Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Pickleball is literally addictive, the sport desperately needs an emoji, and three tips for moving from a 3.5 to 4.0!

Let’s dive in 👇

We all know pickleball is good for you — but now there’s some science to back it up!

A psychological study published by Jonathan M. Casper and Jung-Hwan Jeon in Human Kinetics was conducted with about 700 pickleball players in North Carolina.

According to the study, pickleball is good for your mental health, and it’s also addictive — due to a combination of fitness and socialization.

And it’s not just the study above…

A recent Apple study found that depressive symptoms were 60% lower among frequent pickleball players.

According to Emily Hemendinger at the University of Colorado psychiatry department, a sense of connection is very important when it comes to mental health.

“Humans thrive when we experience connection,” says Hemendinger. “Pickleball allows us to bond with one another through an activity that also physically makes us feel good.”

Well done, pickleball — keep making people happy and healthy!

In today’s Guest Bulletin, pro player Andre Mick discusses the shots that players must add to their arsenals in order to keep up.

Over the last few years, we have seen the evolution of pickleball and the way the game is being played change drastically. A number of factors come to mind, such as an increase in the amount of players, which leads to a brand new influx of talent. Or, something as simple as the improvement of equipment we use. Regardless, the game has sped up.

I’m sure when you first started playing, you were told “the serve and return are meant to just start the point” – therefore lobbing a serve over to your opponent and having them pass it back was the way to go. Now you are seeing professionals use their serve and returns as weapons. Take the serve for example. There are a number of advantages to having a hard serve, such as missed or short returns, or forcing your opponent to race to the net from a deep position which in turn allows for an easy third shot for the server. I believe the time has come for people to practice their heavy topspin serves to make life a little harder for your opponents.

Topspin isn't necessarily a new concept in pickleball, although since carbon paddles were invented, it seems like if you aren't hitting topspin, your game is being severely held back. For those who come into the game with a strong tennis background, this may be easy. For those who don’t, I suggest you find your nearest coach and ask them to help you! Start with the topspin serve, then the topspin drive forehand.

This doesn't mean you have to “bang” every serve/return/third shot... but you have to use what the paddle gods have given us in carbon fiber to find a way to gain more control out of a faster swing.

Old school is a soft serve that puts ZERO pressure on your opponents. New school is a deep topspin serve that will set the rest of your point up.

Old school is hitting a wimpy return to have time to get to the net. New school is running through your return, hitting it deep and getting an easy 4th.

Old school is a flat drop. New school is a topspin “pressure drop.”

The use of topspin can be used on almost every shot, even your dinks. So I suggest you start practicing if you want to take your game to the next level!!

When to dink it deep…

If you’re dinking the ball away from your opponent, you can aim to hit the ball deeper than if you’re dinking directly at them.

This is because your opponent can’t hurt you since they won’t be able to take the ball out of the air. Not only will they not be able to hurt you, but the added depth on your dink will hurt them — by pushing them off the kitchen line and often earning you a pop up!

Hello, Pro Line Energy S!

Pickleball Apes has done it again: introducing the Pro Line Energy S.

It’s everything you loved about the original Pro Line paddle, but better! The surface is constructed with Pickleball Apes’ signature combination of kevlar and carbon fiber, but the paddle now has a more traditional shape that features a larger sweet spot and enhanced control.

Fans of Pickleball Apes paddles and first-timers are all raving about this paddle. Check it out at PickleballApes.com.

Check out this sweet lob: well-disguised, cross-court, and over the opponent’s backhand.

Pickleball Needs an Emoji!

Emojis have become a huge part of our culture — by adding emotion, context, and fun to our digital conversations.

So where’s the pickleball emoji???

It’s only the fastest growing sport in America, with over 50 million people having played in the last year alone.

Other sports that have an emoji…

• 🤽‍♂️Water Polo

• 🤾Handball

• 🥌Curling

Curling has an emoji? And all we have is this pickle —> 🥒 Come on!!!

Enough is enough — so we decided to do something about it…

A Petition!

Yup, we created a petition demanding that a pickleball emoji become a reality!

Sign it today to show your support for creating a dedicated pickleball emoji and to help give pickleball the recognition it deserves!!

Mic drop…

Don’t Think — Just Dink

Hey picklers — now you can practice literally anywhere with The Dink Master.

Enhance Pickleball is the ingenious company behind pickleball’s #1 training aid, and they’ve partnered with The Pickleball Clinic to offer an exclusive discount on the Dink Master with code clinic15.

With a little practice every day at home or on the road, you’ll hit thousands more shots every week. It also comes with a free library of drills that will assist your self-training.

You can start getting your game up now — check it out here!

Want to make the jump from 3.5 to 4.0?

Matt gives 3 tips you’ll need to make the transition! 👇

Key takeaways:

• Dink consistently

• Get up to the kitchen on offense

• Put away high volleys

Tennis legend Ivan Lendl, 63, has gotten seriously into pickleball. Here’s his tennis resume:

• 94 singles titles (including U.S. Open, French Open, and Australian Open)

• 270 weeks at #1 in the world

After his tennis career, Lendl turned to golf, where he became a scratch golfer — and now in pickleball, he’s already playing 5.0 tournaments.

“When I do something, I do it 100%,” Lendl says. “I was born and raised to compete.” Well then welcome aboard, Lendl — the sky’s the limit for you in pickleball!

Thanks for the read! See you soon.

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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