Happy May Dink Fam. Time to fire up the Justin Timberlake meme and finalize your Mother’s Day plans.

Are you struggling to remember your mom’s favorite flower again this year? Skip the florist altogether and let us do the heavy lifting.

The Pickleball Box is packed with equipment, apparel, and more to outshine your siblings this Mother’s Day.

In This Issue:

🎾 From tennis to pickleball
📝 Owner ranks MLP teams
📈 Leaderboards updated in The Dink Minor Leagues

Wake up, wake up, it’s the first of the month.

From Tennis to Pickleball, Part I

Tennis players have an inherent advantage when it comes to playing pickleball for the first time. But not every racquet skill is applicable on the short court.

John Cincola explains what tennis shots need to be left behind and what habits can be tweaked to make it a smooth transition.

Things to Leave Behind
1. Tennis Volley - The tennis volley can get you into trouble on the pickleball court. Cincola explains that hitting a volley with an open paddle face and crossover step will get you into trouble when making the switch.

The open paddle face leaves you prone to popups. More often volleys in pickleball use a square or slightly closed paddle and topspin.

A crossover step makes it more difficult to recover to neutral after a volley. It also puts you at a higher risk of accidentally stepping on the kitchen line.

 2. Big swings - A shorter swing on the pickleball court is advisable for a number of reasons. The court is shorter, the ball is lighter, the paddle is smaller, and there is less recovery time than in tennis.

Cincola suggests the paddle rarely be brought behind your body for a backswing. A backswing in line with your body is adequate to generate enough power with the pickleball.

He also suggests an abbreviated follow-through. Shorten the follow-through when possible to increase recovery time and finish closer to ready position.

Habits to Bring and Adjust
3. Spin - Understanding spin provides a huge leg up when transitioning to pickleball. The pickleball paddle and ball, however, are less efficient at creating spin than a tennis racquet and ball.

That means adjustments in the paddle face need to be toned down compared to tennis. The paddle face should not be as closed as a racquet face would.

Catch the second part of Cincola’s tips in Friday’s newsletter.

Gift the Game She Loves

Ever dreamed of a box that delivers the joy of pickleball right to your doorstep? This Mother’s Day, make that dream come true for the pickleball-loving mom in your life with The Pickleball Box!

Packed with the perfect spring pickleball gear, The Essentials Box or The Pro Box offers incredible value at nearly half the price.

Score major points this Mother's Day. Check out The Pickleball Box and make sure Mom’s geared up and game-ready!

MLP Owner Ranks the Premier Level

Major League Pickleball makes its highly-anticipated return next week. With the conclusion of the Red Rock Open, players can connect with their teams and focus on the season-opening event in Atlanta.

Owner of the California Black Bears, Ritchie Tuazon, was itching to get the ball rolling. He took to social media to share his power rankings of the Premier Level teams.

Tuazon’s Top 5
1. Orlando Squeeze
2. Texas Ranchers
3. New Jersey 5s
4. Dallas Flash
5. Columbus Sliders

Tuazon slots the Squeeze in at No. 1, citing their women’s doubles team as a major catalyst. Their post-draft acquisition of Tyson McGuffin certainly does not hurt either.

Tuazon also identifies JW Johnson as the “biggest steal of the draft.” The arguably second-best doubles player went in the 12th spot to the newly named Dallas Flash.

As a team owner, Tuazon has won numerous MLP titles, including the inaugural season with team BLQK. This year his team is competing at the Challenger Level. You can compare Tuzaon’s power rankings to our draft grades.

Road to Nationals Starts Here

The National Leaderboards for The Dink Minor Leagues have been updated and there are new No. 1s in the clubhouse. On Monday, DUPR released the new leaderboards in the Road to Nationals.

The leaderboards are separated by their team's cumulative DUPR rating. Players earn points toward their season total by participating in local and regional events throughout the year.

The largest event to date took place this weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There were Dreambreakers at every level as amateurs got to experience the MLPlay format for themselves.

Think you're better than these guys? Sign up and prove it. 

Engineered for Pickleball

With the speed of the game increasing and the need for proper eye protection becoming more apparent than ever, RIA Eyewear has emerged as the gold standard for high-performance pickleball eyewear.

RIA’s lenses are engineered in collaboration with world-renowned lens maker ZEISS through extensive color science research specifically to enhance the contrast of the pickleball, providing exceptional clarity and improving on-court vision.

RIA offers interchangeable lens options to account for various lighting conditions. All of their lenses are shatterproof, treated with anti-fog/anti-glare coatings, and are 100% UVA/UVB protective.

Keep your eyes protected from all angles with RIA Eyewear, the Official Protective Eyewear of USA Pickleball.

Pickleball Helps Feed Baytown

The pickleball fundraiser is alive and well. Since pickleball’s spike in popularity, it has been a great option for communities to raise funds.

The formula has been applied to support charities and provide local courts on numerous occasions. One example is a recent tournament held at Lee College in Baytown, Texas.

Last weekend the event raised $10K for the local Meals on Wheels program. According to the Baytown Sun, that will add five new people in need from the waitlist into the program and provide 1400 meals.

Also, kudos to Lee College on some great-looking courts. The college converted two tennis courts to four pickleball courts that are likely a major attraction on campus. You love to see the trend of pickleball progress returning positive contributions to the community.

Headlines & Quick Hits

• More than one-third of our readers use this type of recovery

• Samantha Parker’s Journey to PPA Tour Success

• Christian Alshon’s Day in the Life of a Pickleball Pro

• The Dink’s Comprehensive Mother’s Day Gift Guide

• ICYMI: Lea Jansen Talks Paddles, Drug Testing, and Line Calls

Highlights

• No one was backing down 😳

• The matchup you didn’t know you needed 📺

• What it takes to win a point these days 🙉

• Relationship status: It’s Complicated 💔

A review from the Dink Fam...

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