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For anyone still calling pickleball a fad, try this on for size: New York City Parks just approved CityPickle’s Central Park court installation for the next 20 years. A deal, we’ll have you know, that’s valued in excess of $100 million. Who’s saying dinks look silly now?

In This Issue:
— How to set achievable pickleball goals
— A new candidate for ‘Hook of the Year’
— The messy truth about pro partnerships

Here to stay.

You may not be 22 with the hopes and dreams of New York resting on your brawny shoulders, but you’ve got more in common with Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart than you might think. The rookie admitted his competitive spirit goes beyond the gridiron: “If I’m playing pickleball and I lose, that’s going to ruin my whole day.”

The Dink Minor League National Championships are less than a month away, which means the final pool of players is locked and loaded. If you’re on the list, you better start prepping for the podium now. If you’re not? Better luck next year.

Pros play dozens of events every year. Each and every time, the majority of them need to lock in new partners. If you think there’s some sophisticated system that handles those logistics for them, think again. It’s mostly done on the fly by IG DMs, text and more than a few awkward encounters.

For anyone sweating the decimal points of your DUPR on the daily, you’ve got reason to relax: We asked our friends behind the algorithm for the global average DUPR score. Turns out, a 3.35 is the happy medium. Feel better now?

We all want to get better at pickleball.

And just like anything worth achieving in life, setting actionable goals is a great approach.

The trick is thinking small, not big.

"I want to win a tournament" sounds great in theory. But… don’t we all? The problem with setting your sights so high is you only get a checkpoint on that goal once every month or two. So what are you supposed to do in between tournaments — sit around and hope?

Pros Kevin Dong and Alex Crum have a smarter approach. Instead of fixating on results, it’s better to measure the repeatable actions required to get there.

Each week leading up to an event, for example, you might focus on this:

Think of it this way: You can't will yourself into winning a tournament. You can absolutely will yourself into drilling more consistently.

And for what it’s worth, Crum just upset Ben Johns in singles at PPA Worlds. Safe to say that wasn’t on his to-do list this week.

We see your emails and comments come through, and trust us, we hear you.

Bouncing back from a weekend tournament or five straight games isn’t getting any easier. If you’re serious about your court time, your recovery routine has to keep up.

That’s where our partners at Trulieve come in. Their plant-based wellness products are designed to help with what keeps players off the court, aches, balance, and recovery. Safe, reliable, and built to fit seamlessly into your routine.

Whether you’re new to it or just curious, their team can help you find the right fit. You’ll find stores in Arizona, Florida, Maryland, and more.

Visit Trulieve.com today to explore their lineup and learn how plant-based support can help you bounce back faster and play longer.

We’ve said it once, and we’ve got to say it again: Line calls are a real problem in pro pickleball.

At Worlds — the biggest, most anticipated event of the year — suspicious, or downright criminal, line calls are peppering matches from Championship Court to the furthest side courts.

One in particular is a new candidate for Hook of the Year: in a women’s doubles round of 64 match, a ball landed at least two feet inside the baseline, but was called out by the defending team. They stuck to their guns — and even had the gall to offer sending the other team the clip later.

It’s just the latest in what’s become a pattern of poor behavior at the pro level, often on courts outside of the spotlight. And it begs some pressing questions, once again:

Our pro expert Erik Tice thinks so (and we’re inclined to agree).

Nothing says a sport has really made it like the people who play obsessively also complaining about all the things they hate about it.

Well folks, pickleball has officially arrived in the form of a trending Reddit thread where a couple of hundred rec warriors are doing just that — ranting about pickleball’s most overrated aspects.

Some gripes, to be fair, are well-founded. Others (we’re mad about people wanting to warm up now?), not so much.

In no particular order, here are a few of the most common offenders:

1️⃣ Paddle technology. Do any of us really need a $300 paddle?
2️⃣ High tournament fees. $120 to basically wait around all day?
3️⃣ DUPR obsession. We get it, you’re a 5.25. Congrats.
4️⃣ Hooking in rec play. Stop this, just stop.
5️⃣ Unsolicited advice. Literally nobody asks for this.

One we’ll add is insisting on playing with your doubles partner in open play because you’ve “got a tournament coming up.” Don’t we all. Go book a private court.

Jaume Martinez Vich put his name on it. CJ Klinger put his trust in it.

TriFoam edge for a planted face. Raw carbon for controlled spin. Low density core for soft hands and sudden put aways.

Elongated 14. Elongated 16. Widebody 16. Each $189.

If you want pop with a plan, this is it.

A stroll across Bow Bridge. A visit to Bethesda Fountain. Or just a weekend afternoon spent people-watching among the trees.

Now, you can add another fixture to New York City’s Central Park: CityPickle will operate pickleball courts at Wollman Rink for the next 20 years.

NYC Parks seems to have a sweet spot for pickleball. The sport’s relentless appeal among residents and tourists alike probably played a pivotal role.

“In total, the value of this deal to the City will exceed $100 million, including a record cumulative minimum fee offer of $91 million alongside a minimum capital investment of $10.9 million,” CityPickle said.

In the past three years, more than 180,000 players have swung a paddle at Wollman Rink. The site was also home to the 2025 Major League Pickleball Finals, which drew sellout crowds all weekend.

For CityPickle, this is the latest in a series of heavy investments into pickleball infrastructure and real estate:

No official word yet on whether next year’s MLP finals will return to Central Park. But our Magic 8 ball is saying, “Outlook good.”

A review from the Dink Fam...

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