Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Pickleball's stock has been rising at an insane pace for the past several years. And it still is. But is it skyrocketing like it did before? Today, we'll see if pickleball's growth is slowing down a bit, take a look at how AI will affect pickleball in the coming years, learn how to hit backhand slice dinks like a pro, and a whole lot more.

Let’s go! 👇

As many of you know, the meteoric rise of pickleball from virtual obscurity in 2018 to where it is today is absolutely stunning.

Pickleball was an extremely niche sport just 7 or 8 years ago and played primarily by seniors. 

Now it's featured in Super Bowl commercials, has an average age of 35 years old, and is played by millions of Americans. 

According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), pickleball is played by roughly 20 million Americans, while the APP thinks it's three times that number.

Can this type of growth keep going? Well, the short answer is of course, “no.” After all, there are only so many people in this country — and at least a few million of them have to be babies, right? 😃

According to SFIA, for the 4th year in a row, pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America — and it's not even close.

To put it into perspective, pickleball is expected to have grown by 14.7% from 2024 to 2025. The next closest sports are lacrosse and fast-pitch softball, which both have rates of 4.3%.

So pickleball is still a powerhouse of growth, but has it slowed down compared to itself? Yes. Because while 14.7% growth is great, it’s far less than the mind-boggling 45.8% growth rate it experienced from 2023 to 2024.

Don’t worry, this isn’t necessarily a bad sign. Many people believe that it reflects a more sustainable growth rate and also allows for pickleball’s infrastructure (courts being built) to catch up with its high demand. 

To sum it up, is there anything to worry about with pickleball? We certainly don't think so. But reply and let us know your thoughts.

When in Doubt, Aim for the Kitchen

If you’re ever in trouble, or don’t know whether to hit hard or soft, your “default setting” should be soft into the kitchen. Desperation winners and speed-ups without a purpose usually aren’t successful in pickleball because there isn’t enough open court to hit to.

In case you forgot what a “hands battle” is, it’s THIS. 👇

Don’t Waste This Gift

Pickleball is a beautiful gift that brings joy in many forms. For some, it provides intense competition that people hadn’t felt since high school or college sports. For others, it’s the first sport they have ever enjoyed playing. And for almost all of us, pickleball provides a new group of friends and a strong sense of community.

That's why we're all doing as much as we can to stay fit and healthy so we can play pickleball for as long as possible. That means stretching before and afterwards. And you know what else it means? Protecting our EYES! You can't hit what you can't see. (Unless you're Jean-Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport) So do yourself a favor, and protect your eyes with the best eyewear in the game from BLUE CUT. Use this link for 20% off.

The warm weather of summer may be winding down so let's keep it hot and go south of the border to Los Barriles, Mexico, a town roughly 60 miles north of Cabo San Lucas. Located right near the beach, this 10-court pickleball facility is in its 8th year.

“A typical day might consist of an early morning walk on the beach, coffee or a smoothie at the great cafe at the club, several hours of pickleball, and lunch in town followed by a poolside or beachfront siesta,” said Mike Branon, author of the book, Pickleball & The Art of Living. Sounds like a fun pickleball trip as it starts getting colder here in the States. 

Say “Hi” to AI

At this point, we think it's pretty safe to say that when it comes to technology, AI is the direction we're headed in.

Although you never know because years ago, most people thought we'd have flying cars and hoverboards by now, but instead, technology brought us the internet, social media, and smartphones.

Anyway, assuming humans continue down the path of AI, it looks like there are quite a few ways it can be used to improve our favorite sport.

According to a recent article in Times Now, AI may be poised to affect pickleball in a number of ways...

First, let's look at strategy. As video analysis and sensor-based tools become more prevalent, we may not be far from a time where we can have instant feedback during a match.

So if AI senses, for example, that you should be playing more aggressively, then it can tell you in real time. 

Maybe you should be targeting a specific opponent's forehand volley or dinking out wide to another opponent. Whatever the advice is, it can be given to you instantaneously via your smart phone or watch.

Another area AI can be used is in the realm of injury prevention. Through a comprehensive analysis of factors like movement patterns, footwork, and posture, AI can tell you what you need to do in order to avoid getting hurt.

AI can also help with line calls, such that there will no longer be disputes over whether a ball is in or out or if someone stepped over the kitchen line while hitting a volley.

Like with all new technology, though, we've got to have a balance. Because as we saw last week, we can probably just have robots play the whole game for us. 😃 But then where's the fun in that?

Join the club! 😂

Playing Pickleball with a Shoe

You can use lots of things to play pickleball. You can use a textbook instead of a paddle. You can use a shoe instead of a paddle. You can even use a frying pan or you can just use your hands. As long as both teams are using the same equipment, we suppose that makes it still fair. 

But as the great Chris Rock pointed out, you can drive a car with your feet if you want to, but that doesn't make it a good idea! 😆 So if you're going to play pickleball, play with a paddle. And if you're going to take pickleball seriously, then play with a JOOLA paddle. Of the hundreds of brands of paddles out there, JOOLA is #1. So sure, you can play with another paddle, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

There are tons of fun shots in pickleball — the Erne, the ATP, and counter attack are a few that come to mind. One shot that might not be as glamorous, but absolutely necessary to play high-level pickleball, is the backhand dink. It's basic, but not often hit properly. Good thing Matt is here to show us exactly how to hit the perfect backhand slice dink. Check it out below. 👇

Key takeaways:

• Don't swing with a U-shaped motion. Instead, open the paddle face and swing straight through.

• Keep your elbow straight during the entire swing instead of starting with it bent and then chopping at the ball. 

• Cock your wrist back, which will allow your paddle to face your target as you swing.

Fordham University in New York City, along with Hostos Community College and the University of Mount Saint Vincent, applied for NYC’s Department of Veterans’ Services grant — and they won! What did they do with the $20,000 grant? They launched the NYC Veteran Pickleball League, which for a period of time, will cover the cost for three courts for two hours at CityPickle in Wollman Rink, along with a coach to teach veterans how to play.

Many college students who are veterans are older than their fellow classmates, so it's nice to be able to socialize with fellow veterans who are closer in age. Adrian Kochanowicz, the Assistant Director for the Office of Veterans Services at the Fordham University Lincoln Center campus, is also a veteran who served in the Marine Corps. “For undergrad, I was 25 sitting with 18, 19 year olds,” Kochanowicz said. So finding a community for veterans in college is very important.

As you might expect, Kochanowicz said that he doesn’t need to send out reminders for the regular pickleball get-togethers because they are very popular — so popular that the group is trying to figure out ways to make this veteran pickleball league permanent, even after the grant runs out. 💪

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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