Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

We hope everyone has gotten their taxes in by now and can finally get back to your normal lives. 😂 Assuming you have, you can start by answering this question — where did you meet your significant other? Today, we’ll take a look at pickleball dating, the biggest pickleball tournament of the year, how to hit an overhead slam, and a whole lot more!

Let’s go! 👇

Where did you meet your significant other? At work? On a dating app? In da club? 😂 

Well, it looks like a new place can now be added to this list. You guessed it, a pickleball court! 😍🥰

If you're reading this newsletter, then you know how social a sport pickleball can be. So it kind of makes sense that people would be meeting out on the courts.

Even in New York City, where space is hard to come by, the public courts are packed with singles looking to mingle. The New York Post noticed this trend and recently wrote a piece about it.

“There are good looking people here, so you never know what is going to happen,” said Christina Ali, 25, of the busy courts on Houston and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. 

Straight, gay, young, old, all people are of course welcome on those courts — well, as long as you're good at pickleball. 😃 Evidently the Sixth Avenue and Houston courts only allow players with a rating of 3.5 or above to participate in their open play.

Beginners and lower intermediate players generally play at the James J Walker Park courts in the West Village.

But whether it’s NYC, LA, or smaller cities and towns, we're pretty sure that people are dinking and flirting all over the country. Great, keep it up! 👍

If you need a pick-up line, you can always try this, "I'd love to drill with you some time, what's your number?" 😂

Try to find ways to use your favorite shot as much as possible.

Finding ways to put yourself in position to hit the shots that you’re most comfortable with is an excellent strategy to set yourself up for the win.

Here are some examples:

If your best shot is your backhand dink, play the left side, get to the line, and cheat towards the middle to hide your forehand and open your backhand.

If your best shot is your forehand drive, hit heavy topspin serves, and communicate with your partner to take more of the thirds.

If your best shot is your forehand speedup, play the left side and dink aggressively so you get dead dinks to speed up.

There are tons of possible strategies, so you should always be aware of your strengths and try your best to set yourself up to use them!

Get On the Ball!

When you think of the word “balls,” what do you think of? No, not that! We’re talking sports-related balls. No, we’re not talking about how gutsy you are under pressure. We’re talking about real-life, actual balls! 😂

Well, now that you’re thinking like a grownup 😄, let’s talk about the best pickleballs out there — the Franklin X-40s, the ones with the iconic “X.” They’re the best balls in the game, which is why we named it the official ball of The Pickleball Clinic, and why it was recently named the official ball of the APP Tour! Get some today, and use code “clinic15” at checkout for 15% off!

Pickleball’s greatest player of all time, Ben Johns, was asked what he has in his pickleball bag.

“What I have in my pickleball bag?! Typically I will have 3 paddles with me at a tournament. I also carry a pair of shoes, change of clothes, overgrips, electrolytes from Jigsaw Health, lead tape, a stretching band, some warmup bands, balls, and that’s about it!”

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

When the middle looks too closed, hit it down the line to open it up. 💪 

The BIGGEST Tournament of the Year!

Last week was the 8th annual U.S. Open. Officially called the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships, it is held annually at the East Naples Community Park in Naples, Florida.

It is the biggest tournament in pickleball with the largest number of participants — nearly 5,000 players of all different ages and levels entered this year, including amateurs, pros and senior pros.

The tournament is big and bold, and it's an enormous celebration of pickleball. The level of play is also phenomenal — HOWEVER the pro results have to be taken with a grain of salt because not all of the best players in the world are in the draw.

For example, the best player in the world, Ben Johns, did not play in it because of a contractual conflict.

Nevertheless, many of the world's best players were playing, including the best female player in the world, Anna Leigh Waters. And in this tournament, she chose to play with her old partner... her MOM! (By the way, we mean "old" as in "played with in the past," not as in age. 😂 )

Anyway, the mother-daughter duo cruised into the finals, where they found themselves pitted against Simone Jardim (the most decorated U.S. Open player in history with 12 U.S. Open gold medals) and her partner, Allison Harris. And, drumroll please... the Waters WON!

Other pro winners included Jorja Johnson (Women's Singles), Jack Foster (Men's Singles), Anna Leigh Waters and JW Johnson (Mixed Doubles), and JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier (Men's Doubles).

Plus, there was a really fun event called the "Split Age" bracket, where a doubles team is comprised of one 50+ player and one under-50 player. Pro pickleballer (and former pro tennis player) Andrei Dăescu took home gold in both the men's and mixed doubles competitions. Andrei is 35 years old, so both of his partners had to be over 50.

If you ever get a chance to go, definitely check out the biggest pickleball tournament of the year, the U.S. Open. 👍

The Perfect Match

Power? Check. Grace? Yup! Elegance and beauty? You bet! Wait, do you think we’re talking about Jessie Irvine or the Engage Pursuit Pro1 paddle? Well, both. 😃💪

Jessie Irvine is a fierce competitor who also has tremendous skill and athleticism. And the Engage Pursuit Pro series of paddles are as good as they get. Made with Raw Toray T700 Carbon Fiber, the Engage Pursuit Pro paddle offers unmatched precision and power. So Jesse and Engage are kind of a perfect match — and they photograph well together too! 😄 Check out the Engage paddles for yourself right here.

Plus, there’s a Limited Stock Alert of Certified Refurbished Pursuit Pros — check them out here.

This may have been true 5 years ago, but it’s not anymore! ALL ages are out on the courts these days. 💪

The overhead slam is a very important shot, and it’s often overlooked because so much of pickleball is getting your opponent to give you an overhead — at which point it’s almost assumed that you’ve won the point. 😄 But you haven’t! At least not yet. You still need to finish the point with an overhead. Good thing Coach Matt is here to show you how.

Key takeaways:

• Turn sideways.

• Raise your hands when you pivot.

• Reach up and try to high-five the ball.

• Swing paddle down after contact point.

Throwing Shade — In a Good Way! 😎

Sunglasses are pretty sweet. Not only do they allow you to see when it’s sunny out, but they make you look cool and feel cool. Let’s face it, sunglasses are cool. 😎 And they don’t need to just be used on the beach or in your car — you need shades for pickleball too. 💪 

Well, we’re here to tell you that when you’re looking for sunglasses, 96 Shades is the best place to go. Period. Plus, you can click here for 10% off.

Coach David sustained an injury to his dominant right hand and couldn’t use it to play pickleball for a while. Most people would just take some time off and call it an injury. But not David. He taught himself to play lefty using the wall in his basement, and even reached a 4.0 level doing so!

Now he’s back and solid with his right hand, but his commitment to the game is inspiring. AND it demonstrates how the fundamentals of pickleball (such as dinking) are simple enough that you can teach yourself to play with the opposite hand. Dave’s story also goes to show how addicting this game is! When David couldn’t play the way he normally did, he had to find another way. No right hand? No problem!

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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