Djokovic: pickleball placing tennis in danger

Noah Kahan suffers pickleball injury. Force them to hit more difficult shots.

July 10, 2024

You didn’t ask for it but you’re getting it anyway. Next week, the PPA Tour plans to release a pickleball video game.

The game’s cover of course features Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters. Now the question remains, is it possible to create a player that can match their skill or do you have to lose to them digitally too?

In This Issue:

🩼 Crutch Season for Noah Kahan
🍺 It’s MLP Week in Beer City
🧑‍🏫 Make their job more difficult

Game on.

Make Them Hit the More Difficult Shot

When teams are close in skill level, who wins and who loses can come down to which team plays more high-percentage shots or puts itself in better situations more often.

When you’re playing a team that’s equal or better than you, you can win more often by forcing your opponents to repeatedly hit the more difficult shot throughout the match.

Here’s how:

Apply maximum pressure

No one is comfortable hitting a shot with someone charging toward them.

If your opponent has time to get behind the ball and make a strong shot (like after a weak return), you can apply pressure by hustling straight toward the kitchen line.

This shrinks the court, forcing them to hit a more accurate shot, which can lead to mistakes by your opponents.

This works especially well if you know they’re about to hit the ball to your partner.

Force them to attack down the sideline

Another way to force your opponent to take the harder shot is to leave the sideline a bit more open than you think you should.

This doesn’t have to be dramatic – just a few small steps will do.

Shading toward the middle forces your opponent to hit toward the sideline, where the net is two inches higher, and there’s an added chance their shot will go wide.

Make them prove that they can beat you down the sideline. If they do, stop shading the middle. However, you might be surprised at how many players are either too scared to try or not talented enough to make these shots successfully.

Wait for your moment to attack

On the flip side of forcing your opponents into harder shots is making yourself take easier ones. Don’t fall into the trap of speeding the wrong ball up or going for a putaway too early.

Instead, use those moments to hit an aggressive dink that forces your opponent out wide or to hit a ball with their backhand.

When you do that, you’ll get an even easier putaway shot on the next ball to win the rally.

Elevate Your Recovery

Picture this, Dink Fam: It’s mid-July, and the sun is blazing down, turning your latest pickleball match into a true test of endurance. You’re pushing hard, the points are long, and each drive feels hotter than the last. As you hydrate to fend off cramps, there’s another secret weapon waiting courtside to keep you in top form: the Theragun Prime by Therabody.

Why is the Theragun Prime a summer essential for pickleball players like us? It’s designed to go deep — 60 percent deeper than standard massagers — targeting the sore spots that a tough game under the sun can leave behind.

Sync it with the Therabody app and you can tailor your recovery routine to match your body’s needs, ensuring you’re always game ready, even on the hottest days.

Don’t let the summer slow you down and snag a Theragun Prime. Use promo code DINK10 at checkout for a cool discount. Here’s to playing pain-free, staying agile, and keeping your summer games as hot as your drives!

It’s Crutch Season for Noah Kahan

Whether you’re scrolling through social media or flipping around the stations on the radio, it’s hard to escape the song ‘Stick Season’ by Noah Kahan. Not that you would want to.

The Grammy-nominated artist’s viral hit song has been making the rounds for months. His current world tour aptly shares the same name. Unfortunately, the tour hit a snag in Berkley, California, over the weekend.

Kahan sustained a pickleball injury, tearing his calf while chasing down a shot from someone on his crew.

He’ll be sidelined from pickleball for the next few weeks, but he did not let it stop him from performing at The Greek Theatre. In fact, pickleball received a large ovation from the crowd as Kahan was explaining the injury.

Remember, a good warm-up goes a long way to preventing injury. As a reminder, maybe add a Kahan tune to the top of your pickleball playlist.

All 22 in Beer City for MLP’s Mid-Season Tourney

The Major League Pickleball Mid-Season tournament kicks off today in Grand Rapids, Michigan. All 22 teams will be in action competing for their share of the $200K prize pool.

Due to weather concerns, the first day of competition has been moved indoors to the All In Pickleball Gym in Byron Center. The day's first match will begin at 1 pm ET and the remaining matches will use the followed-by format on one court.

There are also a number of substitutions that will leave some teams shorthanded.

AZ Drize
Out: Andrei Daescu | In: AJ Koller

LA Mad Drops
Out: Catherine Parenteau | In: Emily Cederquist
Out: Thomas Wilson | In: Blaine Hovenier

CA Black Bears
Out: Susannah Barr | In: Michelle Esquivel

Bay Area Breakers
Out: Jill Braverman | In: Rachel Rettger
Out: Allyce Jones | In: Samantha Parker
Out: DJ Young | In: Grayson Goldin

The Premier Level bracket begins Thursday at Noon ET. Here’s a look at the bracket and who our guy Erik Tice has predicted to go all the way.

Predicted winners are highlighted in yellow

Check out our full preview and predictions and reply to this email with your predictions for the inaugural event.

Be Like Jack Sock

Jack Sock, a four-time Grand Slam tennis champion and Olympic gold medalist, has transitioned into a pickleball star, making a significant impact on the game and earning himself a signature paddle from Selkirk.

Featuring a signature “Jack Sock” colorway, the LUXX Control Air paddle is Jack's weapon of choice, seamlessly supporting his transition from tennis to pickleball. Known for its exceptional control, this paddle lets Jack dictate the match's pace, perfectly suiting his aggressive, offense-driven style.

For players who want to match Jack's powerful play without sacrificing control, the LUXX Control Air is the paddle of choice. If you're a tennis convert like Jack Sock, this paddle is your perfect fit.

Step up your game with Jack's signature paddle today.

Novak Djokovic Concerned About Future of Tennis

“Tennis is the king or queen of all racquet sports,” says Novak Djokovic. But if current trends continue, that might soon change.

After his third-round victory at Wimbledon over the weekend, Djokovic had this to say to the media: “At the club level, tennis is in danger. If we don’t do something about it, like I said, globally or collectively with the growth of padel in Europe and pickleball in the United States, we’re going to see more tennis courts converting to padel and pickleball because it’s cheaper.”

But what can the tennis community do about it?

Djokovic acknowledges that the size of a pickleball court makes it a more economical choice for club owners. He wants tennis to lean on the luxury sport of F1 racing as an example.

“When we look at Formula 1 for example and what they’ve done in terms of marketing … in terms of the races around the world and how popular they are — I think we need to do a better job on our respective tours.”

No doubt the growth of pickleball and padel players has been huge but we're not sure we agree with Djokovic that it's at the expense of tennis. The Tennis Industry Association reports a 28% increase in participation since 2019 with no signs of slowing down.

Also, padel courts are known for being significantly more expensive to build than tennis courts (mainly due to special materials for the glass walls).

What do you think? Is tennis in danger? Let us know.

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