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APP introduces MLP competitor

APP introduces MLP competitor

No quiet pickleball. Get stoked for year-end matches.

December 04, 2023

Morning pickleballers. The APP Tour is stealing headlines this week with a huge announcement: they're introducing team-based pro pickleball events (MLP-style) in 2024. We break it down below.

In addition, the Tour may have unintentionally done its part to grow the sport last weekend when it shared space with a Furry convention.

Furry: an enthusiast for animal characters with human characteristics, in particular a person who dresses up in costume.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: pickleball is for everyone. And we have to imagine bodybags don’t hurt as bad when you’re practically wearing a rug.

In This Issue:

🪸 Go deep on the fourth
🤫 Quiet pickleball? Unnecessary
🤩 Get stoked for Playoffs

Let’s move.

We are stunned by the reaction to the launch of The Pickleball Box. We knew pickleballers would like this…but man, it’s clear we should have launched this way sooner. You’ll need to act fast if you want to receive the first box before the holidays.

PPA Finals Results

APP U.S. Indoor Championship Results

Fourth Shot Fundamentals, Part 2

Last week, we covered two of John Cincola’s 4th shot fundamentals.

This week, we’ve got the final two tips to help convert your fourths into sideouts and get the ball back in your hands.

3) Target the deeper player

Hit your fourth to the player that is deeper in the court to keep them back
Keep the shot low
Avoid a poach from the player that is closer to the net

4) Force the volley

If the other team is in the transition zone, hit the ball just beyond their feet
Force them to take the ball out of the air because it is more difficult to reset the ball out of the air than it is off of the bounce

A well-placed ball can be more effective than one that is hit hard. Make their job a nightmare by picking on the player deeper in the court and making them take the ball out of the air.

The pressure is on the serving team to get the point to neutral. Keep the odds in your favor with these fourth shot fundamentals.

Redefine Versatility

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It's not just a paddle, it's your secret to dominating the court. Grab the Radical Tour RAW and transform your game.

APP Announces Team-Based Events

It’s a crucial time in pro pickleball — though, honestly, that rings true for all of 2023, but we digress — Tour Wars conclude in a peace treaty; that treaty results in budget cuts for player salaries.

But don’t forget about pickleball’s first pro tour. The APP Tour's strategy this year can be summed up in one word: diversify.

With today’s announcement that they’ll offer teams format events in 2024, APP’s scope currently covers:

International events
High school competition
Collegiate competition
Top-level professional play in standard AND teams formats
Senior organized play

To quote their announcement:

"With the addition of a team-based competition, the APP Tour now offers the most variety of any pickleball organization."

A bold claim, but with the current progression of offerings, they may have a point. Until the merger between MLP and PPA goes through, the APP is the only tour that can claim all of these formats and events.

The announcement should also come as no surprise: the APP's Jenny Klitch was the original commissioner at Major League Pickleball and even invented the dreambreaker.

More details:

Team-based format will be featured at five tour stops as a single-day competition of singles, doubles, and mixed doubles play
The prize pool for each event: $100,000
Specific dates, players, and other info will be announced soon

Chief Marketing Officer Tom Webb told The Dink that the APP has always intended to add teams competitions "at the right time."

"It had to be done within the context of the efficient use of our resources, not doing it as a response to others, but because it's been planned," Webb said.

"Our strategy is based on embracing all levels of players and therefore embracing all types of competition. We want to offer players the choice that they look for when they want to compete."

Opinion: We Don’t Need to Make Pickleball Quiet

Adam here. It’s about time somebody said it: pickleball doesn’t have a noise issue, it has a zoning issue. The more noise complaint news headlines I see, the more I truly believe this.

It’s because these stories tend to focus on "noisy pickleball" as the central problem. But the real common denominator? Poor municipal planning.

I recently spoke with the Director of Planning and Public Spaces at Macon-Bibb County, home of pickleball’s largest indoor facility that we wrote about last Friday.

"I doubt that planning departments are ever truly consulted in these circumstances and rather are internal to recreation departments where issues such as noise aren’t considered,” he told me.

In other words: the locations of courts are picked by stakeholders before any noise research or other due diligence can be conducted.

It’s not entirely their fault, either: if we give rec departments the benefit of the doubt, it’s easy to see how pressure from their constituents would prompt them to find space for pickleball – often at the expense of a research-based approach to placement.

So, do we really need to change the inherent properties of the game? Or can’t we simply find better places to put pickleball in the first place?

I broke down this issue in my article.

Pro Pickleball Triple Header

PPA Finals

The '23 season was fittingly the year of double triple crown. Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters dominated the PPA Tour and are swimming in gold medals like Scrooge McDuck.

Just like they have been doing all season, Ben and Anna Leigh swept the competition at the PPA Finals in San Clemente.

ALW maintained her undefeated record with women's partner Catherine Parenteau. She defeated CP for the singles title and won in mixed alongside Ben.

The champs took a couple lumps in the pool play format but nothing could stop them in the playoffs:

Connor Garnett finished his year with a win over Ben Johns, but it wasn't enough to reach the knockout stage
Anna Bright and James Ignatowich received a confidence boost for next year with a win over Ben and ALW in pool play

There's over a month before 2024 tour begins. The season starts Jan 9 with the PPA Masters in Rancho Mirage, CA.

APP U.S. Indoor Championships

Two first-time champions headlined the APP U.S. Indoor Championships in Chicago. Jenna Hessert won her first APP gold in women’s singles. Up-and-comer Riley Bohnert teamed up with pickleball vet Simone Jardim to take the women's doubles crown.

Hunter Johnson snagged two more golds to end the year. He won in men's singles and alongside Parris Todd in mixed doubles.

Andrei Daescu led all players on tour with his 20th gold medal of the year. He and Rob Nunnery won their 5th straight men's doubles title yesterday.

That's a wrap on the 2023 APP Tour. They begin 2024 with their Collegiate Championships on Jan 3.

Major League Pickleball Playoffs

The final MLP event of 2023 is underway now. The two-day playoffs are live in San Clemente, CA. To start the day the St. Lous Shock will take on the CA BLQK Bears for a shot in the Challenger Level finals against the SoCal Hard Eights.

At 1 pm ET the pickleball world will get the rubber match between the DC Pickleball Team and the Orlando Squeeze. The teams faced off in the two previous MLP Finals and have a score to settle.

You can tune into those matches on at MLP YouTube channel.

$175,000 Cash Purse

Registration is now open for the inaugural 2024 WPT Amateur Invitational Championship! More than 650 players are already locked in and ready to compete for their share of the $175,000 cash purse - the largest in pickleball history!

This amateur-only event will be held January 11-15, 2024 at the Oasis Pickleball Club in Rockwall, TX, home to the best tournaments across all of pickleball.

You'll be competing against players from across the world while experiencing the best tournament experience exclusively for amateurs. Eight guaranteed matches, photo packages, limited edition merch, VIP lounges, food trucks - we'll have it all in Texas!

Come be a part of the premier Pickleball experience for amateurs! Sign up now using code DINK25 for $25 off your registration!

It’s Playoff Time

Semi-Final #1 on Tue Dec 5 presents us with an exciting rematch between the Peoria Pythons (3-1) & the Tempe Tornadoes (2-2).

When they faced each other during Week 9 of the regular season, the Tornadoes were snakebit by the Pythons. But ‘Nadoe Nation is spinning up for revenge in the playoffs… Win this match, and you’re one step closer to hoisting The Orchard Championship Cup on Tue Dec 19.

Do you love the playoffs as much as we do?

The Pythons: Lauren Mercado, Rachel Rettger, Patrick Kawka, and Michael Lloyd.

The Tornadoes: Jen Tavernier, Dana Raugust, Cooper Frat, and Kyle Koszuta.

Take part in the action live at The Orchard or tune in to The Dink’s YouTube Channel – Tue Dec 5 @ 8pm ET.