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A Ben Stiller pickleball comedy is coming to Apple, starring Jake Johnson from “New Girl” alongside acting icons Mary Steenburgen, Ed Harris, and Patton Oswalt.

You might be wondering, ‘aren’t they infringing on your IP’? Good question.

In This Issue:
— Pickleball gets the feature film treatment
— Teams set for MLP Finals in NYC
— Hayden Patriquin’s go-to hands drills

If you can dodge a wrench…

St. Louis. New Jersey. Los Angeles. Columbus. The stage is set. The teams are locked in. Major League Pickleball returns to Central Park for the 2025 Finals, and this year CBS will air Saturday’s 12 p.m. EDT Premier match. It doesn’t get much bigger than that.

Influencer Lauren Cantrell stopped by Courted NYC to dish on the pickleball dating scene. One burning question: Is disclosing your affinity for pickleball a Tinder profile red flag or green flag? “I feel like we’re going to get some hate for this.”

Derek Thompson is a #1 New York Times bestseller who’s turned his love of number-crunching into a newsletter focused on the concept of abundance. This week he posits: “Pickleball isn’t just the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. It might be the fastest-growing sport in modern American history.”

If you want to elevate your game beyond a 5.0 plateau, there are two things you need to focus on above all. “Hand speed and pattern recognition,” says Zane Navratil. “They’re very intertwined.” More of your questions answered on this week’s PicklePod.

Ask a bunch of pros who has the fastest hands on tour, and one name will start to come back on repeat: Hayden Patriquin.

Sure, Big H was born with cat-like reflexes. And at just 19 years old, he’s still on his first life and only getting quicker. But like us mere mortals, he works at it.

Here are his two favorite drills for fists of fury.

✅ Exchange backhand-only volleys with a partner, with each player standing at the kitchen line. Start at a moderate pace, then speed up as much as you can. When this feels good, each take a step inside the kitchen line. Now go again. You’ll feel super close; that’s the point. Get comfortable here and regular gameplay will feel like slo-mo.

✅ Next, volley at the kitchen line again but alternate shots at the backhand and forehand. This helps you feel the flow between these two movements at game speed, but more critically, it trains your reload speed — the time it takes to hit a ball and return your paddle to a ready position.

Begin and end every session with these two drills and you’ll be winning every firefight in no time.

➡️ Watch the full video.

The Recs from NOBULL started as a training shoe, but pickleball players are lacing them up for everything else too.

Breathable knit upper. Durable gum sole. Sleek enough for everyday wear, strong enough for workouts.

Grab a pair for the gym and another for the walk to the courts.

Get two NOBULL Recs for $99 - Use code 2RECS2499.

How does that phrase go? Oh, right: Cease. And. Desist.

Apple Original Films has reportedly purchased a pickleball comedy starring Jake Johnson (“New Girl”) and Ben Stiller (“Severance”), who also serves as producer. The cast includes Mary Steenburgen, Ed Harris, and Patton Oswalt. Tennis stars Andy Roddick and John McEnroe also make appearances.

The script? Blah blah blah washed-up tennis pro tries to save an ailing club, earn his father’s respect; has to do the one thing he swore he’d never do (play pickleball). The name? The Dink.

We know what you’re thinking, but guys, we can’t just assume they just so happened to stumble upon our brand during research for the film. That would be unreasonable.

It’s not like our content is consumed by 30 million people monthly, or as if there are over 250 amateur pickleball tournaments across the US and 10 other countries that bear “The Dink” name.

It’s not as if the literal “pickleball” wikipedia page repeatedly cites us as a primary source. It’s not like we were voted the #2 most recognizable brand in the sport, own the @pickleball handle on the biggest news app on Earth, or as if our podcast was voted #1 in pickleball three years in a row.

Get it? It’s funny because we’re being sarcastic. Okay, nobody wants to hear us tout our credentials, including us. But, we want to illustrate that if the studio did even the slightest bit of research for the film, it would be almost impossible not to come across The Dink. Even one of the stars IN THE MOVIE, Andy Roddick, headlined our event 18 months ago (pictured above).

What do you think? Is it willful ignorance? Do they stand to benefit from choosing a name with built-in brand equity? Do Stiller & co. simply not care whatsoever? Maybe they assume we aren’t willing, or have the capital, to go up against Hollywood lawyers?

Hit reply and let us know your thoughts.

➡️ Learn more

PURE Pickleball & Padel™ is bringing a massive pickleball facility to the Riverwalk Development in Scottsdale, AZ.

Eleven acres. A 1,200-seat pro-grade arena. Forty dedicated pickleball courts. A luxury fitness and recovery center. Locker rooms and spa. Corporate meeting space. And a decadent rooftop patio.

And this: a 10-year exclusive agreement with Wolfgang Puck Catering, according to AZ Big Media.

The celebrity-backed premium catering company “will serve as the exclusive food and beverage services provider for PURE’s first-floor restaurant and bar, grab-and-go marketplace, pro arena concessions, second-floor special events space,” and more.

This is pickleball “eatertainment” on a whole new level.

Pickleball aches hit different the morning after. Legs heavy, shoulders tight, and you’re wondering if playing that extra game was worth it.

Magnesium Breakthrough is the recovery secret trusted by over a million people. Seven bioavailable forms of magnesium, formulated to support muscles, sleep, and calm so you can bounce back quicker.

Take it at night, and tomorrow you’ll be glad you did.

➡️ Use code THEDINK for 15% off Magnesium Breakthrough.

As far as pro sports go, Major League Pickleball is still very much in its infancy. As prize pools grow and events attract larger and larger audiences, one question looms above the din: What does MLP want to be?

Put another way, the sport — or, more accurately, the powers that be who govern the sport — have a decision to make. Does MLP want to be like tennis, a sport where fans are expected to observe a certain level of decorum? Or should it embrace a wilder side, leaning on entertainment value and adrenaline to give spectators an unforgettable show?

Reserved or raucous, polite or pure chaos?

Zane is adamantly of the opinion that pro pickleball should embrace the crazy. Like when Christian Alshon threw up two middle fingers at him and his New Jersey 5s squad in San Diego in protest over some rather spirited sideline heckling. Zane loved it.

“I think we need to get the fans engaged,” Zane said on this week’s PicklePod, likening it to a festival atmosphere. “They should be causing as much chaos as possible. MLP should be a testing ground for just absolute, utter chaos.”

➡️ Agree or disagree? Tell us in the comments.

A review from the Dink Fam...

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