Pickleball’s Mysterious New Origin Story

There's a new claim that pickleball was born at boozy backyard fundraisers—not on Bainbridge as we know it.

April 11, 2025

A tradition unlike any other…pulling our hair out until the MLP season starts. Jk. It’s Masters Weekend, which means the eyes of the world will briefly divert their gaze from pro pickleball to a bunch of grown adults whacking a tiny ball around (wait…).

The leading storylines so far: Rory McIlroy’s young daughter drained a putt from deep, and the reigning U.S. Amateur champion from Spain, 21-year-old Jose Ballester, playing alongside world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, did the unthinkable—dude peed on the course at the 13th hole.

In This Issue:

  • 3 breakout MLP players to watch

  • Anatomy of a league-shaking upset

  • Pickleball’s mysterious new origin story

Ball is life.

Our Picks ☝️

🥇 Bigtime: College Pickle, Pro Dreams

The DUPR Collegiate National Championship is this weekend. Defending champ Utah Tech is playing for more than prize money and bragging rights: The winner earns a spot in the MLP mid-season tourney in July.

💲 Respect: Altaf Merchant is Money

Congratulations to decorated pro (and Dink Awards finalist) Altaf Merchant is a bread-winner off the court as well: he was just named to the Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” list.

‼ Action: Pickle Pros, But Tiny

Pickleball pros have officially made it: they’ve now got their own action figures, complete with tiny accessories. Meet the Orlando Squeeze MLP squad, in miniature.

🚨 Confirmed: Goodbye ‘Girlies’

Rachel Rohrabacher took to Instagram to confirm her split with longtime partner Anna Bright. After eight golds together, it’s bye, bye “Girlies.”

When Speedups Fail: Anatomy of an Upset

We all know Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau lost to Hurricane Tyra Black and Jorja Johnson in the finals in North Carolina—and the shocking fallout that followed.

Some new data from Real Clear Stats gives us some insights into how this all went down.

Anna Leigh and Catherine roared out of the gate to a commanding game one win, but lost the next three games to lose the match. So, what happened? If you look at the data, this was a contest of speedups and counters, with one team ultimately gaining the edge and never giving it back.

  • In Game 1, Waters and Parenteau won 52% of their speedups en route to an easy 11-1 win.

  • In Game 2, Waters continued to speed up, but didn’t find the same success. She won 29% of the speedups she initiated, but lost 36%. Black and Johnson had caught on.

  • By Game 3, Waters was a speedup machine. Rather than slow things down, she continued to push the pace. This would prove to be their demise: Waters and Parenteau lost 53% of their speedups en route to an 11-4 rout.

The rest, as they say, is history—our days of analyzing new matches from Waters/Parenteau are done.

Here are a few lessons you can take into your next match:

✅ Recognize, now anticipate. Speedups come fast. Get your feet under your shoulders and be ready to load up.

✅ Get your hands out front. If your default paddle position is poised in front of your chest, you'll always be ready to pounce.

✅ Reload quick and be ready. Guess what? Your counter could be countered. Always expect another shot.

✅ Adapt or die. The ability to change strategies mid-game could be the difference-maker. Pickleball is never one-size-fits-all.

Knowledge is power. Play smart.

The Paddle You’ve Been Seeing Everywhere

You might have seen this new electric blue paddle in the hands of Jorja Johnson, Will Howells, and Parris Todd. That’s Franklin’s C45° — and here’s what’s special about it.

The T700 carbon face is laid at a unique 45° angle, which is designed to create more consistent spin across the entire paddle face. It’s also built with a double thermoformed unibody design, strengthening the structure of the paddle, so every shot feels solid—no rattles, no core crush.

We’re pretty hyped about this one, and we think you should be, too.

🤔 Newsletter getting clipped? Click ‘view entire message’ or click here to read online

Different Family, Different Island: Pickleball’s Mysterious New Origin Story

Pickleball has two prevailing origin stories. The first features a dog named Pickles playing fetch on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The other is loosely tied to “pickle boats,” or last-place crew boats made up of mismatched rowers.

But what if we told you there was a third, lesser-known origin story?

While digging through the internet’s deepest, darkest pickleball archives (as one does), we discovered a self-published book that tells a different—albeit entirely unverified—version of events.

The Bechtel Theory

  • In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the unnamed author’s aunt and uncle, Gretchen and Charles “Chuck” Bechtel, regularly hosted political fundraisers at their home on Whidbey Island—a ferry ride north of Bainbridge Island in the Puget Sound.

  • The Bechtels were friends with the Pritchards and McCallums, the widely accepted co-founders of pickleball.

  • At these fundraisers, they would play a yard game using pingpong paddles, wiffle balls, and a tattered badminton net—a game the Bechtels and their guests called “pickle pong” or “pickleball.”

  • The author claims that the Pritchards and McCallums “discovered” this quirky game at the Bechtels’ events and eventually brought it back to Bainbridge Island, where it was formalized into what we now know as pickleball.

As for the name? That allegedly refers to the often-intoxicated (or “pickled”) state of the players during these raucous lawn games.

Not So Fast

On the latest PicklePod, Thomas and Zane dig deeper into this unknown origin story and voice some skepticism about its legitimacy.

“Why come out with this now, instead of 20 years ago?” Zane challenges. “If this guy wants to be the one who invented pickleball, he’s got to show us some evidence. Time-stamped photos. Documents. Something.”

Watch the full episode of the latest PicklePod right here.

We Built Your Spring Pickleball Fit

Let’s make this easy.

For the women — just look at Kamryn Blackwood (yes, that Kamryn). She’s rocking the Kamryn Cropped Tee with the Tulip Compression Shorts. Sporty, clean, effortless.

For the guys — it doesn’t get more go-to than the Chevron Tee paired with the Echelon Shorts. Simple. Sharp. Ready for whatever.

We’ve done the styling. All you gotta do is add to cart.

Dink fam gets 20% off with code THEDINK — because we’re always looking out.

3 New MLP Players with Breakout Potential

The Major League Pickleball season gets underway April 24 in Orlando.

There are 16 Premier Level teams competing this year—up from 12 last year—and rosters have expanded from four to six players. That means plenty of fresh faces hitting the hardcourt.

Here are three players with breakout potential to keep an eye on:


1️⃣ Victoria DiMuzio | DUPR: 5.9 | Age: 26
In 2024, she played for the Southwestern Ontario Brewers in the Canadian National Pickleball League, achieving a 67% win rate and earning eight "Player of the Match" honors. She’s bringing that talent to the Atlanta Bouncers.


2️⃣ Mehvish Safdar | DUPR: 5.4 | Age: 28
Safdar amassed 74 doubles wins in Division I college tennis. She later pursued a Ph.D. in Sports Psychology at Indiana University, where she excelled in collegiate pickleball. Safdar has signed with the Utah Black Diamonds.


3️⃣ Mya Bui | DUPR: 5.0 | Age: 25
Bui entered the pickleball scene in 2024, securing a notable win over Victoria DiMuzio at the PPA Daytona Beach Open. Drafted 17th by the Miami Pickleball Club, she’s known for her powerful two-handed drives.


For more on these players—and the upcoming MLP season—head here.

PicklePod Summary

It’s PicklePod Friday, and Zane and Thomas have much to discuss.

First, the guys get into the fraud allegations leveled against Legacy Park in Mesa, AZ, by the SEC and DOJ. Legacy Park was supposed to be a utopia for the sport-obsessed, including premier pro pickleball events—hosting multiple APP, PPA and MLP events. But it failed to meet projections, and the wheels started coming off.

Next is the results from the PPA North Carolina Open from last weekend. Zane discusses ALW and other stars withdrawing due to the roll-out courts and his experiences with the less-than-ideal surface. Was that a contributing factor in an event where not a single #1 seed won gold?

Finally, they are joined by Jacob Smith from DUPR to discuss this weekend’s Collegiate National Championship. Will Utah Tech defend its title, or will new blood enter the chat?

All that and much more—watch the new episode here.

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