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Pickleball at the movies. This one seems unnecessary, but sure, why not?

The National Association of Theatre Owners announced plans to invest $2.2 billion to improve theaters across the country.

That includes chains like AMC, Regal Cinemas, and more. For some reason, those plans include adding pickleball courts to some locations. The idea is to give the people what they want, and right now, that is pickleball.

A word of advice for any daters out there, schedule the pickleball for after the movie.

In This Issue:

🧘 How strength and flexibility can improve your game
📊 Economics of a small town pickleball club
🥒 Who is most likely to pickle their opponent

Lights, camera, pickleball.

Our Picks ☝️

📰 News: Penn State Adds 12 Pickleball Courts on Campus

Penn State University recently converted tennis courts into 12 pickleball courts, just in time for the fall semester. Remember, students, you still have to go to class.

💬 Quote: What drew Gary Vee to pickleball?

“It’s the first sport that’s come along where a 71-year-old grandma can whip up on her 23-year-old grandson.“ Catch Gary Vee and Ryan Harwood on a special episode of the PicklePod airing Monday morning.

🎥 Video: Rip Hamilton Interviews the D.C. Pickleball Team

Detroit Pistons and UConn Huskie fans hold a special place in their heart for former NBA Champion and All-Star Rip Hamilton. He’s part of the star-studded ownership group of the D.C. MLP team and was on-site in NYC interviewing his squad.

🏡 Homecourt: $29M House with Pickleball Court on Selling Sunset

If you (or your significant other) like the mix of reality and real estate on Selling Sunset, you probably spotted the court at this pickleball dream home in Season 8.

Why Your Twoey Isn’t Ignatowich-Level Yet

We all admire that smooth two-handed backhand dink James Ignatowich makes look effortless, right? Well, spoiler alert: waking up and whipping out ‘twoeys’ like James doesn’t just happen—it’s all about technique and training.

If you’ve been wondering why your backhand dinks aren’t quite there yet, pickleball trainer Connor Derrickson has pinpointed three key areas you must work on. And no, it’s not just about hitting more balls.

#1 - Improve your Thoracic Spine Mobility

If you’re not twisting enough, you’re not going to get that open stance needed for a killer two-handed dink.

Try this: sit down, cross your arms, and rotate from your upper back as far as possible. From this position, rotate your upper body to one side, targeting about 45-50 degrees of movement.

This exercise is crucial because it isolates your thoracic spine, ensuring you’re not compensating with neck movements.

Many players overlook this, but opening up your thoracic mobility lets you swing around the ball effectively, giving you that smooth, controlled dink.

#2 - Hip Mobility

Poor hip mobility might be the culprit keeping you from nailing those low, sharp dinks.

Here’s a way to check: lie on your back with your legs in the air, bent at the knees. Practice rotating your thighs inward and outward without any help.

It sounds simple, but many players have tight hips restricting their range of motion. By enhancing your hip mobility, you’ll find it easier to position yourself optimally for every shot.

#3 - Strong Lower Half

Strength in your lower half is a non-negotiable. You need to be able to squat deep and often, mimicking the low stance of a two-handed backhand dink during a rally.

Regular squats, lunges, and plyometric exercises build the muscle endurance needed for quick drops into a low stance and rising without losing rhythm. This is what separates average players from pros like Ignatowich.

Work on these exercises and you’ll not only make the twoeys look easy, you'll avoid one of the seven most common pickleball injuries.

There’s a Halo for Every Style Player

If you're looking to step up your game, the SLK Halo series from Selkirk has you covered. Designed with advanced raw carbon fiber tech, these paddles are all about helping you find your sweet spot—whether you’re after power, control, or a bit of both.

• HALO Power: Built with T700 Raw Carbon Fiber and a 13mm Rev-Power Core, this one’s for the heavy hitters

• HALO Pro: This 14mm all-round paddle features Carbon + Kevlar LinkWeave, offering a great blend of spin and control

• HALO Control: The 16mm 18K UltraWeave Raw Carbon makes the ultimate control paddle

Find your perfect fit, and let the SLK Halo paddles help you evolve your game.

Can owning a pickleball club make you a millionaire?

With clubs popping up across the country, have you ever wondered whether the juice is worth the squeeze? Well, one guy tried to find out.

Chris Koerner is an entrepreneur, online personality, and host of the Koerner Office, where he shares business opportunities with his followers. Earlier this year, he dove into the economics of owning a pickleball club and shared his findings on X.

Based on his personal assumptions, Koerner made this prediction, “I bet this location nets about $1.2m/year.” Here’s how:

• 1.5k members paying an average of $150/month

• “Rent + CAM charges + utilities are prob $45k/month all in”

• Monthly wages $40K-$50K per month

Koerner caught some heat in the comments for his assumptions and making this prospect look a little too good to be true. Obviously, there is a lot more that goes into opening a facility of your own.

His post was made back in March and the advice he gives might be impossible to follow by the end of the year. He says “I'd find a city of 100k+ that doesn't have a club and open my own brand.” With new clubs popping up throughout the country, it will be tough to find a city with a population greater than 100k without a club presence.

Check out the full post on X here. What do you think? Does the math check out? Reply to this email and let us know.

Big Expectations for MLP in NYC

Amongst the sounds of subway trains, honking cars, and shuffling feet in New York City yesterday was the unmistakable pop of a pickleball meeting paddle. MLP NYC kicked off in Central Park with three Premier and three Challenger Level matches.

Ben Johns and the Carolina Pickleball Club fell a little deeper in the team standings going 0-2 yesterday. They lost to the D.C. Pickleball Team 3-1 and were dropped by the home team NY Hustlers 3-2 in a Dreambreaker.

The Utah Black Diamonds are arguably the most improved team from the start of the season. They grabbed a regulation win over the NY Hustlers 3-1.

Due to a knee injury, Jaume Martinez Vich will be filling in for Jay Devilliers on the Columbus Sliders.

On the Bubble
The most intriguing matchups in NYC will be the ones with teams close to the cut line of the playoffs.

Today: NY Hustlers vs D.C. Pickleball Team
Saturday: New Jersey 5s vs NY Hustlers
Sunday: New Jersey 5s vs D.C. Pickleball Team

Find more details for the event and Erik Tice’s weekend predictions here.

Harvard data scientist upends finance community with returns in this market

A Harvard data scientist and his crack team have figured out a way to allow everyday people to benefit from a previously “off-limits” investment, with Masterworks, the platform for investing in blue-chip art for a fraction of the cost.

You don’t need art expertise, or millions of dollars, because Masterworks’ proprietary database of art market returns provides an unrivaled quantitative edge in analyzing the art market for your benefit. And with all 16 exits to date, they’ve achieved a profit, delivering +10.4%, +17.8%, and +35.0% annualized net returns - among others.

_{*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. Important Regulation A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.}

Who’s Pickling Who?

There are few things more humbling than getting pickled. If you lose a game 11-0, you might as well have not even shown up to the court.

That being said, it happens to everyone, even at the pro level.

This week, with the help of PickleWave, we rolled out a new leaderboard to show which pros have the killer instinct and are most likely to leave their opponents with a goose egg on the scoreboard. Here is who is topping the chart in 2024:

Longest Streak Without Getting Pickled

51 players have not been pickled in 2024, meaning they're all tied at 260 days without being pickled. Of those players, here are the ones with the most pickles this year:

• Rachel Rohrabacher: 17 pickles

• Jessie Irvine: 9 pickles

• Jill Braverman: 9 pickles

Check out the full leaderboard here and keep an eye out for more pickles before the end of the year.

Headlines & Quick Hits

• 90 Percent of Pickleball Injuries Affect Players Over 50

• Is Andrei Daescu the Next #1 Player in the World?

• Pickleball's Best Dressed at the PPA Atlanta Slam

• ICYMI: Pickleball World Rankings Announces $540K Prize Purse for 2025 Indian League

Highlights

• Are you making these serve mistakes? 🙈

• Bert followed by immediate erne 😤

Miss a recent issue? We've got you covered

• Today: Woman loses husband to pickleball

• Bait your opponent into bad ATPs

• How to find ‘Moments of Advantage’

A review from the Dink Fam...

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