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We did it, gang. After 11 rapid-fire events dating back to late May, we’ve finally arrived at the big one: MLP Playoffs in Central Park, New York City. Four teams advanced through the quarterfinals in Newport Beach to earn their spots. We break down how we got here and what comes next, below.

In This Issue:
— 3 point-winning sequences
— Lea has some words for Big H
— 4 teams advance to MLP Semis

It’s so on.

Ahead of their matchup against the Ranchers, Anna Bright of the Shock made a confession: “I get nervous, just like you.” Of course, it helps to be one of the best players in the world, as AB’s squad rolled to an easy quarterfinal victory. Next stop: NYC.

Babolat. Yonex. Wilson. Head. Tennis brands haven’t quite cracked the pickleball paddle code yet. Zane Navratil thinks he knows why: It’s too easy, so they overcompensate with tech nobody wants. Now, golf brands are hoping to move in and claim their turf.

Mark Wahlberg stopped by MLP Newport Beach to soak in the energy. Was he scouting a team for a possible ownership stake? Doing some covert research for an upcoming project. We don’t know (yet). But we’re here for it.

Hayden Patriquin is known for his trash talking. And over the weekend, Lea Jansen decided she’d had enough. Words were exchanged. Some veiled threats potentially hurled. In the end, Big H got the last laugh.

Here’s how most of us play pickleball:

Sound familiar? This is all well and good, but getting better requires a bit more forethought and strategy.

In a nutshell, you should be thinking more than one shot ahead. This approach is often referred to as shot combinations or sequences. It’s never the first shot that wins the point; it’s the one or two after.

Here, pro Kyle Koszuta breaks down a few of his favorite winning one-two punches.

✅ Connect your serve and your third. Serve deep, then target the player who’s moving with your third, hitting an 80% drive directly at their body.

✅ Return and run. Start behind the baseline when returning a serve. Target deep and middle, and get moving as soon as you’ve made contact. There’s no reason not to gain the kitchen line every time.

✅ Slow down and anticipate. Kyle has two simple rules for balancing power and control: "Above the face, hit it with pace." "Below the chin, hit it with spin." For any shot from your fourth and beyond, the lesson is this: limit your own unforced errors, and always expect the ball to come back.

These sequences apply to the first six shots of every single pickleball point. Make them second nature and your strategy will start feeling less like random reactions and more like cunning combos.

➡️ Watch Kyle demonstrate.

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Taste the Fresh Difference

MLP Newport Beach was full of surprises.

Yes, the St. Louis Shock steamrolled their opponent in the Texas Ranchers. But after that, things got very interesting.

The #1 New Jersey 5s defeated the #7 Palm Beach Royals, but it was far from convincing. Their first match went to a Dreambreaker. And ALW lost her share of games in the second.

The biggest surprise was the #6 Dallas Flash, who dismantled Ben Johns and the #3 LA Mad Drops. It took three matches, but Sunday’s rubber match went 3-1 to Dallas. More surprising still? Ben Johns and Max Freeman lost to red-hot JW Johnson and Augie Ge 11-2. Yeesh.

Finally, last year’s Cinderella, the #4 Columbus Sliders, went the distance with #5 Brooklyn Pickleball Team. In the end, Brooklyn took it in a thriller.

From insane ATPs to elite trash-talk exchanges to many standout performances, this event was full of twists and turns and bursting with playoff energy.

Our pro expert Erik Tice breaks it all down.

➡️ Here’s what you missed.

You know what your strengths are. But what’s your pickleball archetype? The play style that best defines your biggest strengths and most common tendencies?

After analyzing more than 60,000 posts and comments from his online pickleball school, pro Kyle Koszuta noticed four playing styles showing up again and again:

The Rock. The Attacker. The Architect. And the Artist.

Every player has all four inside their game. But most of us naturally trust one more than the others, especially when the pressure’s on.

As Kyle puts it, “the instinct that makes you difficult to beat can also become the thing holding you back.”

And that insight led him to create the Pickleball Personality Test.

So which one are you?

➡️ Take 5 minutes and find out for yourself.

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Six Zero is positioning its newest release, the Boulder Opal, as a power profile that sits comfortably between the Coral and Black Opal.

The result, at least on paper: softer dinks and resets without sacrificing the ability to unload when it’s time to attack.

It also features some of the brand’s newest tech, including:

Power paddles are everywhere. The harder trick is producing easy offense without making the short game feel like damage control.

That’s the lane Six Zero is chasing here.

We’ve got a first look, including full specs and photos.

➡️ Check it out.

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.