A billion dollar pickleball business

Pop quiz: What are 5 ways to build a billion dollar pickleball business? Are there even 5?

Tim Parks, hedge fund manager and part owner of the MLP Hard Eights, shared his ideas on yesterday’s episode of PicklePod.

Our Top 3:

• Real Estate: eat-ertainment franchising or ‘top golf’ for pickle, and we know there are plenty of groups actively pursuing this

• Retail: according to estimates, Pickleball Central is netting $30m a year in sales. Acquisition multiples for online retail are, at best, 4x revenue. So, they’ll need to ramp sales by a cool 733% at least

• Pro Pickleball: build the next MLS or PGA Tour…we’re watching that play out in real time

Enough finance. Let’s talk pickle.

In today's issue:

• Visualize your court position

• MLP Daytona paddle test results

• Retail giant all-in on PB

• PPA weekend preview

Andale!

Court Position Visualization

For those of us who are visual learners, Coach Mark Price created a series of graphics to visualize optimal court coverage.

You’ve heard it a million times: “partners should move like they’re connected with a string.” Well here you can see why that is important.

When the ball is in zone one, you (player 1) are responsible for protecting your sideline. Your partner (player 2) slides over to protect the middle of the court.

When the ball is in zone two, you and your partner return to a more neutral position, evenly spaced to equally guard against attacks down the middle or dinks out wide.

When the ball is in zone three, you and your partner are in the opposite arrangement from zone one. Now they’re in charge of the sideline and it’s up to you to protect middle.

What these visuals are great for is seeing the perspective from both sides of the court. The white cones are the viable angles for an attack. The red portions represent low percentage attack zones or angles where a slower dink would need to be played.

The white portions are the parts of the court that need to be protected. The red areas are less of a concern.

Check out Mark on Instagram for more helpful tips.

Play Like Zane

The new Zane Navratil Signature Carbon paddle is now available from ProXR Pickleball.

The paddle features an Ultra-RAW carbon face that is designed to maximize spin and power.

An elongated straight handle allows Zane (and you) to fit both hands on the paddle, perfect for the two-handed backhand.

Shop Now at proxrpickleball.com

Paddle Testing Results from MLP Daytona

Major League Pickleball (MLP) has announced that pickleball paddle testing results for their recent Daytona event have come in, and while they will keep them anonymous for the time being, they did release some information about the results of the tests.

Pickle Pro Labs (PPL) tested 240 paddles made up of 66 unique models from 24 manufacturers submitted for on-site testing.

In testing deflection, the average force required to deflect the face of the paddle one-sixteenth of an inch (0.0625”) at the 5 inch location was 69.2 pounds, set as the Average Deflection Force.

Six players’ paddles submitted for testing were found to be at least 30% outside of the accepted Average Deflection Force.

PPL contacted all players and manufacturers whose equipment was found to have deviations outside of the above guidelines.

According to the press release, all of the calls were “positively received.”

In a nutshell: MLP said in a press release that setting the Average Deflection Force for each testing group is their standard of measuring going forward. Any player whose paddle registers 30% below that average number will be called into question for additional testing.

Sounds like they’re going to follow Ben John’s suggestion, after all.

Win a Trip to Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya, Mexico

A 5-day, 4-night trip for two could be yours. Featuring:

• LandShark Brewery & Grill, serving refreshing lagers, smokehouse classics, and ongoing live music

• Weekly events like TropRock-style musical performances, pop-up pickleball contests, pool parties, & more!

• 3 free-form swimming pools for refreshing dips in between activities

Interested? Enter the giveaway here.

Walmart <3’s Pickleball

Maybe it’s because some higher-up at the company loves the sport…maybe it’s because they’re looking for a good PR opportunity…but for whatever reason, Walmart is hopping aboard the pickle train (<-- it’s phrases like this that really give us an appreciation for being pickleball journalists).

The biggest name in retail will partner with a racket-sports booking platform to offer 125,000 reservations for both employees & customers, allowing them to book play times at venues in California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.

If you’d like to take advantage of Walmart’s offer, you can do so here.

This is all well and good, but if Walmart really wanted to help connect people with pickleball, they’d turn some of their less-patroned stores into pickleball facilities.

After all, the average Walmart store is 107,000 square feet. Crunches numbers That’s…at least 59 courts!

Consistency, Game After Game

The official ball of both the Amateur Pickleball Association & the Southern Pickleball Association offers enhanced flight, bounce, and playability.

Designed for competitive and tournament play, these high-speed pickleballs are USA Pickleball approved, have a firmer feel off the paddle, and are exceptionally durable, game after game.

Buy them here.

Weekend Preview

It’s a two-screen kind of weekend in pro pickleball. We’ll start in Newport Beach where the PPA Tour will host the Newport Beach DOUBLES Shootout.

That’s right, doubles only. The event starts today with mixed doubles. Anna Leigh Waters is still out on her month long wisdom teeth surgery hiatus. Andrea KOOOP is the beneficiary taking her spot in partnerships with Ben Johns and Anna Bright.

Bright will look to go back to back in mixed dubs with partner and fellow Red Rock Open champion, James Ignatowich. Also standing in their way is Allyce Jones who is testing the waters with Riley Newman.

You can find mixed doubles action on CBS Sports Network from 3-6 PM ET today and the mixed doubles final on CBS tomorrow from 1-2 PM ET. This is part of a new deal for the PPA Tour that will air over 30 hours of coverage across CBS, CBS Sports Network and Paramount+.

Men’s and women’s doubles will also be played on Saturday. Odds are on the Johns bros to repeat in men’s doubles but the field is wide open in women’s.

A couple novel partnerships add to the intrigue, including Jessie Irvine paired up with Etta Wright and Jorja Johnson sharing the court with Hurricane Tyra Black.

Set one screen to the doubles shootout and the other to the Pickleball Channel for the US Open.

In Naples, the Johnson twins will take on the likes of Andrei Daescu / Kyle Yates and Wesley Burrows/ Sam Querrey. Parris Todd / Simone Jardim will look to continue their 2023 hot streak and win a title in Jardim’s hometown.

In mixed, Todd and Hunter Johnson will be the favorites. They will have to fend off a pair of the game’s original GOATs: Simone Jardim and Kyle Yates. Catch one of the best championship court settings in pickleball all day today and tomorrow.

Pro Pickle Owner Tell-All

A raw, insightful interview that has pickleball buzzing. 33-year old hedge fund manager and owner of the SoCal Hard Eights, Tim Parks, offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at building America’s next major league.

And it’s safe to say he isn’t shy to share his unfiltered opinions. Watch here or listen here.

Headlines & Quick Hits

• THE pickleball training machine (get $100 off with code Dink100)

• Rewriting pickleball's history book on It Feels Right

• From bucket hats to minimalist backpacks, we’ve got merch!

• Pensacola City Council set to approve lease for 'Project Pickle'

Highlights

• Never leave the house without a portable net and some paddles

• When she only dates PB players

• Carrying the team’s weight

• Wait for the paddle throw 😂

Homecourt Haven

Life on the farm doesn’t look so bad. When space is not a concern you can drop in a beauty like this. The monochromatic color scheme always makes for a clean finish.

If you have a homecourt that you’d like to start paying the bills, sign up for Swimply’s pickleball feature: coming soon.

A review from the Dink Fam...