Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

As the money and fame associated with professional sports continues to skyrocket, more and more people want to become professional athletes. That means athletes usually just focus on one sport. But not everyone. Today, we'll take a look at someone from the NFL who wants to try his hand at pro pickleball. Plus, tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf reveal a pickleball tip that helps their marriage, colleges compete in pickleball March Madness, and a whole lot more.

Let’s go! 👇

There are many high-profile celebrities and former athletes who play pickleball, and we’re sure that some of them, especially the pro athletes, are actually quite good.

As many of you know, pro tennis players have made the leap over to pro pickleball, including players like Jack Sock, Eugenie Bouchard, and Donald Young.

But has a former pro athlete in a non-racket sport made the transition? What about a completely different sport, like football?

It may not have happened yet, but it’s now a real possibility thanks to former NFL wide receiver, Rodney Adams. Adams was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2017 and played for them along with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets before retiring in 2022.

Before trying to make history in pickleball, though, Adams is doing it in yet another sport, as he recently announced that he would become the first former NFL player to play in the professional Ultimate Frisbee Association.

We know what you’re thinking — can’t he just focus on one sport at a time! 😃 By all accounts, however, it looks like Adams is taking pickleball very seriously.

He is playing in Colorado and training with former #1 pickleball player in the world, Kyle Yates. When asked about Adams, Yates said, “His determination is contagious; I’m excited to help him achieve his goals in this new sport.”

Adams has also loved the sport of pickleball for a few years now, but his NFL contracts did not allow him to pursue other sports.

“My main focus is now to compete at the highest level,” said Adams. “Pickleball gave me a glint in my eye — the same as I had with football — and I just knew where my next journey was.”

Good luck, Rodney. But just one thing — there are no penalty flags in pickleball. So if you get beat on a certain point, you can’t get bailed out with a pass interference call. 😃 

Hit the Ball Out in Front of Your Body

Hitting the ball in front of your body in pickleball allows for better control and power in your shots. When you hit the ball in front, you are able to generate more force from your legs and core, allowing you to hit harder and more accurately. Additionally, hitting the ball in front of your body allows you to have a better view of the ball and the court, making it easier to place your shots strategically. Many beginners tend to hit the ball in line with or behind their body. This does not allow for optimal power and control on any shot.

The more things change… 😁

The Pickleball Clinic X DUPR

We are beyond excited to announce that we have partnered with DUPR, the world's most accurate rating system. As a leading pickleball media organization, it is our goal to align ourselves with the biggest and best brands in our sport. Well, it doesn't get any bigger or better than DUPR, the Official Pickleball Rating for the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball, and now the Official Rating of The Pickleball Clinic!

You know when you overhear someone ask "what's your level?" Then the other person may give an answer like "3.0," "4.5," or "5.0." What they're talking about is a person's DUPR rating — literally. DUPR is a rating system for all pickleball players that goes from 2.0 (a complete beginner) to 8.0 (the highest DUPR in the world is held by Ben Johns at 7.41). The DUPR rating is the gold standard in pickleball ratings, as evidenced by the fact that there are more than 1 million DUPR rated players.

Because of that volume of rated players and its sophisticated algorithm, DUPR is able to give the most precise rating for each player. In other words, DUPR provides the most accurate assessment of a player's skill level at a given time. Why is that important? Because it allows you to know what league, open play or clinic to sign up for at your local pickleball club. Or perhaps you want to see if someone is around your level so you can play with them this weekend. Or maybe you just want to track your personal progress over time.

You can think of your DUPR rating like a handicap in golf or a credit score for credit. It's a real-time assessment of where your pickleball skill level lies, and every time a new match result gets entered, your score goes up or down based on whether you won or lost and on the skill level of your partner and opponents.

If we haven't said it enough, DUPR is a fixture in the world of pickleball. If you haven't yet signed up for your DUPR rating, then we strongly suggest that you create your free DUPR account now. Oh, and one more thing. For the uninitiated, to pronounce "DUPR," you don't say each letter. Instead, you just read it. So it's pronounced like "super," but with a "d."

Pickleball’s greatest player of all time, Ben Johns, did a little Q + A with us…

The Pickleball Clinic: What’s your favorite country outside of the US to play pickleball in?

Ben Johns: Outside of the U.S., I haven’t played in a ton of countries. But for Pickleball Getaways I was able to teach and play in Ecuador. It was an amazing country and really cool to play there in a number of locations. We’ve also been to Croatia and Portugal which were also awesome, as well as many more places.

You can follow Ben Johns on Instagram and YouTube here!

Agassi and Graf Have 1 Big Pickleball Rule

Tennis legends, and married couple, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf have come to love the game of pickleball.

They recently won the annual Pickleball Slam exhibition match featured on ESPN, they came out with their own line of JOOLA paddles, and just this week, they’re headed to Vietnam and China in an effort to grow the sport around the world.

But the couple does have one rule they try to abide by when it comes to pickleball — they only play together as a team.

"We don’t play each other,” said Graf. “We prefer to be on the same side of the court.”

Part of any healthy relationship is noticing potential causes of conflict and not putting yourselves in those situations. So good for Andre and Steffi for knowing that about themselves.

And let’s face it, you don’t get to be #1 in the world at something (which they both were in tennis) without being just a wee bit competitive. So we totally get it, there’s no need to channel all of that competitive energy against your spouse. Instead, bind it together and use it against the field!

The Pickleball Clinic’s newest surprise for you…

Welcome to PickleText! We’re launching the first-ever pickleball textletter. What in the world is that? It’s a short weekly text that starts your day with an exciting piece of pickleball news and a tip to focus on that day (totally free of course). Sign up now and get our first edition this Friday!

If you play long enough, you will get the memo. 😃

Getting Hit with a Pickleball

You know when you get hit with a pickleball? It doesn't feel great, but it's also not that bad either. (Being hit in the privates hurts a little more 😉, but even that isn't too bad.) But have you ever been hit with a pickleball in your eye?

People who have fall into two camps. They either sustained a serious eye injury or they narrowly missed a severe eye injury and now refuse to play without using protective eyewear. But why do you need to have experienced a problem in order to be smart about preventing it in the future? That would be like only wearing a seatbelt after you've been in a bad car accident. Why not just use your mind and protect your eyes BEFORE you get seriously injured?

Well, that’s what we think around here, and that’s why we recommend protective eyewear from BLUE CUT. With their durable elastic frames; clear, prescription or UV-protection lenses; and anti-fog coating spray, these glasses are really a no-brainer. Plus, they look amazing too. Visit the BLUE CUT site, and they’ll send you a code to take 20% off.

Whether you’re hitting dinks and drops or drives and serves, topspin is a big part of advanced pickleball. And if you don’t have a strong tennis or table tennis background, then topspin will seem foreign to you. But that’s OK because with a little practice, you’ll be just fine. Check out Matt’s topspin drill below. 👇

Key Takeaways:

• Get a basket of pickleballs and put it a few feet in front of you.

• Stand in a semi-open stance and hold your paddle at a 45 degree angle.

• Drop a ball from your other hand in front of your paddle. After letting it bounce try to brush up on the ball such that you hit the ball over the basket and over the net, but still inside your opponent’s kitchen.

How’s your March Madness bracket doing? Well, since all #1 seeds made it to the Final Four, many people’s brackets are probably doing quite well. But there’s another sport that just completed its version of March Madness. Oh yes, it’s pickleball. 💪

The APP U.S. Collegiate Championships were held over the weekend in Cape Coral, Florida. The event featured 32 college teams that all had to qualify for the tournament. Colleges were able to send up to two teams of four students each, assuming that both teams were good enough to qualify. In addition to overall team competition, there were also individual medals earned in Women’s and Men’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles.

The competition was high, but when it was all said and done, the University of Florida narrowly defeated the University of Texas to win the team title. Coming in third was Florida Atlantic University, which actually defeated the University of Florida’s other team to take home the bronze.

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

Join the conversation below! ⬇️