If you’ve been sleeping on pro pickleball, it’s time to wake up. The biggest event of the year is here, and anyone who’s anyone wants the 3,000 PPA ranking points up for grabs. All the pro action gets underway tomorrow. But we’ve got a full Pickleball World Championships preview now to get you hyped.
Speaking of uncontrollable excitement, Anna Leigh Waters got an adorable puppy and needs our help naming him. Challenge: accepted.
In This Issue:
— Anna Leigh’s new puppy needs a name
— A menacing drive is all in the hips
— USA sweeps the Pickleball World Cup
Lock in.
Our Picks 👆
⚡️ Not Shocking: St. Louis Wins Inaugural MLP Cup
Anna Bright and Gabe Tardio continue their pro pickle world domination, this time back together as the St. Louis Shock buzzed the Dallas Flash to win the first-ever MLP Cup. It was an electric final, but the event needs some work. Erik Tice explains.
☝️ That’s Out: When Pickleball Gets Petty
A little heated competition never hurt anyone, but on-court arguments can have a way of leaving us a bit chafed. And we all know pickleballers love to sweat the small stuff: like line calls, kitchen violations and foot faults. Reddit rounds up the most ridiculous tiffs heard ‘round rec play.
📈 Ninety-Seven: The Scoreline that Made History
Some have called the men’s doubles match from the Rate Vegas Cup one of the best ever. We now know it was up there, at least statistically. Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio beat Christian Alshon and Andre Daescu, scoring a combined 97 points across five games, the most total points in a men’s final since May 2022.
🐶 The GOAT: Got a Puppy
Bad news for anyone trying to beat Anna Leigh Waters: she’s got another coach in her corner. The adorable “emotional support puppy” will accompany her to all events. But there’s just one problem: the fluffy Bernedoodle needs a name. Bernie? Pickles? Ben Johns? ALW needs our help.
A Devastating Drive Is All About the Hips
You’re spending hours trying to add steam to your forehand drive, but guess what? You’ve been chasing the wrong things. It’s not your swing, says Briones Pickleball, or your follow-through, or even your grip first. It’s your hips that make all the difference.
Here’s the play-by-play:
Legs first — Lower your center of gravity. You want to be in a half-squat as the ball approaches, every time. If this is painful, go hit the gym.
Clear the hips — Snap your hips open on contact. That core rotation is the engine pulling the paddle through to max power.
Hit out in front of your front knee — Prioritize a shorter backswing, optimal contact point, and natural follow-through.
Don’t forget these tweaks for maximum efficiency:
Use an eastern (or just past continental) grip.
Keep the pressure light. You’re cracking a whip, not swinging a hammer.
Use a semi-open stance (~45°) to free the hips for rotation, rather than locking yourself into a closed tennis-style setup.
In short: you’re not going to hit harder by swinging more aggressively. You hit harder when you sequence better. Legs, hips, contact. Nice and smooth. That’s what turns a good drive into a devastating one.
Yeah, We’re Zooming In For A Reason
Yeah, we’re zooming in on the bottom of the shoe for a reason.
The Franklin ACV Pro was built for real pickleball movement. Its aggressive herringbone tread pattern delivers serious traction so you can explode, stop, and switch direction fast.
When your shoes grip like this, the rest of your game just clicks.
Pickleball’s #1 & #2 Ranked Women Partner with Performance Eyewear Brand Pilla
You may have noticed Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright have been quietly competing with performance-enhancing eyewear for a while.
Now, Pilla has announced an official partnership with the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked pros.
Pilla built its reputation in Olympic shooting, where its ZEISS-engineered filtration technology helps athletes track 80-mph targets with enhanced clarity. That same science is now helping pickleball pros see the ball sooner, react faster, and reduce eye fatigue during marathon match days.
Both Waters and Bright rely on a three-lens rotation tuned for full sun, medium, and low-light conditions. The lenses don’t just block glare, they enhance contrast and color definition so every speed-up and dink looks sharper.
As paddles approach their performance ceiling, vision could be the new frontier. Expect to see more players turning to eyewear like this as core equipment rather than add-ons.
Pickleball’s Most Prestigious Event
The Pickleball World Championships is unlike any other event. It’s bigger. It’s bolder. It’s the one pros and unknowns alike have circled on their calendars all year.
And now it’s here. A staggering 3,585 registered players have made their way to Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, Texas, for a chance at eternal glory.
The pros are playing for far more than that, though. To review:
PPA Opens are worth 1,000 points
Cups are 1,500 points
Slams are 2,000
But Worlds offers 3,000 PPA ranking points to the winners, the most in PPA Tour history for one event and the reason it’s considered the most prestigious event in all of pro pickleball. Win this one event and doors start flying open — sponsors, prize money, ranking points, you name it.
Nobody sits this one out, so it’s a stacked field. Luckily, our resident pro expert Erik Tice is back with a full round of predictions. Here’s who he thinks will win out:
🥇 Women’s Singles: Anna Leigh Waters def. Kate Fahey
🥇 Men’s Singles: Federico Staksrud def. Christian Alshon
🥇 Mixed Doubles: Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters def. Christian Alshon and Tyra Black
🥇 Women’s Doubles: Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright def. Catherine Parenteau and Parris Todd
🥇 Men’s Doubles: Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio def. Christian Alshon and Andre Daescu
All the action can be found on Pickleballtv. The rounds of 128 and 64 begin tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 4.
The Tour-Approved Fit
MUEV’s not just another pickleball apparel brand. They’ve got the pro stamp of approval.
You’ve seen them on the APP Tour (official partner through 2026) and on Major League Pickleball’s St. Louis Shock as the official uniform. Safe to say players everywhere are repping MUEV.
Breathable, lightweight, and built for players who actually sweat. Men’s, women’s, on-court, off-court — whatever you need.
USA! USA! USA!
Team USA just swept the Pickleball World Cup in dominant fashion.
The team event brought 70 delegations from around the world to compete for the title at The Fort in Fort Lauderdale, FL — a notable spike in participation from the 40 countries that sent squads in 2024.
Puerto Rico took the open crown last year. But this year was all about the USA, who swept the field in the juniors, senior pro, and open divisions, in which they beat Hong Kong in straight games.
Kaitlyn Kerr, aka Pickleball Chick, was boots on the ground and described the effort as “absolute domination.”
Headlines & Quick Hits
The Full-Foam Paddle Revolution Has Arrived
Zane Ford and Six Zero ‘Mutually Part Ways’
Hunter Fieri and Wife Tara Rub Elbows with Brooklyn Pros
Highlights
No warmup necessary
Let me see you 1, 2... dink
‘In three months, I’ll be a pro, easy.’
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