Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Are you ready to get your game on? Today, we’ll reveal the ultimate guide to pickleball tournaments, our new “Monthly Minute,” the keys to hitting a reset, and a whole lot more!

Here we go! 👇

So you've worked up the courage to play in your first pickleball tournament. Or maybe you play in a few tournaments a year — or better yet, every single weekend!  

Regardless of how often you play tournaments, you're going to need this ultimate tournament guide! 

Preparation

• In the weeks leading up to the tournament, try to practice with your partner at least once or twice so you know each other's styles and tendencies.

• Pack a bag with you that includes: an extra shirt (or two), a towel, a water bottle (for water or an electrolyte-replenishing drink), a snack, sunscreen/sunglasses/a hat if playing outdoors, and earplugs if your partner talks too much.😂 (Everything but the last one.)

Day of Tournament

• Show up a bit early so you can have time to warm up with your partner.

• Prepare for #2!😄 (This one sounds funny, but isn't really a joke.) Tournaments bring out the nerves, and nerves can sometimes bring out the 💩. So if you notice that you often need to go to the bathroom when you're nervous, be sure to carve out a pre-match appointment with the toilet.

Seeing People

Chances are you're going to see people you know — you need to know how to deal with these people. 😃

-The person who talks a lot — and doesn’t stop: If you don't mind talking to them, no problem, keep up the conversation. But if it's hurting your focus, then fake a phone call or bathroom visit to get away.💪

-That player you met recently who might want to play in a future tournament with you: If you want to play with them, then let them know — ideally not in front of your current partner.😁 If you don't want to play with them, then talk about some lingering injuries you have and/or your insanely busy schedule so you can blame one of those things when they ask you to play with them in an upcoming tournament.😄

-That player who you just can't beat!: If they're not very nice, then match their attitude and act a bit strange. (If they think you're a little crazy, they might not try as hard to keep beating you.😄) If they’re nice, then don't scare them by acting weird — instead, act particularly pathetic so they feel bad for you and hopefully take their foot off the gas this time around.

Positive Attitude

Regardless of how much the odds are stacked against you, you need to think you have a chance at winning every match you play. In fact, you should think you have a chance at wining every tournament you play!💪🏅

It doesn’t even matter if your mindset is something like this: "If that person gets injured, and that person plays the worst match of her life, and that person shows up late and defaults, and I play the best tournament of my life, then I can win this!"

Yes! You can win! Good luck, and go get'em!

Always move your feet between shots at the kitchen line.

You should pretty much never hit two dinks (or more) in a row without moving your feet. That’s because the ball never comes to the exact same place twice! Even if your steps are tiny, you should move between each shot to put yourself in the best position to hit. Ideally, you should be contacting the ball at the same point relative to your body every time to keep your swing consistent, which will in turn minimize errors.

Active footwork is what allows for this. If you don’t move your feet, you’ll lean your body to hit, which means you’ll be hitting a different shot every time, which is near impossible to consistently control.

Winners of the Giveaway!

In our biggest giveaway to date, the winners were:

• Qin Zheng

• Wei Hu

• Corinne Eisenstein

Congratulations to our winners!!! (And stay tuned for the next big giveaway!)

Pickleball’s greatest player of all time, Ben Johns, answers the question, “What is one misconception about being a pro pickleball player?”

“I think a misconception about being a pro pickleball player is that it’s glamorous or desirable for anyone. That’s not the case. Few people want to wake up early, push yourself in the gym, repetitively practice in the pursuit of perfection, and so much more every single day. Like any professional sport, you see the good stuff about it, the end results, but you rarely see the hard work and time put in to achieve those results.”

In the world of pickleball, there aren’t too many better people to follow than Ben Johns. Here he is on Instagram and YouTube.

Leagues! Leagues! Leagues!

Announcing a groundbreaking new initiative for millions of recreational pickleball players across the nation — the creation of APP UTR Leagues!

Made possible by the partnership between the APP Tour and UTR Sports, here’s what you need to know:

• Largest grassroots team pickleball competition ever.

• Form teams and compete head-to-head in your local community.

• Men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles divisions (three age groups & three skill levels).

• 2024 season will culminate in the APP UTR Leagues National Championships.

• Registration will open on the UTR Sports software platform in the spring!

Don’t have a UTR Sports account yet? Create yours for FREE right now.

A truly amazing point should end with a great shot. Exhibit A…👇

We Spent Weeks Making This Video…

A ton of things happen in the pickleball world each month, and we get that it's not always so easy to keep up with.

Well, that's why we created the “Monthly Minute with The Pickleball Clinic”! (Click HERE or on the picture below to watch!)

Hosted by Elly Smith (pickleball player, influencer, member of our team, and all-around awesome girl), this video will give you everything cool going on in the pickleball world (from scandals to tennis stars going pro).

Let's take a look back at February...

Highlights

• 50+ million adult Americans have played pickleball in the last year.

• Pickleball was featured in a Super Bowl commercial! Nothing else says you're a part of current American culture more than this!

• Tennis champions Jack Sock and Genie Bouchard competed on the PPA tour. One did really well, the other not so much. Watch above to find out which was which!

• "Pickleball Rocks," a pickleball equipment and apparel company owned by Rodney Grubbs, turned out to be one big Ponzi scheme, as more than 100 investors were swindled.

• The APP Tour brought a tournament to India.

• "In a Pickle," the first-ever feature film about pickleball, picked up steam.

You can think about a new paddle, but don’t check one out while you’re holding your current paddle! 1. It’s not nice. 2. Your paddle may walk out on you one day.😂 

Franklin - Balls for Miles!

Don’t you just want to reach out and touch those beautiful, bright pickleballs? Or jump into a tub filled with them? We do! They’re gorgeous — and they’re the best pickleballs out there. The Franklin X-40s feel great when they’re brand new (like in this picture), but you know when they get slightly warn and have that extra texture to them? We love ‘em like that too! We just always love ‘em. That’s why they’re our official pickleballs!

Get some X-40s today and see for yourself! Plus, use code “clinic15” for 15% off!

If you want to reach a 5.0+ level — or even if you just want to get to that next level of competitive play — then you’ve got to be able to be offensive with your backhand volley. In other words, you’ve got to be able to hit the backhand flick. Good thing Coach Matt is here to show us how.👇

Key takeaways:

• Use the backhand flick when the ball is in your yellow zone.

• Make sure to use this attack only when you are balanced and in position.

• Start shot with paddle angle down and make sure paddle is out in front.

• Bend your knees to get low.

• Pull your non-dominant arm back to balance yourself during the shot.

Remember our tournament guide above? Well, when it comes to pickleball tournaments, age is truly just a number. That’s because people are competing at ALL different ages. Need an example? The U.S. Open Pickleball Championships has adult tournaments starting from age 19+ (although you can play in them if you are as young as 12), going all the way up to… not just 70+, not just 80+, but 85+!!!

And let’s not forget about the kids. USA Pickleball approves tournaments for boys and girls 18 and under, 14 and under, and 12 and under. (When the #1 ranked female player in the world, Anna Leigh Waters, became #1 at the age of 15, you kind of have to accommodate the young players too.😄)

Hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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