Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

They say April showers bring May flowers, but then what does May bring for June? 🤔 We’ll get back to you on that one. 😃 Moving along, where are the hottest pickleball courts to play this season? Today, we’ll take a look at pickleball courts in New York’s Central Park, a pickleball dispute in San Francisco, how to hit a proper serve, and a whole lot more!

Let’s do this! 👇

Wollman Rink. Located in the heart of Central Park, in the middle of Manhattan, it's easily one of the most iconic ice-skating rinks in New York City, and probably the world.

Because even if you've never seen it in person, you've probably seen it featured in one of many movies, including Serendipity, The Devil's Own, Love Story, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

But what do you do with an outdoor ice-skating rink in the summer? You turn it into a 14-court pickleball venue!! Duh. 😂

The good news is that this already happened last year. The even better news is that it did so well as a test run — more than 56,000 participants played on them — that they're coming back permanently!

Well, maybe not permanently, but at least for a 3-year deal that CityPickle entered into with NYC. The courts will be open daily from 8am to 9pm and will cost between $10 to $12.50 per player, depending on the time of day.

New York City Parks commissioner, Sue Donoghue, told The New York Times that pickleball “really is aligned with what we want to do, which is provide access to the most up-to-date sports and active recreation.”

Now that Wollman Rink has ice skating in the cold months and pickleball in the warm ones, it's only a matter of time that at some point, there will be pickleball on ice! 😂 (Which is actually a thing. 😃💪👍)

Think of the Speedup as a Setup!

The goal of your speedups should not be to win the point — they should be to set yourself up to clean up on the second or third shot. A well placed speedup to an uncomfortable spot is usually better than a really hard speedup that might go out, or come back even harder. A well placed speedup will likely come back high and off pace, so you can put away the next one.

Shelby Bates is a pro pickleball player who discusses her recent focus on physical (and mental) fitness.

“What’s up guys! Shelby Bates here coming to The Pickleball Clinic with all the energy, throwing fist bumps, and fiery personality! My whole life I have always been full of energy, super competitive and always had a love for all different sports and fitness! Being able to get my competitive juices flowing again and play such a fun sport at 33 years old has been so exciting and opened so many new doors for me!

At the first of this year, I decided that I was going to complete 75 Hard (if you don’t know what that is, look it up — IT’S HARD AF) alongside my pickleball journey! It definitely wasn’t an easy task but I have learned so many new things about this journey! This change was a physical, mental, and emotional transformation! I have been consistently working out on and off the court, but the footwork and agility with a trainer in addition to strength training has been a game changer for me! But this wasn’t the only thing! I really have dialed in my nutrition to a specific meal plan and have cut out alcohol! As they always say, abs are made in the kitchen, and that is for sure true!

It’s amazing what a little focus on fitness and nutrition can do for your body, but also your mind! Don’t worry you can still find my twirling fist bumps on the court, as well as a super positive attitude and a lot of smiles and laughs! Make sure to say hi at the next tournament!

Follow Shelby’s journey on Instagram.👍

A Giant Pickleball Party!

JOOLA's signature pickleball event returns to Kissimmee, Florida! Not to be mistaken with “Kiss Me,” the song by Sixpence None the Richer or the musical, “Kiss Me, Kate.” 😂 Yup, it's Kissimmee, Florida, right outside of Orlando!

Join JOOLA’s top touring pros at the 2024 JOOLA Pickleball Celebration, which includes a 2 ½ day clinic, 3-day team tournament and a special pro invitational. Act fast, these events are sure to sell out! Register now at joolausa.com

Some dinks, speedups, a hands battle and an on-the-line winner to finish? Yup, we’d call that a sick point! 💪 

Aristocracy Hypocrisy

Up top, we talked about good news involving public pickleball courts on the East Coast. So let''s try the opposite 😄: bad news (but later good) involving public pickleball courts on the West Coast.

To make a long story short (or at least shorter), the Petersons, a super wealthy couple in San Francisco, launched a petition to shut down pickleball courts at a local park near their multi-million dollar home.

Holly Peterson launched a petition to block the courts, claiming that the noise pollution was negatively affecting local wildlife and property value.

Unfortunately for team pickleball, Holly Peterson's petition was successful, and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks department decided to convert half of the pickleball courts into tennis courts. 

Now to be fair, can pickleball create noise pollution? Sure. But here's the catch... the Petersons have their own private pickleball court on their property. 👇 Talk about HYPOCRISY!!

When word got out about this to the local pickleball community, people weren't shy about how they felt on social media.

'So, I guess the noise from her own pickleball court affects the neighbors differently than the ones in the nearby park,' one person wrote. 😂

Another person wrote, 'Not everyone can afford a pickleball court in their backyard. That's why it's nice to have them in public parks."

Well, whether because of this issue or for another reason, the Petersons recently announced that they're moving! They listed their house for $36 million, but now it's listed as 'pending' for a measly $29 million. 😄

Now that the Petersons are on their way out, pickleball players in the community want their pickleball courts back. 

"Congratulations to Holly, who will walk away with millions and the knowledge that she broke up (ruined) a thriving, welcoming and successful community in the process," pickleball activist Lisa Shaw wrote. "She's got her millions. We'd like our lines!"

No arguments here. 👍💪

Time to Get Rated! 💪

You may have heard that USAP and UTR Sports have formed a partnership, establishing the UTR-P Rating as the rating of all USAP-owned and operated events.

The UTR-P Rating is free, updates daily, and separates self-reported scores from organized play. Players without match results will receive a provisional rating (P1-P5) based on a questionnaire. Players with enough match results (usually 4-6) will see a numerical rating on a scale of 1-10.0, from beginner to expert/pro.

Click here for everything you need to know about the USAP’s transition to the UTR-P Rating!

As part of the partnership, UTR Sports is hosting two USAP Golden Ticket tournaments this summer — click here for more.

There are a few very important shots in pickleball: the dink, the volley, the drop. But if you can’t serve, you literally cannot win a point. (Well, that’s not entirely true — if your partner is a pro, you can kind of just stand there and let them win all the points for your team. 😂) But seriously, you cannot start a point without a serve, so it’s important that you’re hitting it the right way. Good thing Coach Matt is here to show us how it’s done.👇

Key takeaways:

• Stand sideways.

• Prepare with your paddle back and knees bent.

• Follow through over your shoulder.

You don’t have to hit the ball over the net to win a point in pickleball. Yup, that wasn’t a typo. You can hit the ball AROUND the net instead.

How in the heck do you do that, you might ask? Well, it almost always happens when you’re dinking crosscourt with someone and your opponent hits a dink to you with a very severe angle out wide that makes the ball bounce off to the side of your court. If you’re patient and let the ball get as wide and low as possible, then you should be able to hit the ball around the post — hence the name of the shot: an ATP (Around the Post).

Hope you enjoyed the newsletter. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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