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A massive, 30-foot video scoreboard was blown over yesterday during a live MLP game, landing squarely on top of Rachel Rohrabacher’s leg and halting action for more than 30 minutes.

Play resumed, albeit without Rachel, who continued to receive medical attention. But some looming questions now remain. See the shocking moment below.

In This Issue:
— When to initiate a kitchen attack
— 300 kids experience first MLP match
— The paddle they’ll never see coming

Let’s ride.

The Brooklyn Pickleball Team and JOOLA bussed more than 300 kids from the Conquer Youth Kids program out to witness some live MLP action yesterday. Pros like Tyson McGuffin, Tina Pisnik, and Casey Diamond gave them the star treatment. 

Kate Fahey joins the PicklePod to discuss all things Major League Pickleball, including who she’d draft for a pure chaos team. Zane and Nico join the fun. Whose squad is the most unhinged? You be the judge.

Mixed doubles is different. The dynamic, the patterns, the vibes. It’s one of the unique aspects of pickleball we love most. But winning in mixed requires a different set of decisions. Here are three to master from pros Kyle Koszuta and Mari Humberg.

Chris Haworth gave USA Today a look inside his personal life, including his journey from tennis to pickleball and being an openly gay male player on the pro tour. "It feels really cool to be able to be myself," he said. "Being able to represent the LGBT community is really important to me." Read the full interview.

We spend a lot of time dissecting how to speed the ball up from the kitchen line. But how do you know when it’s the right time to attack?

PPA pro John Cincola breaks it down into five factors. Study these. Make them second nature. Pretty soon, you’ll be thinking less and acting more.

✅ Ball height is the clearest indication of whether a ball is ready to pounce on or should be handled with a lighter touch. Start by only attacking balls that are above net height, where court geometry works most in your favor. Get comfortable with these, then you can work your way down.

✅ Next, you want your contact point to be out in front of your body. This gives you maximum leverage and control. Once the ball drifts to your side or behind you, it’s much harder to strike cleanly and consistently.

✅ The third factor is one of the most overlooked: balance and body control. Lunging or back-pedaling means your base is moving and unsteady. For an effective attack, you want your legs underneath your torso and your paddle engaged out in front of your body.

John also stresses the importance of gauging both your opponents’ and your partner’s readiness to handle an attack and a counterattack.

It’s a lot to consider for just one shot. But striking first and often can change the entire complexion of the game in your favor.

Knowing how — and when — will put you way ahead.

➡️ Watch John demonstrate.

You hit your shots (good ones), and they keep coming back.

You know the type. The reset that should've floated, didn't. The speed-up that should've ended the point got calmly dropped at your feet. You start pressing. They don't.

Eventually you sneak a look at their paddle, expecting one of the usual names. It's a FLiK F3.

And that's sort of the point – it doesn't announce itself. The F3 isn't built to overpower you. It's built to never hand you a free point.

Three foam densities in one core keep the face playing the same no matter where it's struck, so the mishits that wreck most players just don't show up. All-court, deceptively quick, 2,100+ RPM of spin when they want it.

They didn't beat you with a louder paddle. They beat you with one that never flinched.

Get the F3 and become that opponent (use codes THEDINK and GASMEUP for big discounts at checkout).

There’s no real way to ease into this, so we’re just going to come out and say it: the scoreboard fell on top of a player during a match yesterday at MLP New York.

In the final matchup of the day between the Bay Area Breakers and Brooklyn Pickleball Team, during the opening women’s doubles game, a strong gust of wind blew the large scoreboard (pictured above, being hoisted back into place) over and onto the leg of Rachel Rohrabacher.

She was trapped momentarily before onlookers rushed onto the court and lifted it off of her.

Rachel walked off the court under her own power, sustaining only bruises and scrapes, as far as we know. The Bay Area women conceded their game to Brooklyn and Hannah Blatt subbed in to replace her for the rest of the match.

Brooklyn won the match 3-1.

We were there and watched it happen live. It was a shocking moment that stopped play for about 30 minutes while Rachel was treated by medical personnel and the scoreboard was assessed and lifted back into position.

MLP released a statement on Instagram, saying, in part: “The safety of our players, fans, and staff remains our top priority, and we will continue to monitor conditions throughout the event.”

Naturally, many are wondering how this was allowed to happen to begin with. Will the league address that publicly? Will institutional changes be made for all outdoor events going forward? What other fallout can we expect from players, teams, or ownership groups?

Amazingly, Rachel is on the sideline supporting her team today. It’s unclear if she’ll play in either matchup against the Florida Smash and the Carolina Hogs.

Truly, this is one of those things you just need to see to believe.

➡️ Watch it here.

If you’re having a hard time keeping up with all the latest Major League Pickleball roster moves, trust us, you’re not alone.

Between trade deadlines changing, multiple waiver periods throughout the season, unprecedented mid-event trades, and the league’s first-ever four-team trade (just announced this week), it’s enough to make even the most diehard fan’s head spin.

We can’t promise the crazy will calm down anytime soon. But we can help you decipher all the moves and what they mean for your favorite team.

Pro expert and MLP GM Erik Tice is keeping track of all MLP trades, plus adding his own insightful analysis, as they happen.

➡️ Here’s what you need to know to stay up-to-date.

It sneaks up on you. You started with one paddle and a three-pack of balls from a big-box store.

Now you've got opinions about overgrip. You know your shoe size in two pickleball brands. There's a graveyard of cracked balls in your trunk and a bag you've already outgrown.

Congratulations. Welcome to the club.

The good news? You don't need five sites to feed it. Pickleball Central carries the whole list – shoes, bags, balls, apparel, grips, and more. All vetted by people who actually play.

No scavenger hunt across open tabs. No mystery brands or marketplace dupes. The whole bag, handled in one trip.

Gear up at Pickleball Central.

Anna Leigh Waters is in New York City for this weekend’s MLP event at Randall’s Island.

So what does she do with her off time, you wonder? There’s plenty of time for tourist attractions later — on Wednesday, she stopped by CityPickle in Times Square to spread the joy of pickleball to 40 teenage girls from across the city.

"Pickleball has given me so many incredible opportunities, and it's really important to me to help introduce more young girls to the sport,” she said.

Some daring participants even paid extra (as part of a fundraiser) to play against ALW and her mom, Leigh.

Think they showed any mercy?

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