Welcome back to The Pickleball Clinic Newsletter!

Do you know who controls pickleball's professional teams? Today, we'll tell you which big-name celebrities own Major League Pickleball teams, reveal an incredible new facility that's in the works, show you how to hit "the drip," review the hottest new paddle of 2025, and a whole lot more.

Let’s do this! 👇

Owners of professional sports teams make up a pretty exclusive group of very rich and/or famous people.

In the NFL, for example, all but a couple of the owners are billionaires, and many of them can attribute most of their wealth to growing the value of their football teams, like Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, or New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft.

Then there are owners who made names for themselves in other walks of life, such as...

• Microsoft's Steve Ballmer (owner of the Los Angeles Clippers)

• Shark Tank's Mark Cuban (former principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks)

• Michael Jordan (minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets)

• Justin Timberlake (minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies)

More recently, it has become common for big-name celebrities to own professional soccer teams, including Russell Crowe, Ryan Reynolds, Ed Sheeran, David Beckham and Hugh Jackman.

But guess what professional sport we're going to talk about next? Here's a hint, it starts with "p" and rhymes with "tickleball."

While the number of pickleball players in America (and around the world) now trounces that of most sports, its professional team league (MLP) is just a few years old.

So while MLP teams may only be worth $10 - $15 million right now, investors are getting in on the ground floor. And those smart investors are every bit as famous as their counterparts in other sports. 

For example, here is a list of some of the co-owners for just one of MLP's pro teams, the Brooklyn Pickleball Team: Eva Longoria, Justin Verlander, Kate Upton, Odell Beckham Jr.

Other co-owners of MLP teams include Tom Brady, LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, Kevin Durant, Naomi Osaka, Drew Brees, Josh Allen, Dude Perfect, Jayson Tatum, and Gary Vaynerchuk.

So will watching professional pickleball ever become as popular as playing it? There is no way of knowing for sure, but something tells us that owning a pro pickleball team will turn out to be a strong investment. 💪

Power Doesn’t Come from Tensing Up Muscles

How hard you hit the ball isn’t directly correlated with how hard you’re “trying” to swing. I.e. if you muscle the ball, you’re actually not going to maximize your power. If you want to hit the ball hard you need to have a relaxed swing. Relaxing your muscles allows for you to get maximum paddle acceleration which will in turn lead to loads of power. Muscling the ball will inhibit your paddle from accelerating as fast as it can.

A brother and sister playing together is sweet. But when they play pro mixed doubles and hit amazing Ernes for winners — that’s just awesome! 👇

An Eye Epidemic

According to an article in the American Academy of Ophthalmology, eye injuries from being hit in the eye with a pickleball include: corneal abrasions, retinal detachment, and vitreous hemorrhages. What are those injuries, exactly? We're not totally sure, but none of them sound good!

What's frustrating, though, is that these injuries are completely preventable if you wear proper eyewear. Even if you completely trust your reflexes to get out of the way of a blasted speedup or overhead, no one is coordinated enough to avoid the accidental deflection of a ball that ricochets off your partner's paddle or your own.

So why take the risk? It's like not wearing a helmet when you ride a bike. If you care about your safety, there's really no good reason not to wear protective glasses — especially when they look good and no longer fog up. Plus, you can get them for 20% off. 👓

A True Dink State

While our sport is getting really big in every state, some of the bigger ones that come to mind are ones with not only big populations, but also warm weather all year round.

You can imagine the ones we're talking about: California, Florida, and Texas. (And throw Arizona into that category while you're at it.)

Not only are those states filled with amateur players, but many of them are home bases for pro players to live and train.  

Well, there is one state that may not be able to compete with the ones above in terms of population, but if you look at pickleball interest per capita, it’s every bit as obsessed with pickleball. 

What is that state? UTAH. And it's about to take another giant step in its pickleball development — for both pros and amateurs alike.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the Utah Pickleball Center, a privately funded $25 million facility, is scheduled to be built in South Jordan, Utah.

The venue is slated to serve as the dedicated indoor space for the state's MLP pickleball team, the Utah Black Diamonds, and will annually host two major professional pickleball tournaments.

But don't worry, the Utah Pickleball Center isn't just for pros. While it will have one court designed with 1,000 seats and another with 2,000 seats, there will also be 45 other pickleball courts, including 15 outside the building and 13 on its roof.

This sounds like an incredible new location for pickleball. Good luck, and we can't wait to see it when it opens. 👍

A HUGE Paddle Release Just Took Place…

Meet the very first paddle made by RPM, an all-new paddle company created by PPA champion, James Ignatowich. It's called the "RPM Friction Pro," and it’s pretty amazing. Get a 15% discount right here, or just use code clinic15. Check out Matt’s review of this paddle below. 👇

When you got it, flaunt it! 😂

If you haven't heard about the "drip," it's about time you did. What is a drip? It's a combination of a drive and a drop, and it’s very effective at making your ball dip down at your opponent's feet. How do you hit this shot? Well, we've got Canadian National Champion, Christina Chin (aka @pickleballonice), to show you how. 👇  

Key takeaways:

• Master the topspin dink because a drip is just a topspin dink from a little further away.

• Be sure to push the ball forward in addition to brushing up on it.

It’s Discount Time!

If you don’t like the idea of getting a discount on something, then immediately skip to the next section. 😉 But if you do like paying a little less for some of the best gear in pickleball, then click here or below. 👇

Are you a fan of Harry Potter? Then you might be happy to hear that Hermione loves pickleball. Well, maybe not Hermione, but the actress who played her. Yes, the British actress, model and activist, Emma Watson, is part of a long list of Hollywood stars who know how to dink.

Watson has played in charity events, appeared in the CBS reality TV special, "Pickled," and recently gave an interview with Hollywood Authentic, where every picture of her was on a pickleball court. Plus, she made a video, which shows off what appears to be a pretty powerful forehand. In other words, she doesn't just like pickleball, she loves it! But don't just take our word for it. Listen to some of her own words...

"A friend of mine’s parents taught me how to play. They’re retired tennis pros. Over time, it’s just grown into kind of an obsession – an obsession I feel good about," says Watson. "If I can do anything meaningful with my life, perhaps it’ll be of being in service to the great game that is pickleball!"

Hope you enjoyed the read. See you next week!

- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic

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