Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Happy New Year! Today, we’ll give you some 2024 pickleball predictions, explore three countries where the sport is taking off, preview a celebrity-packed match, and a whole lot more!

Let’s get started! 👇

We suggested some 2024 pickleball resolutions last week — now it's time for some predictions!

More Players, More Courts!

Despite pickleball being the fastest-growing sport in America for years, it's still growing and will continue to grow! That means more newbies and more courts for them to play on!

It will also mean more smiles on lines at the supermarket, better drivers on the roads, and overall happier human beings because pickleball is in more people’s lives. 😃👍

Quiet Pickleball

Pickleball's biggest challenge so far has been noise complaints. So USA Pickleball took it seriously and set out to reduce sound emission — which led to its creation of the Quiet Category, an initiative to encourage the design of products that deliver 50% percent or less of the acoustic footprint of existing pickleball equipment.

It's going to be a tech race moving forward to see who can make the sport quieter — and that means not just paddles, but quieter balls, fences, courts, you name it! (Please just stop at muzzling people's mouths so they can still talk while playing.)

Growth of Junior and College Pickleball

As more and more colleges and universities get pickleball club teams, it’s only a matter of time until it becomes an officially sanctioned NCAA sport (we hope).

We think this trend continues and goes even faster than initially thought. It may not become as popular as Taylor Swift, but it could get close. 😃

Pickles to Replace U.S. Presidents on American Currency

Either that or pickleball will be played on the moon. Not sure which it is, but we're pretty sure one of these two things will happen in 2024. 😂

Originally from Spain, 23-year-old pro pickleball player DJ Young moved to California when he was 13 and now lives in Austin, Texas. Today, he shares some thoughts on rivalries and friendly competition.

“As a professional pickleball player, rivalries and friendly competitions are what I live for. Rivalries ignite the competitive fire within, pushing me to elevate my game to new heights. Each match against other pros is a test of my skills and the work I put in. I think I play better when they trash talk during the match. If they are trying to be mean to me or my partner, that makes me want to win even more.

Playing pickleball every week and traveling to two or three tournaments a month, you have to learn how to forget and move on sometimes. Why? There are so many line calls, problems on court and stuff to deal with. On the court, whether facing rivals or friends, every point is a battle. I like to give everything on court and once I am off-court, just be friends with the people I connect with the most on tour. I have some fellow Spaniards and Spanish speaker friends while I have also a lot of other friends from all over the world, including the U.S.”

Don’t “muscle” your shots.

How hard you hit the ball isn’t directly correlated with how hard you’re “trying” to swing.

In other words, if you muscle the ball, you’re actually not going to maximize your power. If you want to hit the ball hard, you need to have a relaxed swing. Relaxing your muscles allows for you to get maximum paddle acceleration, which will in turn lead to loads of power. Muscling the ball will inhibit your paddle from accelerating as fast as it can.

Great Balls of Franklin!

When you think of balls — and we mean sports balls — there’s really one brand that should come to mind. And that’s Franklin. Why? Because it’s been family owned and operated since it was founded by the Franklin brothers in 1946. Since then, Franklin has been dedicated to making sports inspiring, fun, and accessible for all.

From basketballs to volleyballs and of course pickleballs, Franklin remains the brand you can trust when it comes to all things sports. Check out their amazing line of pickleball products here — and use code “clinic15” for 15% off.

In the biz, that’s called a shake and bake. 🤝🧁 Outside the biz, they probably just call it a “sick shot!”

Pickleball Goes Global

Most of us know that pickleball has taken America by storm! But where else has our sweet sport caught on? Let's take a look...

For context, we’ll include our numbers at the top.

USA 
• Players / Courts: 36,000,000 / 40,000
• Leagues: MLP, PPA, APP, USA Pickleball

Canada 
• Players / Courts: 200,000 / 1,400
• League: Canadian National Pickleball League (CNPL)

Australia 
• Players: 25,000
• Leagues: Pickleball Australia, Pacific Pickleball League (PPL – affiliated with MLP)

India
• Players: 10,000
• League: All India Pickleball Association (AIPA)

There are also many top pro players in America who hail from other countries, including:

• Catherine Parenteau (Canada)

• Simone Jardim (Brazil)

• Dekel Bar (Israel)

• Andrei Daescu (Romania)

• Jay Devilliers (France)

• Lucy Kovalova (Slovakia)

Will pickleball take off around the world as it has here in the states?

The absolute meteoric rise of the sport here may not be matched, but it’s possible. Either way, here’s to more international players in 2024! 💪

The best pickleball players are both dinkers AND bangers. So shy not join forces and learn from each other! 💪

Want to hit a great drive? With tons of topspin to keep the ball down?!

Then check out Matt’s four tips — plus advice on which grip to use — below.👇

Key takeaways:

• Get below the ball

• Engage the wrist and forearm

• Follow through

• “Sneeze” onto your arm

2023 saw the first-ever “Pickleball Slam,” a high-stakes, winner-take-all exhibition pickleball match pitting ex-tennis legends Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick against John McEnroe and Michael Chang. Agassi and Roddick won, and took home a cool $1 million in the process.

New year, new teams! And bigger resumes! With all due respect to Andy Roddick and Michael Chang, the term “legend” above was a bit generous. They were both great American tennis players, but they ultimately won one grand slam title a piece.

So Agassi is trading in Roddick for someone with 21 more grand slam titles and longer hair — Agassi’s wife, and undisputed tennis legend, Steffi Graf. As for McEnroe, he’s trading in Chang for someone younger, taller, and also with longer hair 😃, 5-time grand slam winner, Maria Sharapova. May the best mixed doubles team win! 🥂

Thanks for the read. See you soon!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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