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It’s been more than 50 years since 90 million viewers tuned in to witness tennis history with the “Battle of the Sexes.” This April, Anna Leigh Waters will channel her inner Billie Jean King as she aims to dethrone a couple dudes on the pickleball court.

Can she and Genie Bouchard beat Andre Agassi and James Blake to claim the $1M Pickleball Slam 4 prize? Smart money says yes.

In This Issue:
— We preview this weekend’s MLP Cup
— The 3 elements of hand speed
— Why one pro just lost his fat contract

Let’s ball.

We’ll keep this brief, because it’s starting to get repetitive: A pickleball mockumentary debuted on Friday at the Austin Film Festival. “Pickleheads” tells the story of a disgraced ping-pong player seeking a fresh start through pickleball fame and glory. No word yet on when or where it could start streaming.

We talk a lot about the dominance of Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters. But let’s put that into sharper perspective, shall we? Out of 300 career mixed doubles matches together, the pair has lost a grand total of eight times. That’s a 97% winning percentage. At the highest level of the sport. Cue the slow clap.

JOOLA is banking on a sweet spot in the paddle market. Not premium, but not entry-level, either. Their new intermediate paddle series, the Vision, comes in multiple shapes and models. Prices range from $90 to $140. The throwback graphics are a nice touch.

For the first time ever, the DUPR 20 50+ Division is hitting The Dink Minor League Pickleball National Championships in Dallas, Dec 3–7. It’s a brand-new bracket built for elite 50+ competitors, all going head-to-head for their cut of $100,000.

Ever have one of those days where you’re getting absolutely lit up at the kitchen line? Where one player in particular seems to have your number and every hands battle goes his way?

Us too. And it got us thinking. There’s got to be more to hand speed than just having fast hands. So we asked around and gathered some insights from a handful of players far more skilled than us. Plus a quick tip on how you can get quicker, too.

1️⃣ Actual speed of your hands. Superior hand speed is all about getting your paddle behind the ball, then resetting in a millisecond to be in position to do it again. Quick-twitch players like Hayden Patriquin and JW Johnson are elite at this.

🎯 The drill: Find a wall and see how close you can stand while keeping the ball up, as fast as possible. This isn’t sexy, but it works.

2️⃣ All about anticipation. The more you have to reach for a ball, the more likely you are to mishit it or pop it up. Staying in a hands battle requires anticipating where the next shot is coming in real time and leading with your legs to get there. You want the ball coming at your chest as much as possible.

🎯 The drill: Watch some match footage of Matt Wright or Tyra Black, focusing only on their footwork. Their hands are elite, but their anticipation is even better. Study the patterns. Then try to replicate them on the court.

3️⃣ Ball-striking power. Sooner or later, someone needs to put the ball away. This comes down to keeping a short, compact swing and getting on top of the ball to punch it back at your opponent’s feet. Nobody does this better than Anna Leigh Waters.

🎯 The drill: Find a partner and a fresh tennis ball. It’ll feel like hitting a bowling ball compared to a pickleball, and that’s the point. You have to hit through it to give it any pace. Now translate that same swing motion in a match and see what happens.

Remember a few weeks back when we talked about Franklin’s first-ever pickleball shoe? Let’s jog your memory.

The ACV Pro was built from the ground up just for pickleball players, not rebranded tennis shoes. Aero-Step ventilation keeps your feet cool, the tread grabs on every split step, and the asymmetric toe design helps them last longer than your average pair.

If you’ve seen Hayden Patriquin darting around the court lately, you’ve already seen them in action.

➡️ See the Franklin ACV Pro lineup and see why it’s getting attention for all the right reasons.

Andre Mercado doesn’t have his license yet.

He just turned 16, after all. But instead of playing video games and hanging with friends like other kids his age, the PPA Pro is training for four hours daily, hitting the gym, and sitting through extensive film sessions.

“You name it, I probably do it. The little things count,” he told Zane on this week’s PicklePod.

His efforts seem to be paying off. Mercado and teammate Tama Shimabukuro made a respectable run at PPA Las Vegas, beating a solid duo of Armaan Bhatia and Chris Haworth in the round of 64.

“We’re young. This isn’t our job yet. We can just go out and play carefree and have fun,” he said of their strategy. “Those guys have all the pressure. We have none.”

Also on this week’s PicklePod:

➡️ Watch it now.

It's been 52 years since Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets in the historic "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match held in the Houston Astrodome in 1973, a cultural milestone witnessed by a whopping 90 million viewers worldwide.

This April, pickleball is bringing it back.

Pickleball Slam 4 returns to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. But it’ll look a little different this year. Same $1 million prize pool. Much, much stiffer competition.

Andre Agassi is back, this time alongside fellow tennis great James Blake. Across the net: Current PPA Tour top-10 singles player Genie Bouchard. Oh, and Anna Leigh Waters.

Agassi has played in all three prior Slam events and never lost. But he’s never played the GOAT, either. And ALW is out for blood.

“Genie and I have a lot of respect for Andre and James’ legacy, but they're about to learn how hard it really is to master the sport we play for a living,” she said. “If Andre wants to keep that Pickleball Slam title, he’s going to have to earn it the hard way.”

The first three Pickleball Slam events have all gone Agassi's way:

The event will be aired on ESPN at 7 p.m. EST on April 15, 2026. Tickets are on sale now.

Trulieve’s changing the game with powerful, plant-based wellness support designed to help you bounce back faster. Think balance, targeted relief, and a smoother recovery that actually fits your routine, all without breaking a sweat.

It’s a versatile lineup of safe, reliable products proven to support every type of player, whether you’re chasing a 5.0 rating or just trying to survive tournament weekend.

➡️ New to the plant-based wellness game? Their all-star store associates will walk you through it.

There’s more to a pro pickleball player’s contract than showing up for major events. The vast majority of signed players are also required to teach a set number of clinics and camps, attend autograph signings, commentate matches, and the like.

But here’s the thing: A lot of them just can’t be bothered.

We’re hearing that of the roughly 140 active PPA pros competing in 2024, about half failed to fulfill their contract obligations. And when given an extension through June of this year, 39 still hadn’t complied.

This week, the sport’s governing body, the UPA, dropped the hammer, handing out fines and final warnings, and even fully terminating a few contracts.

One such player, we’re told, was earning a cool $340,000 salary but failed to appear at May’s PPA Atlanta Slam.

Being paid to play pickleball at the highest level is quite literally our dream job, but we’d be happy being paid that much to do pretty much anything. We’re guessing there’s more to come on this story. Stay tuned.

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