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There are 47 days left in 2024. You’ve only got a month and a half to reach that 5.0 level before the end of the year.

On the other hand, if you’re at one of the key pickleball cutoff ages (35, 50, 60) you can just wait it out until the end of the year and take advantage of being the youngest in your bracket to level up at your next tournament.

In This Issue:

📽️ Kiss your serve struggles goodbye
🏆 First-time finalist at the PPA Milwaukee Open
🙅 Catch your favorites on the PicklePod Worlds episode

Get after it this weekend.

Our Picks ☝️

🔄 Courts: Converting courts in Louisiana

The Parks and Rec Department in Ruston, LA is giving the people what they want. They are converting the tennis courts at the Ruston Sports Complex into pickleball courts to increase usage and expand event opportunities.

🎥 Video: The most experienced player at Nationals

Joyce Jones started playing pickleball before it was cool. She has been playing pickleball for 44 years and says she never misses the National Championships. She is competing again this year at the age of 94.

🙌 Giveaway: Win the paddle of your choosing

Have you been waiting all year to buy a new paddle? Save that cash for holiday gifts and win a paddle of your choosing here.

✍️ Correction: One mayor’s pickleball vendetta

Last issue we covered an ongoing feud surrounding court closures in British Columbia. To correct our last issue, a petition for Judicial Review was filed by a group of North Saanich residents with no affiliation to the Peninsula Community Pickleball Club.

Kiss Your Serve Struggles Goodbye

Your serve is one of the most underrated and overlooked aspects in pickleball. A strong serve can lead to easy thirds and make the rest of your skillset irrelevant.

A new video from Austin at the Pickleball Playbook offers a ton of tips to improve your serve. Let’s look at a few tips varying in level of difficulty.

Level One Pre-Serve

• Where are your feet and hips pointing when you serve? For a closed stance serve your lead foot should not be horizontal in line with the baseline. It should be at a 45-degree angle so you can maintain balance while stepping forward.

• Your lead hip (left hip for right-handed players) should be pointed at your target. If you’re still having trouble controlling your serve, check your foundation before moving forward.

Level Two Practice Rounds

• Many players lose out on power because they’re afraid to hit the ball too deep. Don’t be. While practicing your serve, start by hitting reps deep, past the baseline. You want to build up the strength and muscle memory to hit serves near the baseline without maxing out.

Level Three Fine-Tuning Form

• Austin preaches that your swing path should be outward and upward. You want to create space between you and the ball to maximize power.

• And finally, you need to create lag with your paddle during your swing. Lead with your butt cap while you swing and accelerate the paddle face through the ball at contact. He offers a drill to help learn the feeling of creating lag in the video.

The serve looks simple from the surface, but there are plenty adjustments that can be made to increase your power. Don’t settle for a slow serve.

Shop For Everyone On Your List

This holiday, give the gift that keeps on swinging with Selkirk's Build Your Own Holiday Bundle.

Start with a solid SLK paddle—choose from Halo, EVO, or OMEGA—and spice it up with accessories like Selkirk hats, overgrips, water bottles, or even the Riley Mini paddle (this may be our fav).

Bundle them up for a special 15% off and free shipping. You've just found the perfect pickleball gift without the last-minute scramble! Why not secure their holiday bundle today?

First Time Finalist in Milwaukee

Yesterday was singles day in Milwaukee and one player seized the opportunity to qualify for her first Championship Sunday appearance.

Wang’s Path to the Finals
It was not an easy road for Chao Yi Wang yesterday. She defeated the No. 4 seed Mary Brascia and the No. 5 seed Parris Todd to earn her first shot at gold Sunday.

Best Frenemies
Having to play against MLP teammates during PPA Tour matches provides an interesting dynamic to the competition. St Louis Shock teammates Anna Bright and Kate Fahey battled it out in a three-game fight that left both players smiling and Fahey through to the quarterfinals.

In the quarters, Fahey topped Kaitlyn Christian 11-13, 13-11, 11-5. A two-game win over Judit Castillo was the last piece needed to land her in another Championship Match where she will take on Chao Yi Wang.

Mr. Consistency
Federico Staksrud has been a beacon of consistency in men’s singles. He earned another Championship Sunday appearance by going 4-0 in his matches yesterday.

His opponent will be a familiar one. Hunter Johnson topped Pablo Tellez in the semifinal to reach the gold medal match. Staksrud and Johnson have played six times this year and Fed has won five of the six meetings.

The Milwaukee Open continues today with mixed doubles. Catch the top-seed partnership of Anna Bright/Dylan Frazier together again after a long hiatus and don’t forget about the Jessie Irvine/Gabe Tardio duo that captured gold together earlier this year.

Find a full preview of the event including predictions from our guy Erik Tice here. Tune in to the action today on PickleballTV at 12pm ET.

Give the Gift of Wellness with NativePath

This holiday season, consider the gift of health and wellness with NativePath’s Grass-Fed Collagen Powder, the perfect stocking stuffer for those looking to boost their vitality. Ideal for the beauty-conscious or health enthusiasts in your life, this collagen powder supports skin elasticity, joint health, and overall well-being—a gift that keeps on giving well past the holidays.

It’s also a thoughtful present for your pickleball-playing friends and family. Regular players know the sport can be taxing on the joints. Adding a scoop of collagen to their daily routine could help them stay swift and strong on the court, enhancing both recovery and performance. And with a 55% discount, you can afford to spread the wellness to everyone on your list.

Double Digit Seeds Reach Singles Finals at Nationals

A National Championship is great to have on any resume. Four new finalists will have a shot to add it to theirs today.

The men’s and women’s pro singles divisions were completed through the semifinals yesterday, reserving the gold medal matches for today.

Arizona native Patrick Kawka surprised the field by upsetting the No. 3 seed Jack Foster and the No. 2 seed Grayson Goldin. He will be the underdog again heading into the finals against Chris Haworth.

On the women’s side, Alexa Schull is the name to remember. The 17-year-old up-and-comer topped No. 3 seed Amanda Hendry to earn a spot in the finals. She will face the No. 4 seed fan favorite Bobbi Oshiro.

Gold Medal Match Ups:

Women’s Singles: #4 Bobbi Oshiro vs. #15 Alexa Schull
Men’s Singles: #1 Chris Haworth vs. #11 Patrick Kawka

New Technology

USA Pickleball is rolling out new technology at this year’s National Championships.

• VS Live is providing live match analytics to enhance color commentary and provide insights into key competition metrics on center court matches.

• Over 1,500 paddles are expected to undergo paddle testing using a 3D optical surface profiler to determine surface roughness, along with a core integrity testing using an ultrasonic scanner.

• There will be on-site acoustic testing using an AI-driven acoustic tool to assist pickleball developers with early site feasibility studies.

Pro-level matches will take place through the remainder of the weekend. Find a full schedule and preview of the event here.

Podcast Gauntlet from the World Championships

It was a reunion at the UPA World Championships. Zane and Thomas caught up with some of the biggest personalities in the game including ‘Coach to the Stars’ Matt Manasse, Kamryn Blackwood, Tyler Loong, Jimmy Miller, and Greg Dow.

Together they cover how paddles are providing an unfair boost to some players, provide a review of the MLP season, and predict what the future of the game is going to look like. Catch the premiere now.

Headlines & Quick Hits

• Read the Personal Stories That Helped Create the Pickleball Craze

• What is the Most Common Pickleball Injury and How to Prevent It

• Best Dressed at the PPA World Championships in Dallas

• A Look at the Race to the PPA CIBC Finals with One Event Remaining

• ICYMI: $50k Prize Pool Sets Record at The Dink Minor League Pickleball National Championship

Highlights

• Kawka and Goldin battling to advance 🏆

• ALW bends the passing shot into the back corner ↩️

Missed a recent issue? We've got you covered

• One mayor's pickleball vendetta

• Dekel Bar cures your erne blindness

• Is the third shot drop dead?

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