Defend yourself against big serves

What facilities get wrong. Koalas, kangaroos, and pickleball.

January 29, 2025

It’s Aussie week for the pickleball world. That means broadcasts are starting in the evening and running way past your bedtime.

A few of the familiar American pros have made their way to the land down under.

Will they be able to fend off the jetlag and rising international talent to win gold in the first Australia Pickleball Open?

In This Issue:

🤺 Defend yourself against big servers
🔎 The major design flaws in pickleball facilities
✌️ MLP to add two more teams?

Is it still called pickleball in Australia?

Our Picks ☝️

🔄 Roster Moves: Two Trades Announced in MLP Trade Window

The NY Hustlers traded Jackie Kawamoto to the DC Pickleball team in exchange for Vivian Glozman and cash considerations.

The NY Hustlers also traded CJ Klinger to the Columbus Sliders in exchange for Riley Newman and cash considerations.

🏉 Hall of Famer: Drew Brees opens Indiana Picklr

Super Bowl Champion Drew Brees helped launch the newest Picklr location in Noblesville, IN. Indiana might seem out of place for the Saints Hall of Famer, but Brees played college ball for Purdue University which is only an hour away.

🎙️ Podcast: UPA Chief Strategy Officer Joins PicklePod

Zane Navratil is not afraid to question authority. With all the new rules updates for MLP, he was bound to have some questions. Watch his interview with UPA’s Chief Strategy Officer Samin Odhwani on the next PicklePod, coming soon.

✍️ Signings: UPA Adds Two Aussie Pros

The UPA signed their first Australian pros this week. Tom Evans and Helena Spiridis have signed exclusive contracts with the UPA and will compete in PPA Tour and MLP events starting in June.

How to Defend Yourself Against Big Serves

The serve is no longer just a way to start a point. It’s an offensive weapon that can be used to win a point.

In a new video, James Ignatowich provides instructions on how to defend yourself against big serves.

  1. Widen your stance - A wide stance gets you lower to the ground and provides a strong base to return the serve.

  2. Stay low through contact - Maintain the same shoulder height throughout your return. There is a tendency to jump up while returning the ball which can cause it to sail long. Prevent that by keeping your knees bent and staying low through contact.

  3. Don’t cross your feet - The goal is to move forward through your return so you can establish yourself at the kitchen line. If you cross your feet to hit the return with a closed stance, then you can’t move forward through your shot.

Next time you’re watching a pickleball match, check out the footwork on the player returning serve. Do they establish a wide base, stay low through contact, and avoid crossing over their feet?

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In one study, postmenopausal women who took 5g of collagen a day saw a 7% increase in bone density in one year—that’s just how powerful collagen replacement can be.

Simply add two grass-fed, flavorless, easily dissolvable scoops to coffee or your favorite drink for 18g of protein to promote bone health, digestion, and more!

What Facilities Get Wrong

With new pickleball facilities popping up on every block, there are bound to be some details being lost along the way. We’re not snobs and appreciate the roots of the game allowing it to be played in driveways, parking lots, and cul-de-sacs. But when you want to get serious, there is nothing quite like a court and facility done the right way.

Collin Johns joined the PicklePod and shared some of the tips he shares with facility owners as a part of his Johns Design & Consulting business. Some of the most common design flaws include:

  • White walls

  • Yellow lines

  • Uncovered electrical boxes or utilities

  • Poorly placed windows or garage doors

Collin discusses what he calls the ‘volleyer’s eye’ which is similar to the batter’s eye in baseball. Essentially you want to provide a clean backdrop to allow volleyers/batters to easily see the ball in the air.

Providing a dark solid color backdrop is a requirement in MLB stadiums and will hopefully become a standard in all facility builds. Listen to more tips from Collin and find out why all lines skid here.

🤔 Newsletter getting clipped? Click ‘view entire message’ or click here to read online

Australia Open Preview

The PPA Tour is headed ‘down under’ for the first-ever Australia Pickleball Open in Melbourne. A limited number of PPA regulars are making the trip, we’ll see if they can battle the jet-lag, and Aussie counterparts to retain a stronghold on the game.

Triple Crown Watch
With the big guns missing from the event, there are a few players with triple-crown aspirations. Tyson McGuffin, Quang Duong, and Gabe Tardio are all favorites to medal and have a chance to bring home three golds.

Lookout for Kaitlyn Christian
Kaitlyn Christian is a heavy favorite to win gold in women’s singles. She’ll be challenged by several international players who are looking to make a name for themselves.

How to Watch
Streaming begins with Thursday morning’s singles competition in Australia. Because of the time difference that translates to Wednesday evening in the states. You’ll be able to see Championship Court on PickleballTV starting at 6 pm ET Wednesday through Saturday.

Get to know some of the international competitors like Somer Dalla-Bonna and Andy Horridge and see who our guy Erik Tice is predicting for an upset in Australia here.

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They made a splash in the community with their eco-friendly paddle spray and they also have the most popular score tracker in the game. 

Use the score found on the tracker pictured above as a promo code to save 20% and also unlock free shipping if you spend over $20.

MLP to Add Two More Teams?

A new article from CNBC indicates that MLP is setting its sights on becoming profitable by Q4 of this year. This would be a massive win for the league to reach profitability after a few short and tumultuous years.

At the team level, each organization has the ability to reach profitability on its own terms through sponsorships, hosting events, and local activations.

  • Two teams have crossed that barrier and are profitable in 2025

  • One team has reached the breakeven point

  • “The league is targeting average profitability for individual teams by 2027”

One way for the league to accelerate its plan is to add two more franchises to increase from 22 teams to 24 teams. The AZ Drive recently sold a majority stake in their franchise at a valuation north of $10 million.

Two new franchises could be added as soon as the 2026 season. “It is unclear how much a new team would go for, but the league is targeting around $15 million per franchise, according to the league source.”

A $30 million injection would only help achieve the new goal, now we just need to see which city deserves its own franchise…Boston, Indianapolis, Detroit, Nashville?

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