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Having trouble deciding between an elongated paddle or a hybrid? A new drop from 11Six24 could be the best of both worlds.

The Ultré is a new breed of paddle, featuring unique dimensions that give it plenty of reach without sacrificing hand speed or sweet-spot size. It’s dropping today, and already pros and paddle reviewers are raving.

In This Issue:
— 4 fixes for scary-good 3rds
— The perfect new paddle shape?
— Watch this savage MLP bodybag

Your Friday pickle report awaits.

At last year’s MLP Austin event, a $60,000 paddle testing machine disappeared out of the back of a truck. Much effort was put into its recovery. An Apple AirTag was even involved. Ultimately, it was never returned. And a culprit has never been identified.

If you’re just getting into the sport of pickleball, first off, welcome. It’s great to have you here. You likely have a few questions. Like how should you stand? Or hold your paddle at the kitchen? Or what the heck even is the kitchen? Start here, friend.

Playing in a tournament is one of the best ways to test your skills and see how you stack up against the competition. So why aren’t you entering more of them? A great thread on Facebook puts the answer somewhere between rampant sandbagging and soaring costs of entry.

The APP Tour just announced the English Open this August. And if you ask them, it’s going to be big: “a record-breaking 3,000+ players from over 45 countries, making it the largest indoor pickleball event in the world.” Interested? Learn more.

There’s nothing wrong with hitting a comfortable and safe third shot push or shovel drop. But sometimes you need to apply a little extra pressure, right?

That’s where a topspin third shot drop comes in. Hit correctly, these dive low over the net, forcing your opponent into a defensive position.

Advanced players make this shot look routine, but it’s anything but, especially when you’re first learning the mechanics.

If you haven’t mastered it quite yet, it likely comes down to one of these four fixes.

✅ Put more space between your body and the ball. On contact, you want the ball out in front of you, not close in. This allows you to use your shoulder and arm instead of just an inconsistent wrist flick.

✅ Transfer your weight through the ball. Don’t stand flat-footed on contact. Instead, as you strike, shift your hips toward the target. The legs power the ball, not the shoulder. The name of the game here is fluid consistency.

✅ The topspin comes from the follow-through. You push the ball forward for depth and direction, then brush up its back face for the spin. Keep the follow-through compact and on the paddle side of your body.

✅ Keep your head and torso down through contact. If you pop up too early, guess what the ball will do, too? That’s right: sail high. Pro tip: watch the ball make contact with your paddle. This forces you to slow down and hit with more poise and intention.

Less is more. But technique is everything.

➡️ Watch and learn.

You put real thought into your paddle – the core, the shape, the weeks of demos. Worth it. Then you walk on court in whatever sneakers were by the door.

Thing is, pickleball moves sideways, and most shoes are built to go forward. The cuts, the hard stops, and the lunges are how ankles roll and sessions end early.

The Stria G1 Pro is the upgrade you keep skipping: a wide, planted base that holds when you change direction, cushioning that survives a long session, light enough to keep up.

A few pros helped shape it, Gabe Tardio included – but you'll feel it yourself the first time you plant and the shoe just…stays put.

Shop the Stria G1 Pro and get 10% off with code THEDINK.

Today, for the first time in years, 11Six24 is launching a totally new shape.

Ultré (pronounced ULTRA) is a new-breed hybrid: flat top, parallel sidewalls, long handle.

The first time we saw this in the mass market was the release of the JOOLA Kosmos. But at $300, still a Gen-3 honeycomb core, and lacking any type of longer-lasting grit, that one is honestly a bit tough to recommend.

Ultré is quite the opposite. HexGrit has set the standard for “permanent” surface grit. And the new dimensions of 16.35" x 7.65" give this just enough reach without sacrificing any sweet-spot.

11Six24-sponsored pros are already switching to it. Paddle reviewers are raving about it. And we’ve loved our on-court sessions with it as well.

No paddle is perfect. The Ultré is feeling pretty darn close.

➡️ Take a closer look.

Tensions were running high yesterday in an MLP match between the Atlanta Bouncers and the Texas Ranchers, specifically in a mixed-doubles game between Lea Jansen and Nico Acevedo (Ranchers) and Jessie Irvine and Jay Devilliers (Bouncers).

The match was chippy from the beginning. Nico sent a couple speedups directly at Jay, with loud exclamations after each one. Soon, Jay retaliated in a big way, sending a full-nuke forehand straight through Nico’s chest and yelling “VAMOS!!” in self-approval.

Lea was pissed. And told Jay as much, walking straight to the net and calling him “a joke” more than once.

There is bad blood here from some previous off-court antics, which we won’t be getting into. But for what it’s worth, Jay’s full-send bag was well within the rules. And it seemed to work — his team came back and won the game 12-10 before ultimately taking the match in a Dreambreaker.

➡️ Watch it all unfold right here.

The pickleball bag conversation usually starts and ends at backpacks and tour bags – but a good tote does something most of them can't. It goes from the office to the court without screaming gym bag.

CRBN's Club Pickleball Tote is made from Italian PU leather with insulated sleeves for a laptop or a paddle.

Throw in shoes, water bottle, balls, change of clothes, after-work snacks, and you’re covered. It holds its shape instead of slumping into a pile you dig through between matches.

Work bag by day. Court bag by night. Looks good either way.

Shop the CRBN Club Tote and use code THEDINK for 10% off.

This is Chris Olson, co-host with brother Aizec of the most prolific and influential paddle review YouTube channel and podcast in the sport, Pickleball Studio.

He’s hit virtually every paddle in known existence. And many, many others you’ve never even heard of. If there’s one guy who knows paddle tech better than anyone, it’s Chris.

Not surprisingly, he hears a lot of the same questions repeated over and over again. Which is why he’s hosting a Reddit AMA this Sunday at 5 pm ET.

“The industry has changed drastically since I started in 2021 and I think there are a lot of common misconceptions about how things work, why certain things are the way they are, and I'd be happy to answer them and clear things up,” he said.

What a guy. Honestly, though, we know Chris quite well and there’s no better ambassador for the paddle side of our sport than him.

You can submit your questions now and see what others have thrown at the board already. So go ahead…

➡️ Ask Chris Anything.

A review from the Dink Fam...

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