It’s rare that a single paddle release wields the power to change the course of the entire market. JOOLA is one of the few brands with that much sway. And their surprise announcement yesterday has everyone hyped with anticipation.
In This Issue:
— Stifling heat at PPA NC
— When to neutralize a firefight
— JOOLA’s big announcement
No newsletter Monday. Enjoy the holiday. Go play some pickleball.
Our Picks 👆
🚨 HUGE: JOOLA Enters the Full-Foam Market
We’ve got more on this below, but this is news you just don’t want to miss. After holding out for years, JOOLA is finally entering the full-foam paddle market, something the brand said they wouldn’t do until they had something really special to offer. On 9/30, we get to see what that is.
🥵 Stifling: PPA Imposes Heat Delay in NC
New partnerships and a slew of upsets aren’t the only storylines coming out of the PPA National Championships in Cary, NC. It’s hot out there. So hot, in fact, the PPA Tour is imposing a four-hour “Heat Advisory Break” today. Here’s what else you need to know.
🔥 ALW: ‘Things Are Bound to Get Heated’
We chatted with Anna Leigh Waters after her historic MLP Championship run, and she laid out all the ingredients that made these Finals so special… and heated. The GOAT, in her own words.
📈 Delivered: MLP Viewers Up 55%
Speaking of MLP Finals, it averaged an impressive 773,000 viewers for the weekend, and the championship match between the 5s and the Shock pulled 55% more eyeballs compared to 2025. Pro pickleball, to the moon.
PSA: You Don’t Need to Win Every Hands Battle
You know what they say: Sometimes the best offense is a good defense.
Counterintuitive as it might sound, that logic applies to hands battles at the kitchen line as well. And more often than you might think.
The strategy plays out a little something like this:
Whether you initiated the exchange or not, you can often tell where the momentum is leaning pretty quickly.
If you have the upper hand, your goal is to hit a kill shot as quickly as possible
If it’s neutral, keep applying pressure without giving them any easy shots to counter-attack
If you start to feel like you’re a half swing behind, this is not your sign to swing bigger and go for broke
At this point, you’re better off slowing things back down. Hit a block or reset down at their feet to balance the point and pull momentum back to even.
You didn’t lose the hands battle. You neutralized it. You turned offense into defense to give yourself another shot at winning the point.
That’s just smart pickleball.
➡️ Pro Ashley Griffith shows you how it’s done.
She's Won Everything. What’s She Playing With?
Anna Leigh Waters just added the MLP championship to a resume that already had everything else. Every major title pickleball has to offer. Done.
She did it with a Franklin paddle in her hand.
The one you can buy? The C45. Carbon fiber face, foam-layered core, built for pop at the baseline and control at the kitchen.
Plus, ALW helped shape it before she ever competed with it.
No pro-only version. No commemorative edition. Just the paddle ALW plays, available to you.
JOOLA Teases First-Ever Full-Foam Paddle
Back in February, JOOLA debuted its latest paddle launch, the Pro V.
It was full of pomp and circumstance, touted as the latest in cutting-edge technology that scores of pros would soon be pulling out of their bags. (The same paddle, mind you, a majority of pros were using at MLP Finals.)
Except for one thing: Why wasn’t the brand embracing full-foam cores like seemingly every other brand on the market?
They weren’t ready at the time, we were told. But they are now. JOOLA announced yesterday the debut of their first-ever full-foam paddle, the POWER FX, coming September 30.
That’s a big deal, as whatever this tech is, we can all but guarantee it’ll quickly become the most popular paddle on your home courts.
We don’t know much yet. But we’re working on it.
What’s New on the PPA Tour This Season?
A fresh PPA Tour season is upon us. New venues, new partnerships, and new aspirations for young players to collect some hardware.
The league has also instituted an array of updates this year, some minor, others more consequential. Here are a few you should know about.
🌎 With the emergence in the last three years of PPA Australia, PPA Tour Asia, PPA Tour Europe, PPA Tour Canada, the PPA Challenger Series, and more, the newly instituted World Pickleball Rankings aim to centralize one system to know who the best of the best is.
🎥 The league is rolling out automated, AI-enabled line-calling systems on side courts in an effort to bring the same level playing field to all courts. It’s being tested as we speak on eight side courts at the Pickleball National Championships in Cary, NC.
🔄 Teams will now switch sides once one team scores six points for every game, throughout the entirety of a tournament.
One more: The PPA is doing away with bronze medal matches. Now, the two semifinalists earn the same amount of points. And they don’t have to stay another whole day to play a match on Grandstand Court for bronze. Win-win.
Play With Your Partner, Not Next to Them
The best doubles teams aren't just good.
Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio. Anna Leigh Waters and Jorja Johnson. Watch them long enough and you stop seeing two players covering a court and start seeing one system.
That's not chemistry you're born with. It's built, and it's the part of the game most teams skip.
Easy to play next to your partner instead of with them. Easy to assume the middle ball is covered and find out mid-rally it wasn't.
We got into what actually separates a partnership from two good players standing near each other: the conversations that happen before the first serve, the trust that shows up under pressure, and why the team that talks more usually wins more.
Is Lobbing a Smart Strategy or Just Lazy?
Yes.
This topic comes up a lot: Why is lobbing such a contentious shot in pickleball?
The answer, we’ve found, is multi-faceted. But here’s a quick breakdown:
First, many weaker players rely on a lob when they get into trouble. This is a defensive bail-out shot that almost always results in their team losing the point. That’s more about having bad positioning and footwork than a good lob. Verdict: Bad.
Second, when lobbing consistently targets a weaker player (someone who’s clearly less skilled, or slower-moving and less mobile for whatever reason), that can rub people the wrong way. And with good reason. Lob when it’s the smartest shot available, not just to be a jerk. Verdict: Not good.
Finally, the lob becomes less polarizing the better you get. It’s a great shot! You just need to know when to hit it and be able to execute it consistently. Nothing annoys a partner more than someone who lobs over and over without any success. If your lob is winning points, keep using it. If not, it’s likely not the best strategy for that particular game. Verdict: Good, in moderation.
But that’s just our experience. Now you tell us…
Headlines & Quick Hits
Tips for Seniors Who Want to Play Smarter and Move Less
Why You’re Always Late on Your Two-Handed Backhand
3 Footwork Drills That Help Slow the Game Way Down
Highlights
Ben + Fed go head-to-head
This point has it all
Tama is a freak
Missed a recent issue? We've got you covered
A review from the Dink Fam...
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