Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Hey Pickleballers. Father’s Day is just a few days away, so be sure to give your dad a gift — by letting him play pickleball that ENTIRE day. 😂 Anyway, today, we’ll take a look at one of the first big pickleball communities, a controversy brewing in the birthplace of pickleball, and tension between pickleball and tennis at the French Open. Plus, we’ll get you caught up on all the latest pickleball news with our Monthly Minute!

Let’s go. 👇

For many of us, pickleball seemed to have just dropped out of the sky one day. 

Almost like a dream, we weren't quite sure how, where or when it came into existence, but all of a sudden, it was there and we were playing it. 

Well, while it may have appeared that way, pickleball was alive and flourishing in some communities for many years before the pandemic — and nowhere was that more evident than at a place called The Villages.

According to The Villages website, it is an active retirement community and a "collection of quaint retirement neighborhoods located in the heart of Florida."

Back in 1990, The Villages put a pickleball court in one of its recreation centers. Since many residents are snowbirds, people learned the game there and then introduced it to their hometowns up north in the summer.

The popularity of the sport at The Villages kept on growing, and it now has more than 250 pickleball courts (yup, you read that right, 250!!), more than any other community in the world.

And they're not stopping — a 40,000 square-foot indoor facility with 16 more pickleball courts is scheduled to open in the fall.

Granted, The Villages community is becoming massive with more than 144,000 total residents, making it the largest retirement community in the world, and the area the fastest-growing metropolitan statistical area in the United States.

But back to the point 😄, we pickleballers owe a lot to The Villages for developing our beloved game well before any of us even knew about it.

In 2023, Chuck Menke, the Chief Marketing Officer at the time for USA Pickleball, said that The Villages was "largely responsible for the continued growth of the game."

We rest our case, your honor. 😂 Thanks to The Villages — and long live pickleball!

Bend with your knees, not with your back!

One of the most common errors in pickleball is players not getting low enough for their shots. In an attempt to get lower, many players attempt to hinge their back rather than bend their knees. Although bending your back will get you low, you will lose a ton of power, control, and stability. Bending your knees while keeping your back relatively upright will allow you to use all your big muscle groups (hips, shoulders, legs, etc.) so you can hit with maximum power, control, and efficiency.

You know you’ve hit a good shot when the announcers say “stop it” and “get out of here” — when you didn’t even win the point! 😂

What Is the Money Ball?

Someone on staff here at The Pickleball Clinic has been saying that he only plays with a money ball. We assumed he was referring to something about gambling, but none of us really knew what he was talking about. So we asked him one day. He said, “When I say money ball I mean a Franklin.” Of course we asked him why, to which he replied, “Benjamin Franklin, Franklin D. Roosevelt — Franklins are on our money. Hence, money ball.”

Not quite sure if the nickname has stuck yet, but we kind of like it. 😃 And pros are definitely earning money with the Franklin X-40, especially since it was recently named the official ball of the APP Tour. And before that, it was named the official ball of The Pickleball Clinic. 💪 So go ahead and get yourself (or your dad for Father’s Day) some Franklin X-40s. Plus, use code “clinic15” for 15% off!

Pickleball’s greatest player of all time, Ben Johns, was asked how often he plays pickleball versus how often he drills.

“I probably drill vs play games at least 90% of the time if not more. I don’t recommend this to everybody though. Certainly drilling can make you better more quickly, but that is provided you maintain your interest in learning and getting better, and inevitably drilling is not always going to be fun. For most people I recommend a healthy mix of the two, and most importantly, whatever your mix is, make sure you’re having fun doing it.”

Be sure to follow Ben Johns’ journey on Instagram and YouTube.

Darkness vs. The Light

Up top, we took a look at The Villages, which helped grow pickleball starting in 1990. While that may seem like a long time ago, the sport was actually created well before that in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

You’d think that as the literal birthplace of pickleball, Bainbridge Island would worship pickleball and bend over backwards for it. Well, not so fast.

In addition to pickleball, one of Bainbridge Island’s other claims to fame is its Battle Point Edwin E. Ritchie Observatory, the largest public telescope in the Pacific Northwest.

So when a proposal was introduced recently to expand the pickleball courts near the observatory — and to put in lights to illuminate them — it was met with a ton of resistance.

The picklers maintain that the lights will not be exposed. In other words, the lights will be covered in such a way as to not create light pollution.

However, the astronomers 🔭 point to the fact that the expansion of the pickleball facility will mean more lights in the parking area and more cars at night, which of course have headlights.

Fair point. But then the pickleballers countered with an argument about how most nights in that area are cloudy anyway and on clear nights, the pickleball lights would not be used in order to allow for stargazing. (Touché. 💪)

Plus, the the pickleball community argued that the new facility would help boost the local economy because of increased tourism.

Both parties seem to have valid arguments. Hopefully, they will come to a decision that benefits both groups.

In other words, we hope there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. 😄 Whatever the decision, we'll tell you what it is and won't keep you in the dark. 😁

Pickleball’s equivalent: When one team keeps lobbing and lobbing. 😂

Stop Blaming The Sun!

"10-9-2," you call out just as you're about to serve. Connie and Denise from the senior center have been whooping you all afternoon. Now's your chance to rewrite history. You rip your serve down the line, you drive your third up the middle, and Connie pops up a juicy overhead right to your forehand. As you wind up for this glorious slam, a ray of sunlight shoots past the surface of the ball, blinding your vision and causing you to miss altogether. Another game lost to Connie and Denise.

Stop blaming the sun. Wear Shades! 96 Shades is a one-stop sunglass shop for pickleballers and the official sunglass seller of the Pickleball Clinic. With over 1,000 pairs to choose from across brands like Ray Ban, Oakley, and Maui Jim, and unlimited, free exchanges, you're guaranteed to find your perfect pair! Click here and use code “clinic10” for 10% off!

It’s time for the Monthly Minute, hosted by our very own Elly Smith, pickleball player and influencer. If you want to get caught up on everything in the world of pickleball that’s been going on recently, then go ahead and watch below. 👇

Highlights:

• Top pro player banned and fined for illegal substance found on paddle.

• Vandalism at NYC pickleball courts.

• Apple Watch study on mental and physical health associated with pickleball.

The French Open, one of the four most important and historic annual tennis tournaments, concluded this past weekend, and on the grounds, it built a temporary… pickleball court! It was a way to introduce the sport to the public by allowing ticket holders to play.

As you might expect, the decision was met with a large range of emotions. Upon hearing the news, some tennis purists thought it was a joke or called the French Open a joke for allowing a pickleball court to be set up on the grounds. 😃

But others took a more peaceful approach, including ex-professional French tennis player, Amélie Mauresmo (second from the right below), who said "You can have fun quite quickly in this sport. The rules are just a little bit different, so you have to adjust, but it doesn’t take very long to do that."

Thanks Amélie, way to have an open mind. 👍

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

Join the conversation below! ⬇️