops, but was undeniable in Vegas. After the championship match in pro mixed doubles, Koller noted that he had a pepperoni pizza 🍕 earlier in the day that made him feel sluggish. Although he seemed to conquer this feeling – as he still took home the gold medal – Koller is committed to making nutrition his new off-court hobby. This is a great reminder that, sometimes, the best way to improve your performance on the pickleball court is to take care of your body and yourself off the pickleball court.
• The PPA Texas Open had some mixed results, as expected and unexpected pro pickleball players sat on top of the podium this week. Callie Smith and Tyson McGuffin were unbeaten and took home the gold medal 🥇 in pro mixed doubles - congrats to Callie on her first PPA title 🏆! For the first time in PPA history, neither the duos of Ben Johns and Simone Jardim, nor Matt Wright and Lucy Kovalova, took home any medal in pro mixed doubles. However, these four players topped the podiums in pro men's doubles and pro women's doubles, respectively. In fact, women's pairing Simone Jardim and Lucy Kovalova came back from an 1-8 deficit in the third game (down 0-2 games) to Team Waters, and eventually won in 5 games (the PPA plays best of 5 championship matches). This pro women's final highlighted the importance of playing aggressive until the final point, as well as just how difficult those final points can be to win. 💪

• Mark your calendars 🗓 for live pro pickleball at the next major pickleball tournament, the APP Hilton Head Pickleball Open, being held October 13th through October 17th.

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#11. LESSONS FROM THE PICKLEBALL COURT

Life lessons come from all places - even unexpected places, like the pickleball court.

One of the best attributes of pickleball is that anyone can play it, including those who have spent a lifetime playing, or even trying to make a career in, another sport. This can be immensely valuable and life-changing for athletes that love to compete.

​Click here to learn how one athlete, the founder of Pickler, Stacie Townsend, found her second chance and next best phase with the sport of pickleball. 🤗

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'TIS PICKLEBALL SEASON!

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GRAB FREE PICKLEBALL STUFF!

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BALL'S IN YOUR COURT...

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