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OK, hear us out: choosing your pickleball partner by zodiac sign might actually boost your win rate. We’re not saying it’s science… but we’re also not not saying that.

As fate would have it, some of the most successful pro teams of 2025 have ridiculously compatible zodiac signs, and yes, we actually ran the numbers. So before you lock in that next tournament partner, maybe take a quick peek at their chart first.

If the partnership collapses mid-match, you can always blame it on Mercury being in retrograde…

In This Issue:
— PPA Worlds draws record crowds, ticket revenue
— Use this drill to consistently call out balls
— Zane and Erik build their perfect pickle pro

Grab your charts.

A whopping 60,000 fans made the trip to PPA Worlds, generating a cool $1.1 million in ticket and hospitality revenue for the largest pickle party of the year. More than 6,000 total matches were played by competitors from 49 states and 38 countries. Total medals awarded: 1,112.

A 40,000-square-foot pickleball facility opening next month in New Jersey will come with a welcome feature: it’s designed specifically to support athletes with disabilities. Two of the 14 courts at Pickleball Kingdom Watchung are purpose-built for wheelchair access.

A handful of top pros are headed to China early next month for the Hangzhou Open, the final stop on the PPA Tour Asia’s 2025 calendar. Federico Staksrud, Connor Garnett, Zoey Wang, and Alix Truong are among those competing for the $50,000 prize purse.

Ryan Fu and Lacy Schneemann beat James Ignatowich and Mari Humberg in the round of 32 at PPA Lakeland yesterday, a good win made sweeter by this fact: Ryan was using an RPM paddle, the brand founded by his close buddy and drilling partner James.

We just told you one of the best tactics to win more firefights is to take a step or two off the kitchen line in the heat of battle. Not just because it gives you a precious extra nanosecond of reaction time, but because that time can be used to call the ball out instead of hitting it at all. And we love us an easy pickle point.

But how do you get better at knowing which balls are landing in and which will sail long? We’re so glad you asked.

Here’s the only drill you need. It’s simple, but oh so effective.

Now think: for every one you got wrong, know that’s a point in a game you should have won but lost.

And be sure to switch roles so you can feel the difference as the aggressor rather than the defender. How many of your shots felt good but ended up going long?

Unforced errors are the kiss of death in pickleball. Like anything, this is a skill you can improve through drilling and repetition. And let’s be honest, you need this more than that tweener or Erne.

Anyone else feel personally offended by how hard it is to get enough protein in a day? You lift, you play, you try to recover, and suddenly you are putting down three chicken breasts like it is punishment.

We found something that makes it way easier. Maui Nui venison sticks. Ten grams of protein for 55 calories. No fillers, no weird ingredients, just clean fuel from wild Axis deer that roam freely on Maui.

Original is a little sweet. Peppered has that perfect spice. Both disappear fast in our office.

Right now they’re giving you a free 12 pack of sticks with your first $79 order at mauinuivenison.com/THEDINK.

Carmel-by-the-Sea, a picturesque California city of just a few thousand residents, is embroiled in a public pickleball spat that could turn far more serious, and soon.

Carmel City Council is preparing to make permanent a temporary pickleball ban at Forest Hill Park, the only public outdoor pickleball courts within city limits.

Residents have reportedly been complaining about the noise for years. And while quiet paddles and balls were introduced to some effect, the efficacy of long-term enforcement has many crying foul.

And City Council seems poised to agree. The final vote is due at its next meeting. And the winds do not seem to be blowing in pickleball’s favor.

The courts were a popular attraction. Too popular, perhaps. Now, the issue is purely acoustic. The sound travels. It echoes. For residents living adjacent to the park, it’s become a constant, unavoidable presence.

If Carmel's ban becomes permanent, it could trigger a domino effect. Other California cities might follow suit. Maybe additional states will take notice, too.

The precedent gets set. And suddenly, pickleball facilities face new scrutiny in communities where they previously operated without much resistance.

When it comes to choosing a pickleball partner, we tend to focus on objective characteristics like skill, mental toughness, temperament, and competitiveness.

But there could be a higher power involved: your zodiac signs.

An analysis of pro teams who have medaled on the PPA Tour in 2025 reveals a cosmic trend in partner compatibility:

There’s a joke in here somewhere about natural-born communication skills based on gender, but we’ll leave that one alone. What we can say is there does appear to be a link between compatible zodiac signs and successful PPA partnerships.

You know, if you believe in that sort of thing.

Are you a Sagittarius teamed up with a Scorpio? Or a Leo partnered with a Pisces? Your current losing streak might not be your fault — it’s written in the stars.

➡️ Find out who you’re compatible with.

Alright, protein is checked off. Now let’s get your recovery dialed too.

Trulieve has become part of our wellness routine because they make plant-based support simple. Their lineup of safe and reliable products is designed to help players recover, unwind, and get back on the court feeling like a human again instead of a pile of tight muscles and excuses.

Whether you are curious, cautious, or somewhere in the middle, their team knows their stuff and can guide you to the right fit. You can find locations throughout Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, and more.

Head to trulieve.com to explore the lineup and take care of your body so you can keep stacking court time.

The drives of Hunter Johnson. The speed-ups of Hayden Patriquin. The counters of JW Johnson.

If you could build the perfect men’s pickleball player in a lab, what would he look like?

Zane Navratil and Erik Tice did just that on this week’s PicklePod, picking a different player each based on 11 different criteria to ultimately put together the single greatest pickle pro to ever pick up a paddle.

You can see their selections above. The only stipulation is once they’d used a player, that player couldn’t be selected again for a different skill category.

So how do you think they did? And better yet, whose FrankenPro would win head-to-head?

A review from the Dink Fam...

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