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For all of her well-deserved accolades, one accomplishment continues to elude Anna Leigh Waters: a Major League Pickleball championship.

This year could be different. And her team, the New Jersey 5s, just showed why, going undefeated in dominant fashion to win MLP Columbus. We break it all down below, including a lopsided finals match against a major championship contender.

In This Issue:
— Are you really a 4.0?
— John McEnroe talks trash
— 3 proven doubles combos

Let’s have a week.

Ever notice how pretty much every rec player nowadays self-identifies as a 4.0+? It’s an age-old conundrum. As one Redditor put it: “3.0s that go to non-gated 4.0 open plays consider themselves 4.0s because they can sometimes beat the other 3.0s that call themselves 4.0s.” That about sums it up.

Serious players replace their paddle every few months. Most don’t think about what's under their feet. VKTRY carbon fiber insoles are customized to your weight and built to last. We know because we love them ourselves. See the difference.

Tennis legend John McEnroe has plastered his name across some celebrity pickleball events and been paid very handsomely for the privilege. Now he’s sullying pickleball’s good name on live TV. Pro Tyler Loong put him on blast on X — and the pickleball faithful have taken notice.

Aussie newcomer Danni-Elle Townsend is lighting up MLP courts in her debut season, bringing an intoxicating blend of skill, pizazz, and fun to the court, even in the highest pressure of moments. Get to know the Columbus Sliders’ young new star.

Play pickleball long enough and you’ll start to see certain patterns emerge — both in your own game and that of your opponents.

The sooner you recognize winning patterns and implement them into every point you play, the sooner you’ll start to see that DUPR creep up. Here are three to start with.

✅ Serve wide, poach the return. A wide serve typically produces a crosscourt return, which gives your partner a predictable opportunity to poach the middle. Added bonus: do this even once and your opponents will start feeling the pressure on every serve return. That means more unforced errors for them and more easy points for you.

✅ Third shot drop, crash on the soft ball. Hit a quality third shot drop and move forward while the ball is still in flight. If the fourth shot coming back is soft and below net level, reset it. If it floats even a little bit high, rip it middle or aim for paddle-side hips and shoulders. Be the aggressor early in the point to establish pace of play on your own terms.

✅ Dink to the backhand, speed-up middle. Dink persistently to the weaker player's backhand, pulling them out a little wider with every shot. Stack enough dinks that they start reaching and they’re bound to pop a ball up eventually. The key here is two-fold: be patient, then pounce at the first sign of a floater.

You’ve likely done these yourself without realizing it. Now make them a strategic part of your game. Every game.

Congrats, this is what advanced pickleball looks like.

➡️ Cop these combos.

A lot of the new Gen 4 paddles feel like they were built for one thing: speeding balls up.

The new Warping Point Sophon takes a different route.

Instead of maxing out pop at every opportunity, the Sophon leans into dwell time, forgiveness, touch, and stability — especially in the transition zone and at the kitchen.

Drops feel more connected. Resets stay calmer. Counters don’t randomly trampoline off the face. Even mishits feel surprisingly playable.

It still has enough offense to finish points when you need it, but the bigger difference is how controlled and confident everything feels once rallies speed up.

And at $149.99, it’s noticeably cheaper than a lot of the Gen 4/full-foam market right now.

Check out the new Sophon here!

After a disappointing 4th place finish at MLP Dallas, the New Jersey 5s proved why they’re a serious championship contender this weekend in Columbus, going undefeated to win the event and the coveted 25 standings points.

Anna Leigh was sensational, as always, but her supporting cast of Jorja Johnson, Will Howells, and Noe Khlif all carried their weight and then some. It was a team effort through and through.

The 5s swept the Shock in the championship match, with Anna and Jorja beating Anna Bright and Kate Fahey 11-3 in the opening game, a drubbing that was over and done in a matter of minutes.

Columbus top finishers:

🥇 1st place: New Jersey 5s (25 points)
🥈 2nd place: St. Louis Shock (18 points)
🥉 3rd place: Columbus Sliders (15 points)
🏅 4th place: Palm Beach Royals (12 points)

Here are the MLP standings after the first 2 events:

A few other storylines:

Think that was fun? MLP St. Louis kicks off this week, live from the impressive Chaifetz Arena.

But first, for a deep-dive on all the storylines from Columbus, look no further…

➡️ We’ve got you covered.

What if networking events were actually… enjoyable?

That’s the idea behind Founders Open, a new pickleball and networking event hosted by The Hustle, Starter Story, and The Dink during NY Tech Week.

The goal is simple: get smart, ambitious people in the same place without forcing everyone into another stale panel discussion or awkward mixer.

Instead, expect pickleball games, breakfast + coffee, exclusive merch, and a curated crowd of founders, operators, investors, and creators.

No pickleball experience needed. Just bring good energy and maybe a decent drop shot.

📍 NYC
📅 THIS Wednesday, June 3
⏰ 9am–12pm

Spots are limited!

➡️ Learn more + apply here

So you’ve decided it’s time to upgrade your pickleball paddle. Good for you.

What’s the best option to amplify your game? Let’s see: there’s Gen-3 or Gen-4. Power, control or all-court. Elongated, hybrid or widebody. A 5.3” handle or 5.5. Raw carbon fiber face or any number of new longer-lasting options. Aerocurve top or more squared-off. $100 or $300. EPP, MPP, EVA, floating-core…

Do you even know where to start?

It’s getting pretty confusing out there. But there’s good news: it’s never been a better time to be a paddle consumer. And there are a handful of databases designed to help you triangulate the best specs and features for you.

The more you know, right?

➡️ Start here.

Most pickleball bags feel like someone just added paddle pockets to a backpack and called it a day.

CRBN’s bags feel way more thought through.

Separate shoe compartments. Smart paddle storage. Enough space for clothes, grips, water bottles, accessories, and random tournament junk without becoming a giant black hole you dig through between matches.

And somehow they still look clean.

If your current setup involves stuffing gear into five different pockets and hoping for the best, this is probably your sign to upgrade.

Shop CRBN bags here and use code THEDINK for 10% off.

A review from the Dink Fam...

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