Happy Halloween! 🎃

Are you looking for a last-minute costume? If so, we have some ideas for you... (your favorite paddle like one Oak Park player, or your favorite pro player like the two look-alikes below)!

Lots to discuss today on tips, strategies, stories, and more, but first, check out a few quick hit headlines from Pickler The Newsroom in the video below 👇!

Trick or Treat! 💀

#1. WHAT IS "GAME MANAGEMENT" IN PICKLEBALL & HOW TO USE IT TO WIN MORE GAMES

Learn a lesser-known skill in the sport of pickleball—game management. What is game management and how can you use it to win more games? Learn now. 📝

#2. HBO'S REAL SPORTS PICKLEBALL PIECE MAKING SOME NOISE

HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel took aim at the sport of pickleball in its most recent journalism piece. After watching the 15-minute piece on pickleball, there has been a lot of critical reaction from players. 🤨 Learn why.​

#3. SUN'S OUT, PICKLEBALL LOB'S OUT? WHAT IS THE HIGH LOB STRATEGY?

If you have played pickleball long enough, then you have certainly played against players that love the lob. They may even love it so much that they employ the "high lob strategy" and hit the pickleball high into the air, shot after shot. What is this high lob strategy? Plus, learn why pickleball players use this strategy and how to beat the "high lobbers" on the pickleball court. ☀️

​ONLINE PICKLEBALL LESSONS: CLEAR AND SIMPLE​

​Click here for the best value in online video lessons and improve your pickleball game now! Get access to over 140 clear, concise, and organized video lessons (or over 7 hours of lessons!) that break down every aspect of the sport of pickleball, including mechanics, strategy, advanced concepts, and drills.

But don't take our word for it, check out one of our recent reviews below... 👇

#4. MURMURS FROM THE LOSERS' BRACKET: TURNING EVERY MAGAZINE INTO A PICKLEBALL MAGAZINE

It seems that every entertainment media outlet has now touched on pickleball. But, we here at Murmurs from the Losers’ Bracket don’t want anyone to be left out, so we are pitching a few pickleball-themed stories for magazines that may not have jumped onto the bandwagon yet. Read now and have a laugh! 😂

#5. 6 TIPS FOR TENNIS PLAYERS 🎾 TRANSITIONING TO PICKLEBALL

More and more tennis players are transitioning to pickleball. If you are one of these (current or former) tennis players, learn 6 tips to make the transition from tennis to pickleball quicker and more successful. 📈

#6. SISTER DRIVES FLORIDA WOMAN TO SPREAD THE GIFT OF PICKLEBALL

One Florida woman, Theresa Capozzoli, is donating her time and energy to make pickleball available for athletes through the Special Olympics. Learn about Capozzoli's work and how she credits her sister for driving her passion to bringing pickleball to Special Olympics athletes. 👏

#7. P.P.S.A. - PICKLEBALL PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Do you need to hear this warning from Michael McGlone and the Pickleball Channel? ⚠️

​READ, LAUGH, PLAY BETTER PICKLEBALL​

Looking for a good book? If so, then I Dink, Therefore I Am: Coming to Grips with My Pickleball Addiction, is for you. Have a laugh with longtime humor writer, Frank Cerabino, and grab some great pickleball tips! 📚

#8. HEADLINES FROM THE COURT

Looking for a deeper dive on the latest pickleball headlines in Pickler The Newsroom... 🗞

• If you are reading this, then you are likely somewhere in the Holderness Family’s 5 stages of pickleball:

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• More and more people are experiencing this evolution to pickleball obsession, as the sport is exploding all over the world 🌏, from the United States to Iceland to Africa to cruise ships out in the ocean, and more.
• One major reason for pickleball’s meteoric rise 🚀 is its coverage in media and pop culture. In other words, the sport is everywhere…
  • ​NBA player Kevin Durant 🏀 is the latest celebrity athlete to buy a Major League Pickleball team (and joins, among others, LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Kim Clijsters). In addition to his MLP ownership, Durant is committed to bringing pickleball to underserved communities.
  • Vanity Fair did a feature on the “pickleball coach to the stars” – Matt Manasse. 🤩
  • The Washington Post proclaimed that the face of pickleball is “teen queen,” Anna Leigh Waters. 👸
  • The sport was featured on a major broadcast again, as a PPA Tour mixed doubles final was recently broadcasted live on CBS.
  • Celebrities and pro players alike came together for a pro-am event for charity at the Picklebowl, where the team representing the University of Florida—Danny Wuerffel and Kyle Yates—claimed gold. 🐊
  • ​National Geographic did a feature on the sport.
  • HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel did a deep dive on pickleball, as noted above.
  • And, how you know you really made it, is a feature as a Jeopardy clue (see below)! This is the third time pickleball has hit the Jeopardy board. If you reached Stage 4 or 5 of the Holderness Family’s 5 stages, then you will definitely get this one. 🤔

• Pickleball is more than celebrity and pop culture, though. Pickleball is helping companies and employees build a community—just ask the Southwest Airlines employees that come together on their new pickleball courts. Pickleball is also growing as a networking event, which seems like a much better—and much healthier—option than a simple happy hour or lunch. ❤️
• In fact, pickleball is much more healthier, as a recent study has concluded that “previously reported intensity levels for pickleball may be underestimated.” This is 100% true… just ask pickleball pro Hunter Johnson… 💨

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• As much as we love pickleball and think it is “one thing Americans can agree on,” there are some circulating questions of whether “big money [is] souring pickleball.” An example of big money in pickleball is at the pro level, as dueling Texas billionaires compete for the space and now seem to go head-to-head in pickleball leagues with a cryptic announcement of VIBE Pickleball League (more on this below). 🤑 While pickleball turns into big business, the family of pickleball co-founder Joel Pritchard has not monetized the game at all. Frank Pritchard (the co-founder's son) quickly replied to a question of whether his family has made any money off of pickleball, "No." Frank laughs and then continues, "the quick short answer is No." Rather, Frank noted that pickleball to them was about playing hard and having fun. 😁

#9. ON THE TOUR: WHAT THE VIBE?!

The world of pickleball currently has two major competing pro tours—the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP). As of Friday, October 28th, 2022, the world of pickleball now has two competing pro pickleball leagues—Major League Pickleball (MLP) and VIBE Pickleball League. Talk about the Wild West for a sport in its infancy on the pro level… 🤠

You may be asking, what exactly is VIBE Pickleball League? Learn what we know in these early days after the "soft" announcement in the form of a few cryptic Instagram posts. 🤔

And, don't forget to mark your calendars for more pro pickleball action in November! 🗓

#10. QUICK TIP - PLAY BIG AT THE KITCHEN

When you have the advantage of controlling the Kitchen line, continue to hold the line and apply pressure on your opponents. Stay aggressive, play big, and don't back down... just like AJ Koller in the point below against the Johns brothers. 🙆‍♂️

#11. RULES REFRESH - REACH OVER PERFECTION

What do you do if the pickleball has so much spin, or a bit of wind is at play, where the pickleball bounces and goes back over to the other side of the net (just like it did in the video below)?

Generally speaking, you cannot cross the plane of the net before hitting the pickleball. But, there is one exception, which is in these rare circumstances (which can occur on windy days) where the pickleball bounces and then returns to the other side of the net untouched (also known as the “over-and-back pickleball”). In this case, you may cross the net plane after the pickleball has crossed back over.

If this happens to you, do as Ben Johns did in the video above and kiss the pickleball with your paddle toward the net to hit an unretrievable shot for your opponents. 💯 Remember, if you do not touch the pickleball, then your opponents will win the rally.

​SNAG A DEAL!​

Get 10% off a new paddle, shoes, and more from Fromuth Pickleball (some exclusions apply). Use the code 10PICKLER! 💸

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