Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Pickleball used to be fairly cheap to play. But has it gotten too expensive? Today, we'll explore average monthly and annual pickleball costs, reveal a pickleball insult from a tennis star, discover a Parkinson's disease pickleball group, and much more.

Let’s do this! 👇

It wasn't long ago that pickleball was viewed not just as a fun sport, but also one that was quite inexpensive. You would show up to your local park that had a makeshift net which was placed on top of a tennis court. 

All you really needed was a few balls and a paddle, which in 2020 went for between $180 and $200 at the very high end.

Fast-forward to today, and there are not just outdoor courts, but indoor pickleball clubs with memberships, tournaments that cost $100 each, and high-end paddles that now go for upwards of $330!

So has pickleball gotten too expensive? Let's look at the numbers. According to its website, the Missouri Pickleball Club offers memberships starting at just $30 a month, plus some additional court fees. 

While in Sarasota, Florida, the Pickleball Club at Lakewood Ranch offers monthly memberships for $215 a month—and they offer an executive membership for a monthly fee of $595!

Membership plans vary depending on location and also on the quality of the facility. Plus, clubs often present several different price points based on different offerings.

When it's all said and done, if you want a pickleball membership, you're probably looking at around a $100-$150 monthly fee. If you include 5-10 tournaments a year at $100 each, some clinics or lessons, two paddles at $200 each, and some shoes and apparel, it will most likely cost you between $2,500 and $5,000 a year.

All things considered, for a sport that provides exercise, socialization, and lots of fun, that's actually quite reasonable. But it still is more than the few hundred bucks a year that it was not long ago.

It looks like pickleball has joined the club of so many other sports and activities that have come before it, including golf, bowling, and exercise facilities. By that we mean there are lower and higher-priced options.

And hey, in a democratic capitalist society, that's pretty much how it's supposed to be.

Make Adjustments!

If your plan isn’t working, don’t force it, adjust it. Pay attention to what your opponent is consistently beating you with, because failing to adapt is one of the fastest ways to lose momentum in a match.

For example, if you’re not generating points, try shifting between drives and drops. If you’re losing exchanges at the net, lean more into controlled dinking. Small tactical changes like these can quickly shift the flow of the game and turn a struggling performance into a competitive one.

Other than everyone dressing exactly the same, this point is amazing! 👇

As a pickleball player, you know about aches, pains, and overall soreness. But until now, you probably didn't know the best way to get rid of it. That's why we are super excited to announce that TheraICE is our Official Hot & Cold Therapy Partner. Because of our new partnership, you can get 20% off all the incredible TheraICE products when you use code "CLINIC20". That means 20% off their wrist, knee, shoulder, elbow, and ankle sleeves—or the TheraICE AnySLEEVE.

Gone are the days of sitting around on your couch with an ice pack or frozen bag of peas. Why? Because motion and activity actually help the healing process. That's what TheraICE is all about: delivering comfortable and convenient cold and heat therapy so you can get back to what you love. Their sleeves are wearable, hands-free, and easy to use, which helps your body recover while continuing to live your life! So do yourself a favor and grab a TheraICE sleeve today.

Welcome back to the section where we define a word or term that is widely used in the pickleball world…

Pop-up (noun)

A pop-up is a pickleball shot that is accidentally hit too high, which allows your opponent to attack it out of the air. While pop-ups happen at every level, beginners hit them a lot, often because of poor technique, like holding the paddle too tightly or flicking their wrist while attempting a dink or drop shot.

Champion tennis player, John McEnroe, just took some shots at pickleball—and they're about to be returned.🥊 Let's get into it...

During the recent French Open (one of the four annual major tournaments in the sport of tennis), McEnroe and his brother, Patrick, welcomed Genie Bouchard to their program called "The MacZone."

Bouchard is a former pro tennis player who has since become a pro pickleball player, so naturally, the subject of pickleball came up.

While speaking about Bouchard, John McEnroe said, "She leaves the sport [tennis] to play that damn, stupid pickleball." Bouchard immediately responded with, "You can't say that because you played it as well. That's called hypocrisy." (You go, girl!)

Well, that clearly got under McEnroe's skin because he then revealed that he played pickleball for just two weekends—referring to the Pickleball Slam exhibition matches he participated in a couple of years ago—and that he only did so because they paid him a ton of money to play.

McEnroe went on to say that the sound of a pickleball being hit is annoying and "if they want to keep it going," pickleball should work on fixing that. "Want to keep it going”? 😂 Sorry to break the news to you, Mr. McEnroe, but if one of our sports should be worried about "keeping it going," it's yours.

Just walk past any park, and look at the ratio of people playing pickleball compared to tennis. It's often 5 to 1 in favor of pickleball, and even that's being generous. 

Also, when you admit to pretending to like something just for the paycheck, that makes you look bad, not pickleball. We understand that McEnroe is jealous of pickleball's success, but that doesn't mean he needs to call it "stupid."

That's pretty rude and obnoxious, although it kind of makes sense since McEnroe's entire brand and legacy is… being rude and obnoxious.

You can probably play on a plane too, but unless it’s a private jet, we wouldn’t recommend it. 😀

The backhand dink is an extremely important shot to have in pickleball. And one of the most standard types of backhand dinks is the backhand slice dink because it can be very safe and consistent. But that’s only if you use the proper technique. That’s why we brought coach Matt here to show you exactly how to hit it. 👇

More and more Parkinson’s disease patients are picking up pickleball not just for fun, but also to improve balance and coordination. “What I’ve noticed is the tremors in my right hand temporarily subside as I hold the paddle,” said the 75-year-old Charlie Lee who has Parkinson's disease.

Seven months ago, he joined the Pickleball for Parkinson’s program, which is run by Punching Out Parkinson’s in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Two days a week, Lee joins roughly 20 other people with Parkinson's to play pickleball. “We all got the same problems,” said Steve Elliott, another member of the group who has lived with Parkinson’s for seven years. “Having socialization and friends is great because it carries on beyond the court.”

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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