Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Have you ever been sued? Or have you sued someone else? It's not too pretty, but when you live in a country built on laws (and there's $ involved), then it's kind of par for the course. Today, we'll take a look at three pickleball legal battles, meet the world's oldest competitive pickleball player, discover a brand-new pickleball podcast, and a whole lot more.

Let’s go! 👇

We just launched our first-ever podcast, The Speed Up! Hosed on our YouTube channel, Aaron and Matt cover tons of important topics including how to build your game, important trends and news, and lots more. They will also bring on fun special guests in upcoming episodes. Check it out here or below. 👇 And email us your guess for who our episode two guest is…first person to get it right gets to pick a question!

Highlights:

As we all know, pickleball provides a source of community, exercise, and overall joy for millions of people throughout the US and the world. But growing popularity leads to even more exposure, which leads to more money — which leads to lawsuits. Here are just a few of them that are going on right now...

USA-NPL LLC vs National Pickleball League LLC

USA-NPL, or "National Pickleball League" is a business that aims to provide pickleball tournaments, training and national league play. Sounds good. Except for one problem. The NPL, which also calls itself the "National Pickleball League" is an entirely different company that exists as a professional touring league for the 50+ age group. So USA-NPL just filed a federal lawsuit against National Pickleball League accusing the latter of willful trademark infringement. 🫨

Pickleball Kingdom Franchising, LLC vs. PK Plano LLC

Pickleball Kingdom is one of the largest indoor pickleball entities in the world with more than 350 awarded franchises. One of their franchises was awarded to PK Plano LLC in Plano, Texas, which filed for bankruptcy in September, citing that Pickleball Kingdom breached their contract and did not provide them with enough support. It then rebranded the pickleball facility as the “Lone Star Pickleball Club.” So earlier this month, Pickleball Kingdom responded with an Emergency Application for Temporary Restraining Order against PK Plano LLC's new facility. 😠

Toronto vs. pickleball noise

Unlike the two cases above, this one isn't really a lawsuit between companies, but it is a dispute over pickleball that requires government intervention. Like so many cities before it, Toronto is now dealing with complaints over the sound of pickleball. The city understands the value of the sport, and is currently in the process of interacting with other Canadian cities and regions that have successfully implemented noise-mitigating solutions, including sound-dampening fencing and limiting play to certain times of the day.

Serve and Step Back

After your team hits the serve, stay behind the baseline until you know how deep your opponents return is going to be. Many players step into the court after hitting a good serve in anticipation of a short return, but this often does more harm than good. If your opponent hits a deep return it will be much harder to hit your third shot if you are moving backwards right before or during your shot.

It’s always easier to move forwards than it is to move backwards, so being too far back and having to move into the court is better than being too far in the court and having to move back. Plus, hitting with forward momentum is usually advantageous over backwards momentum or no momentum at all.

Which is cooler, the Erne or high-fiving the crowd? 👇

How do you celebrate after a big pickleball win? With a fist pump? Or maybe a "come on!"? Does it look anything like how Tyson McGuffin and Eric Oncins are celebrating below? If it does, then you absolutely rock! 🤘 But whether you celebrate like them or do nothing at all and just carry on with a quiet confidence, winning a big match is an incredible feeling.

Why? Because a big win means that you put in the time and work to beat a team at or above your current level. In order to have pulled that off, you needed focus, a strong game plan, solid execution, and of course, a top-notch paddle.

If you’re a fan of professional golf, then you've probably heard of the Inn & Club at Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina because its golf course hosts an annual televised PGA tournament. Well, it turns out they don't just have golf — they also have pickleball!

Yup, they've got 6 pickleball courts, and as you can see below, the courts are made of clay! That's right, a "clay" surface is borrowed from the tennis world, and it's a powdery material that's softer than the asphalt or concrete surface of a hard court. They say it’s a little easier on your joints, but it will make your socks and shoes dusty, and you’ve got to sweep the courts every time you play. It’s not every day that you see clay pickleball courts, but we actually found some footage from another clay court right here.

Pickleball became a mainstream sport right around 2020, which was 55 years after it was first created by US congressman Joel Pritchard and his friends Bill Bell and Barney McCallum on Bainbridge Island in Washington State.

So there aren't many people who can claim to have been taught the sport by one of its creators. But there are some...

Enter Joyce Jones, an accomplished athlete who was taught how to play pickleball, along with her husband, by their friend, Mr. Pritchard.

Fast-forward to today where Jones is now 95-years-old, which makes her the oldest competitive pickleball player. 💪

Jones is an absolute star, not just in the pickleball world, but also at the Huntsman World Senior Games, where she competed for 19 years, and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2021.

Speaking of Hall of Fames, Jones was also inducted into the Badminton Hall of Fame in 1999 for winning a staggering 300+ titles in national and international competitions. 

Joyce Jones is a powerhouse, and there's really no other way to put it. The good thing is that she knows the impact she has on people.

"I can’t take six steps at a tournament without someone stopping me and asking if they can take a picture. Or telling me that I’m such an inspiration for them," said Jones. "I love knowing that I’m inspiring so many people to keep active."

“I’m going to compete as long as possible,” Jones maintained. "Because I still love the competition, and seeing all the hundreds of friends that I’ve made over the years, and meeting so many new friends at every competition.” 🙌

Rain. Sleet. Hail. As long as it’s pickleball, it’s all good. 👇

Are you currently one of the very best singles pickleball players in the world? Well, there are only a few people who can honestly answer "yes" to that question. So PPA singles champion, Hunter Johnson, if you're reading this, hi. 👋 Don't worry, we're not just talking to Hunter Johnson. But we are talking about how Hunter Johnson just partnered with Picklebalm, a topical pain reliever specifically formulated for pickleball players to provide targeted relief and support faster recovery.

Why did Hunter partner with Picklebalm? Because he knows how important recovery is to performing at a high level. Heck, it's super important to performing at any level. So play more, hurt less, and stay on the court for as many hours and years as you can! For a limited time only, there is free shipping for any Picklebalm purchase — no minimum amount. 

Dr. Daniel Henick is an ophthalmologist in training (and an avid pickleballer) who is doing his residency at Yale-New Haven Medical Center. He conducted a study to better understand protective eyewear usage, and the findings from his survey will be presented this week at the 129th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Some key findings are that only 20% of professional pickleball players use protective eyewear as compared to 54.5% of amateur pickleball players.

Dr. Henick feels that both of those numbers are way too low, especially for pro players since they are at more risk because they hit pickleballs at faster speeds than amateurs. “[Eye] injuries are more likely to happen when the ball bounces off your or your partner’s paddle at an unusual angle towards your face and eyes. You can’t prepare for or have the reflex speed to deal with these deflections,” said Dr. Henick.

We’re not sure how many more people have to sustain serious eye injuries, but you can make sure that you’re not one of them by simply wearing protective eyewear.

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic