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Listen, we get it. Major League Pickleball can feel unrelenting, just a tireless onslaught of events week after week without a moment to catch your breath. (Now imagine how the pros feel.)

But believe it or not, it’s almost over. Twelve teams head to Disney World this week for the final regular season event, and the playoff implications are massive. Who’s in, who’s out, and who’s fighting for a spot? We break it all down below.

In This Issue:
— Six Zero debuts new apparel line
— Dallas Flash go back-to-back
— How to win as the weak link

Along for the ride.

You’ve seen it or experienced it firsthand: the dreaded service yips. One day you’re fine, the next it’s like your brain and your arm don’t belong to the same body. The first rule about the yips: Don’t tell anyone you have the yips. Then do this.

Lighter weight. Breezier ventilation. Improved comfort. All with the same 6-month outsole warranty you've come to love, plus an array of fresh new colorways. We’re loving them. You might too.

The Dallas Flash are on a hot streak, taking MLP Orlando in thrilling fashion just one week after winning in San Diego. It took a Dreambreaker against the Brooklyn Pickleball Team, but in the end they were just too much. Full event recap right here.

Ah, to be new to pickleball again. One Reddit user posted his love letter after recently discovering the sport, and man, it’s bringing us back. “I don’t know what it is about it. But I’m like a little kid. I think about it before bed. I watch tutorials when I eat my lunch. I skip the gym to drill with my wife.” Gotta love the pickleball honeymoon phase.

Stop us if this sounds familiar: You’re the weakest player on the doubles court. You know it. Your partner knows it. Your opponents definitely know it.

So you do what you feel you must: try to match the stronger players shot for shot, get pulled into chaos you can't control, and end up making the errors that cost the match.

That, we all know, is a recipe for near-instant disaster.

Instead of falling into this trap, try this instead:

✅ Don’t speed up first. You’re tempted to push the pace and hope you get lucky. Don’t. Never be the one to initiate a faster game in this scenario. Focus on your footwork, positioning, and paddle position instead.

✅ Be a bully. Aim the majority of your shots at the weaker player across the net. If you can’t do that, reset to center instead. This is safe. Safe means you’re alive to fight another shot.

✅ Lean on old faithful. There are shots you know work most of the time. Hit these all the time. Deep middle with pace. The backhand foot of either opponent. Or easy, neutral dinks.

✅ Don’t do too much. Index heavily on consistency rather than creativity. Circus shots might win a point or two, but against stronger opponents they’ll never win the game. Make balls. Over and over. That’s how you go from liability to lightning rod.

Come to think of it, this blueprint is pretty solid no matter who you’re on the court with.

➡️ Top coach Cori Elliott demonstrates.

Look down the kitchen line at everyone's bags. Black. Black. Gray. Maybe a black one with red trim.

Most pickleball bags settled on two colors and never looked back. Parris Todd went a different way.

Her Franklin Pro Series Bag II comes in lilac (a color she curated herself), and it's built like the rest of Franklin's pro bags: separate compartments for paddles, balls, and shoes, plus an insulated cooler pocket so your drink isn't warm by game three.

A functional pro bag with some personality.

Shop Parris’ lilac colorway.

Six Zero has spent years at the leading edge of paddle innovation, earning a reputation as one of pickleball's most respected and forward-thinking equipment brands. (Ever heard of thermoforming? Yeah, they were doing that before anyone.)

Now they’re coming for your outfit.

The company has officially launched its first-ever full men's and women's apparel collection, bringing the same performance-first philosophy that made paddles like the Double Black Diamond and Coral Pro cult favorites to the clothes players actually wear on court.

Rather than lazily repurposing clothing made for a different sport, this collection was designed, tested, and proven specifically for pickleball.

"We've always believed performance doesn't stop at the paddle," said founder Dale Young. "As pickleball has become faster and more athletic, we saw the need for apparel built specifically for the sport."

Think shorts, tank-tops, skirts, and dresses, all featuring four-way stretch, light, breathable materials, and styles that feel fresh and modern. (After some in-house testing, we’re particularly loving the Active Tee and Court Dress.)

This is pickleball apparel, reimagined.

➡️ See the whole new collection for yourself.

With one more event in the regular season, seven teams have now almost certainly cemented their place in the MLP playoffs: Texas, Dallas, Brooklyn, New Jersey, LA, Columbus, and St. Louis.

Over the weekend, the Dallas Flash made it two events in a row with a thrilling Dreambreaker win over the Brooklyn Pickleball Team.

Perhaps more surprising, the California Black Bears took down the hometown Chicago Slice for third place.

Next up on the schedule: 12 teams head to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

There’s a lot on the line in Orlando — five teams are fighting for a playoff spot, and they’re all in action in this event: Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas, Chicago, and California.

It’s a lot to keep track of, we know. But trust us: MLP Playoffs are a lot more entertaining when you know what it took for the teams to get there. And this week’s season-ending event in Disney World is going to be full of storylines and fireworks.

➡️ Our guy Erik Tice breaks it all down.

Of the 1,214 brands on the USA Pickleball approved list, 611 certified exactly one paddle and were never heard from again.

One paddle, one approval, gone. That's half the market.

It sounds like the paddle bubble is bursting, and the numbers look the part: approvals are on pace to finish about 60% below the 2024 peak. But that's not a crash. It's a shakeout.

The gold rush brands are washing out, foam cores are getting harder to fake, and lawsuits are picking up (JOOLA just sued 11 of them). What's left standing will be the brands that actually compete on performance and price.

We pulled five years of approval data to show where the market's really headed, and what it means for the paddle you buy next.

See what the numbers say.

Inquiring minds want to know: Did you watch the new pickleball comedy that definitely didn’t allegedly steal our name without asking, “The Dink”?

We’ve got thoughts, of course. Plenty of them. But we want to hear from you first.

A review from the Dink Fam...

If your company is interested in reaching an audience of active pickleballers, you may want to give us a shout.