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The best teams on the PPA Tour just keep getting better, and this past weekend’s Cape Coral Open was no exception.

But not so fast… Championship Sunday showed some hope for tighter matchups ahead, as one dominant duo gave Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters a serious run for their money. Was it enough in the end? Full winners, below.

In This Issue:
— Bill Simmons trashes pro pickleball
— Best Dressed: PPA Cape Coral
— Aim here to win more easy points

Pickleball is life.

The warm Florida weather plus a touch of Valentine’s Day in the air led to some fun and creative outfits in Cape Coral. Team Alix Truong and Parris Todd killed it. Genie Bouchard showed out for Championship Sunday. Even Ben Johns got in on the action. Here’s who wore it best.

Pro Grayson Goldin shared a scary update over the weekend: the young singles specialist known for his insane athleticism and shot-making ability has been in the hospital for nearly a week after suffering two strokes. He’s doing better and should make a full recovery. Get better soon, Grayson.

Our very own Erik Tice, the guy who brings you all the best pro news and analysis, was just named as the General Manager of the MLP’s California Black Bears. They’re lucky to have him; we’ll be following along. Congrats, Erik.

The final batch of winners for The 120/Life Dink Awards will be announced tomorrow, including the one we’ve all been waiting for: the fan choice for 2025 Paddle of the Year. Tune in to YouTube (or wherever you get your podcasts) at noon EST Tuesday for the big reveal on the PicklePod. Any guesses?

Play pickleball long enough and you’ll start to hear the same refrain repeated over and over: target your opponents’ inside foot.

Cool, got it. But, uh… what does that mean exactly?

We hear you. Simply put, here’s how this shakes out:

To set this shot up, send some dinks out wide, pulling them off the court. Then aim a dink down the middle line, diving directly at their left foot.

To defend this shot, they're forced to reach low across their body. That means their leverage is severely limited, as is their ability to generate any real firepower.

A defensive dink is their only real option. Repeat this pattern, be ready for what pops up your way, and you’re guaranteed some easy points as a result.

➡️ Watch a pro demonstrate.

February is American Heart Month — and here’s the stat that stops us in our tracks:

1 in 2 adults has high blood pressure.

If you’re planning to play pickleball for decades (we are), your heart matters more than your third-shot drop.

That’s why we like 120/Life. It’s a once-a-day drink mix designed to support healthy blood pressure. Not a pill. Not a gimmick. Just something simple you can actually stick with — and yes, it tastes good.

Here’s the best part: you can measure it.
Drink it daily. Check your numbers. Many people see improvement in about two weeks. If you don’t? You get your money back.

If you’re going to reset anything this February, make it your blood pressure.

Try 120/Life and get 20% off with code DINK.
Nothing to lose except higher numbers.

The more some things change, as they say, the more they stay the same.

As we stack another PPA event into the record books, a few familiar storylines remain intact. In a nutshell, the best teams just keep on winning on the PPA Tour, despite some serious efforts to knock them off the top of their respective podiums.

It wasn’t all so predictable in Cape Coral over the weekend though — here are all your winners from the season’s third major event:

Yes, the top seeds dominated. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

Genie took game one in a 15-13 thriller before Kaitlyn took over. And Ben and Anna Leigh faced their biggest challenge yet this season — a five-game epic that saw them at 10-10 in a possible elimination scenario in game four.

➡️ Get a closer look at all the action.

On Friday, we told you the UPA is out raising a reported $200M to get their pickleball empire in order.

Lost in that bombshell was popular sports pundit Bill Simmons hurling insults on X with a backflip from the top rope, seemingly unprovoked: “You could invest in this — or you could set a pile of cash on fire, it’s a tough call.”

Simmons was, apparently, rather vehemently doubling down on this previous hot take from his podcast: “I hate pickleball. I don’t like hearing the noises. I don’t like the people who play. It’s [expletive] stupid. Just play tennis.”

That was a while ago. But the feeling hasn’t changed, apparently.

His scathing indictment of the UPA attempting to raise some dough is now pushing one million views on X. He clearly seems to have struck a nerve.

MLP Commissioner Samin Odhwani chimed in with a jab of his own, saying Bill is “just salty cause his clubs tennis courts got converted over. Don’t worry — you’ll be playing pickleball in a few years. Holler when you need a paddle.”

It all makes for some highly entertaining social media banter. And it’s reached such a crescendo that PicklePod co-host Nico the Lefty took to social media with some thoughts of his own.

Consider this our official invitation to Bill Simmons to air this all out on the PicklePod.

➡️ Any day, any time, buddy.

There’s a moment when the paddle you started with just… stops keeping up.

That’s usually when players start looking at CRBN.

The TruFoam Genesis Series has been in the mix for a minute — and it’s still the paddle you see coming out of bags at open play. Spin, pop, control, consistency. It just works.

Soft game when you need it.
Drive when you mean it.

It’s the kind of upgrade you make once — and immediately feel the difference.

Shop CRBN’s lineup and use code THEDINK for 10% off.

Did 2025 see a decrease in the total number of paddles approved through USA Pickleball?

We wouldn’t have guessed it based on last year’s paddle market, not by a long shot, but according to the latest Business of Pickleball newsletter from David Johnson, that appears to be the case.

✅ 2021: 107 brands, 302 models
✅ 2022: 177 brands, 477 models
✅ 2023: 449 brands, 995 models
✅ 2024: 564 brands, 1,277 models
✅ 2025: 356 brands, 891 models

That’s a pretty steep drop-off.

So… is this some sort of reporting error or delay on the part of USAP, or are we witnessing the first canary in the coal mine for the state of the pickleball paddle industry?

We’re not sure just yet, but it’s worth keeping an eye on; we’ll do some digging and report back.

After all, at some point, the market has to level off a bit… right?

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