Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Hey Pickleballers. What's your favorite fast-food restaurant? Well, it may be about to change after reading this newsletter. Today, we'll take a look at a drive-thru restaurant that has pickleball on the menu, a 95-year-old dinker, a play about pickleball, and a whole lot more!

Let’s go! 👇

Would you like fries with that? Sure. How about pickles? You bet. OK, what about some pickleball? WHAT?!

Yes, for what appears to be the first time ever, a fast-food restaurant is offering pickleball to its customers. 

It's a brand new Sonic drive-thru restaurant in Canton, Texas, and they're clearly trying to start their business off with a bang — or a dink. 😉 

This Sonic isn't mailing it in either. They don't just have one court or even two, but three new pickleball courts that by the look of them are really nice. 

The courts can evidently be booked in advance through the Sonic mobile app, and you can bring your kids to either play with you or hang out at a big playground next to the courts.

It's not the first time a fast-food chain has tried to ingratiate itself to pickleballers. Subway has a "pickleball club," and Chick-fil-A sold a pickleball paddle set on its website over the summer.

But it's the first time we've seen a fast-food restaurant also operate pickleball courts. Nice job, Sonic!

Just one request, though. Please don't allow people to eat a sandwich with one hand while playing pickleball with the other. Not only is that a choking risk, but if a picture of that got out, it would be a bad look for both fast-food and pickleball. 😀 

Don’t Overreach

Avoid reaching for the ball at the kitchen line. Instead, move your feet to position yourself behind the ball and let it come to you. Many intermediate and even advanced players tend to reach too far, either trying to catch low balls out of the air or not getting behind the ball enough, causing them to reach across their bodies. Aim to always strike the ball within a comfortable arm's length, whether it's in the air or off the bounce. This approach will greatly improve your consistency!

This guy has wheels, hustle, heart, you name it! 💪

Seeing Is Believing

Between improved paddle technology, more people playing, and changes in strategy, pickleball is undoubtedly getting faster — more speedups, more drives, faster firefights. What can you do to keep up with the speed? 1) Start crying. 2) Wear a football helmet when you play. 3) Increase your reaction time and protect your eyes at the same time.

If you like option 3, then let us introduce you to JOOLA’s new RJX eyewear collection using revolutionary COLORBOOST™ technology. Designed with advanced AI software, these glasses amplify your visibility of the ball against the court and boost your reaction time by up to 25%. Plus, they’ve undergone rigorous testing for high velocity impact, earning an ANSI certification as one of the safest pickleball glasses available.  So go ahead and get yourself a JOOLA RJX pair today.

Mia Turcsany is 17 years old and is currently beginning her career as a professional pickleball player.

“My start in pickleball was through my dad, Steve, who introduced me to the game. The unique situation between my dad and I, however, is that my dad is deaf and I’m a CODA (child of a deaf adult). He introduced the game to me during Covid while I was home from school and needed a place to go and have some fun. Through this introduction, I developed a passion for playing, especially with my dad. It gave us something that we could do together, regardless of hearing capabilities. Pickleball became a bridge for us to socialize, connect and have fun.

When I wanted to play professional pickleball, my dad was probably the most excited I’ve seen him. I hoped to use the game that bonded us and elevate it to a more serious level. My dad had the same response when my brother, Javon, about six months later, announced he also wanted to become a professional pickleball player. My dad is my biggest fan and advocate. He always pushes me to be a better player and an even better person. His deafness never hinders his support but actually enhances it.

Many players have tried to be as inclusive as possible with the my dad and the whole deaf community. My pickleball journey would not be the same without my dad in it and the community we’re surrounded by.”

Don’t Act Your Age!

Around The Pickleball Clinic, we often like to say that "you can play pickleball from 5 to 95." While we certainly do mean that, we don't see many 95-year-olds out on the court.

The key word there is "many," because it can definitely be done. Not only can you play at that age, you can also play well. 💪

Lois White, who is 95 years young, plays twice a week in Gardner, Kansas, just outside of Kansas City, and she holds her own with people twenty and thirty years her junior.

What's her secret? Well, she was pictured wearing a Kansas City Royals hat, which leads us to believe that she may also be a Kansas City Chiefs fan — and that has been a really nice ride the past 5 years or so. 😂

But seriously, for White, it's all about being active. After losing her husband more than thirty years ago, she wanted to keep busy. 

“On top of this, I play cards every week,” White said. “I picked up square dancing. Then, I decided I want to play the mandolin. So, I bought me some books and I do play and sing. I belong to the pickers and fiddlers.”

“You need to keep moving, you don’t want to sit," said White. "I don’t sit in front of the television in the daytime."

White also has 6 kids, 20 grandkids, 37 great-grandkids, and 4 great-great-grandkids! So that's currently 67 pickleballers she could be responsible for. Well done, Lois, well done!

If you haven’t tried pickleball yet, you’re only hurting yourself.

The Pickleball Rating Difference Maker

At UTR Sports, your rating is only as reliable as the matches that count toward it. That’s why they separate Verified from Unverified results to ensure fair, competitive play. Verified results come from organized tournaments and leagues, where official oversight guarantees fair competition. These matches are competitive, structured, and follow strict guidelines.

On the other hand, Unverified results, like self-posted scores from casual matches, do not impact your official rating. They include all types of play, with no official oversight or consistency. With UTR, you can trust that your rating reflects your true skill level, backed by organized play and competitive match results. Visit their website to find out more about the UTR-P Rating.

When someone speeds up a ball at you, you’re going to want to be ready with a counter punch. Good thing we got one of the best players in the world to swing by and tell us everything he’s thinking about when he hits this shot. Andrei Daescu explains below. 👇

Key Takeaways:

• Don’t change your grip between your forehand and backhand volleys. Just use the same continental grip for both shots.

• Divide your coverage area into three zones. (The example below is for righties. If you’re a lefty, just reverse it.)

  • Zone 1: To the right of your right hip — use your forehand volley.

  • Zone 2: At your body — use your backhand volley.

  • Zone 3: To the left of your left hip — use your backhand volley.

• You can sometimes use your forehand volley in zone 2, but you have to move your body to your left in time in order to create space. Also, in zone 3, you can consider using a two-hand backhand.

Actor Jeff Daniels, known for his roles in many TV series and movies, including the classic comedy, Dumb and Dumber, wrote a play about pickleball called you guessed it, “Pickleball.”

Set in the community center of a nameless town, the play focuses on the interactions between the pickleball players, and the sport of pickleball becomes a metaphor for life’s unpredictability. The play recently had a run at the B Street Theatre in Sacramento, California.

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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