Another pickleball movie is in the works. Lifetime announced its roster of holiday-themed movies and the crown jewel, if you ask us, is “A Pickleball Christmas.”

A tennis star returns home to his small town for the holidays, only to learn his family’s racket club is in trouble. What’s our reluctant hero to do? Why, win a high-stakes pickleball tournament — and maybe, just maybe, his partner’s affection in the process, of course.

In This Issue:
— Top PPA pros claim $50k singles tourney prizes
— World’s first pickleball stadium opens for business
— Zane explains his backhand dinking decision tree

Warm and fuzzy.

Our Picks 👆

🚨 Paddle Drama: At the LT Open?

The LT Open is a wrap from Georgia (more on that, below). But one match in particular sparked some drama. After Zane Ford lost to Federico Staksrud in the round of 16, he took to Instagram to accuse Fed of some “antics” around his failure to get his paddles tested. Fed promptly apologized. “I didn’t mean to do it.”

🏎️ Formula 1: Drivers Trade Steering Wheels for Paddles

Formula 1 concluded yesterday in Austin but not before a few of the sport’s brightest stars hit the courts with pros Michael Loyd and Lina Padegimaite. Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Lando Norris, and others grabbed paddles for a fun exhibition. A few of them clearly have some racket sport experience.

🏆 Senior Champs: NPL Crowns 2025 Winners

The Coachella Valley Scorpions are this year’s National Pickleball League winners, taking home the title and a $50,000 check after defeating the hometown Seattle Tsunami over the weekend. Congrats all around.

👊 Now Open: The World’s First Dedicated Pickleball Stadium

What’s being billed as “the world’s first pickleball stadium” is now open for business in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The pickleball-specific arena is one of 43 courts housed at The Fort, the expansive and upscale facility that will play host to the Pickleball World Cup later this month.

Zane Explains His Backhand Dinking Decision Tree

Shot selection is everything in competitive pickleball, especially at the kitchen line when points can move very fast and your reaction time is reduced to milliseconds.

Things get even more complex on the backhand side.

Thankfully, Zane Navratil has a framework he cycles through to help him rapidly analyze his options in real time and make the right decision with confidence.

He calls it the backhand decision tree. At its core, it boils down to five key questions:

Should I take the ball out of the air? This should be your first instinct. First, it enables you to contact the ball at its highest point. Second, it allows you to hold your position at the kitchen line rather than being pushed back into a weaker spot.

Should I attack it? Generally speaking, the higher your point of contact the better your chances for a successful attack out of the air. Anything above the knees is a good place to start.

Should I let it bounce? Reaching or extending too far for a ball will impact your power and accuracy. If it feels too far, it probably is. Let these balls bounce and live to fight another round.

Should I hit a one-handed backhand or two? A one-handed backhand has a wider range of motion. Use this for a defensive shot or to set up an attack. Your twoey comes with a threat of a speed-up, so it’s a more potent offensive weapon. This should be your bread and butter.

Should I attack the twoey or play it safe? More and more, whenever you can hit a more offensive twoey on the backhand side, do it. This doesn’t just have to mean pace — placement is a weapon here, as well.

Obviously, time won't stand still for you to run through each of these steps before hitting every backhand during a dink exchange. But like anything, practice makes perfect.

The more you drill this sequence with intention, the more automatic it'll become.

Parris Todd’s Paddle Just Restocked

Did you hear? Parris Todd’s C45° paddles are officially back in stock.

She built this paddle from the ground up with Franklin, dialing in the perfect mix of pop, spin, and control. The 13.25mm PowerFlex core gives it some serious juice without losing touch, while the 45° carbon fiber face keeps your shots sharp and precise.

And now you’ve got choices — Lilac or Pink/Blue. Which one’s calling your name?

Lifetime Gives Pickleball the Warm and Fuzzy Holiday Treatment

Nothing gets us in the holiday spirit quite like a warm and fuzzy romantic drama. And this winter, Lifetime is going big, adding 13 new movie titles complete with an ode to America's fastest-growing and most beloved sport.

That's right, we've officially made it: "A Pickleball Christmas" will anchor the network's holiday lineup, called "It's a Wonderful Lifetime," running every Friday and Saturday beginning November 29.

The plot, in a nutshell: “Fresh off the biggest win of his career, tennis star Luke heads home to Florida for Christmas, only to discover his family's racquet club is on the verge of being sold. Teaming up with Caroline, Luke reluctantly agrees to compete in a high-stakes holiday tournament that could save the club.”

The film stars Zibby Allen, who notably appeared in 44 episodes of Netflix's "Virgin River," and James Lafferty, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Nathan Scott on The WB/CW teen television drama "One Tree Hill."

As you might expect, the duo’s connection extends beyond the court. Sparks fly. Tender moments are shared. Pickleball for the win, once again.

Oh, and if the whole "reluctant tennis purist begrudgingly enters a pickleball tournament to save the day" narrative sounds familiar, that's likely because you've heard a version of it from us already.

"The Dink," starring Jake Johnson ("New Girl") and produced by Ben Stiller ("Severance"), and coming to Apple soon as a feature-length film, follows a washed-up tennis pro as he "tries to save a club by reluctantly playing pickleball to earn his father's respect."

Top PPA Pros Claim Inaugural LT Open Singles Titles, $50k Prize

In the first-ever Life Time Open, held at Life Time Peachtree Corners in Georgia over the weekend, top PPA pros Chris Haworth and Lea Jansen walked away $50,000 richer.

The event was the first for Life Time, and proves the fitness franchise is serious about its continued investment into the sport of pickleball at both the amateur and pro levels.

The event was unique for a few reasons, notably:

  • It was for singles only; there was no doubles competition

  • Players from all tours (PPA Tour, PPA Asia, APP Tour, etc.) were invited to participate

  • The total prize pool of $250,000 meant a whopping $50,000 each for the men’s and women’s winners

In the end, Jansen battled through Bobbi Oshiro and Salome Devidze to set up a finals match against her MLP Columbus Sliders teammate, Parris Todd. Jansen ended up winning 13-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-6.

On the men’s side, Haworth continued his hot streak, fresh off a gold medal performance at PPA Virginia Beach. Haworth beat a surging Donald Young in the semifinals, who made the best singles run of his pro career in front of his hometown Atlanta-area crowd.

In the finals, Haworth faced a familiar foe in Federico Staksrud. Despite losing the second and third games, he pulled it out in dominant fashion: 11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 11-1, 11-1.

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The PPA Goes Back to Vegas — Who Ya Got?

The PPA Rate Vegas Cup descends upon the iconic Darling Tennis Center this week, the final PPA event before Worlds in Dallas in early November.

All the big names are expected to be there. Our pro writer, Erik Tice, rolls the dice and gives his gold medal predictions:

🥇 Women’s Singles: Anna Leigh Waters def. Kate Fahey
🥇 Men’s Singles: Chris Haworth def. Jack Sock
🥇 Mixed Doubles: Anna Leigh and Ben Johns def. Christian Alshon and Tyra Black
🥇 Women’s Doubles: Anna Leigh and Anna Bright def. Parris Todd and Tyra Black
🥇 Men’s Doubles: Ben and Gabe Tardio def. Dylan Frazier and JW Johnson

There are 1,500 PPA Points on the line this week for the winners, valuable ranking stock as we near the end of the year.

“Just as important,” says Tice, “gaining momentum headed into Worlds, which is worth 3,000 PPA Points, is huge.”

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