Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Pickleball’s growth heads to Peru, pro pickleball heads to White Castle, and backyard pickleball gets the spotlight.

Let’s dive in 👇

Miranda Cabieses, a sophomore at Florida Gulf Coast University, dreamt of being a professional tennis player — but a dislocated hip when she was 9 years old had doctors telling her professional sports were no longer an option.

Tell a determined person they can’t do something and see what happens…

Ten years later, Miranda now plays professional pickleball.

After going pro, she began a journey of introducing the sport to her native country of Peru, where she and her brother Hercilio launched Fundación Cabieses.

The foundation has donated roughly 5,000 pickleball paddles to children throughout the country, and its goal is to focus on children in low-income or disadvantaged communities.

“Tennis is super elite in Peru and in America as well. If you don’t have the resources, it’s really hard to have some opportunities,” said Cabieses. “I don’t want that in pickleball. When we brought pickleball to Peru, we didn’t go to the country clubs – we went to rural places and public schools.”

Between her foundation, professional pickleball career (and a new Miss Teen modeling career), Miranda is well on her way!

“Hey Bulletin readers!

This week we’re talking pickleball growth. People talk about the growth of pickleball and how amazing it is all the time, and for good reason. Wherever pickleball is, it flourishes.

What I like to consider, is that typically whenever I’ve seen pickleball introduced to a new area the interest is definite and the growth is rapid. The places pickleball doesn’t do well are only the places it doesn’t yet have a significant presence or enough people spurring the growth. But when it does have those resources it is nearly always successful.

I’ve played in numerous places where pickleball has yet to take hold, and without fail the locals are interested in it, enjoy playing, and wish to grow it there quickly. I can’t wait for this to happen more and many counties to participate massively that were not before.

Possibly consider a world where nearly every country has the exposure to pickleball that the U.S. does!

Until next time,

Ben”

For more on Ben, follow his Instagram and his travel business!

Let the score inform your third shot choices…

Your third shot decision (i.e. whether to drop or drive) should not just be:

• high or short balls = drive

• low or deep balls = drop

Also consider whether you’re on the first or second server. When you're on the first server, you can give yourself some extra leeway to go for more aggressive thirds, like a drive or topspin drop.

But when you're on the second server, the priority should be getting the ball in and getting to the kitchen line — so consider dropping a ball you might normally drive.

Twin Your Paddle with Joola Apparel

Check out the new JOOLA Scorpeus Visors and Trucker Hats and take your style from the court to the streets! Shop all JOOLA Apparel and Accessories here and use code “clinic10” for 10% off!

Not much room in the backyard. Not a problem!

White Castle Names a Pickleball Team

White Castle has teamed up with MLP’s Columbus pickleball team and has rebranded the franchise…

The “Columbus Sliders.”

Yes, below is the new logo for the team. 👇 No, this is not a joke.

While it may be the first sports team named after a hamburger, there have been many athletes who identify with the patty…

• 🚣‍♀️ Sjoerd Hamburger

• ⚾ Jake Burger, Mark Hamburger

• ⛳Patty Berg

But back to White Castle…

• Credited as the world’s first fast-food hamburger chain

• Founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas

• Greatest presence is in the Midwest and NYC metro area

• Known for its small, square hamburgers called “sliders”

“Major League Pickleball and White Castle are alike in that people either love them, or just haven’t tried them yet,” said MLP COO, Bruce Popko.

As for who plays on the Columbus Sliders, oh, just J.W. Johnson and Collin Johns, a couple of the best and most well-known male pickleball players on the planet — along with top female players Meghan Dizon and Maggie Brascia.

Two words everyone…Go Sliders!

If you’re standing on the baseline, and the ball is above your head, chances are it’s going out.

Improve consistency, accuracy, and reaction time with…The Dink Master

Time to start practicing your drives — the right way!

Matt shows you how in this YouTube video👇

A “Nasty Nelson” is a pickleball shot in which the server intentionally serves the ball at the opposing player standing directly across the net at the kitchen line.

The goal is to win the point by hitting the player’s body or paddle. It is a very risky shot, which can be considered rude and silly (but a successful attempt is a LOT of fun to witness). 😂

By the way…we’re doing an awesome paddle giveaway with Pickleball Apes. You can join in on the fun here on Instagram or Facebook.

Thanks for the read! See you soon.

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

Join the conversation below! ⬇️