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You’ve seen bad line calls. You’ve never seen anything quite like this footage from a recent PPA Challenger event. One player’s hooks were so egregious, his conduct so offensive, it actually earned him a 90-day suspension from the PPA Tour.

The craziest part? He doesn’t appear to be apologetic or contrite in the least. If anything, he’s doubling down. The full, wild story below.

In This Issue:
— Common mistakes when dinking aggressively
— New study proves pickleball’s mental health benefits
— How fate propelled Eric Oncins to double PPA gold

“Respect the name.”

The MLP’s Brooklyn Pickleball Team held minor league tryouts recently, and who showed up to compete but former New York Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier. Judging by his biceps, the dude clearly still works out. And his pickleball game is pretty impressive, too.

A trending Reddit post from a competitive female pickleball player laments the “chivalrous” men who avoid playing aggressively against women opponents. “It’s such an unfortunate perspective,” she wrote. “If anything, it hurts our overall ability to develop our skills.”

Camila Zilveti asked a bunch of fellow pros what they tell people when asked what they do for a living. From “stay at home dad” to “Uber driver” to “unemployed,” it seems like it’s easier to lie than explain what pro pickleball is? Watch the vid.

After taking a little time off while the rest of the pro pickleball world was either overseas or experimenting with wooden paddles, Anna Leigh Waters is back in action in Virginia Beach and looking dialed. She’s well on her way to her 36th career triple crown.

Most recreational players think aggressive dinking means hitting hard, but James Ignatowich insists it's actually about placement and timing.

After coaching hundreds of players, and competing in countless pro tournaments, Ignatowich has identified the most common mistakes that hold players back from taking control at the kitchen line.

🚫 Not using enough legs. You can't hit a quality aggressive dink standing upright. You have to bend your knees and get low, especially on the backhand side. No negotiation here.

🚫 Letting the ball come to you. When taking dinks out of the air aggressively, lean forward. Follow the ball with your outside leg so you stay behind it. Contact the ball at its apex, not after it's already dropping.

🚫 The windshield-wiper. There are different ways to misuse your wrist, but the worst is crossing from right to left (for righties) when attempting a flick. A little wrist action upward to generate topspin is fine, but that windshield-wiper motion? That's a recipe for inconsistency.

The aggressive dink isn't about overpowering your opponent. It's about creating pressure through placement, using deception to keep them guessing, and understanding when to attack versus when to reset.

➡️ Watch the full video.

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The Tempo gives control-oriented players a compact, wider face for forgiveness on off-center hits. The Dynasty, on the other hand, is for the power players — elongated shape, responsive feel, and that extra reach for when you’re swinging for winners.

Both come in slick 14mm and 16mm builds and colors that really turn heads: Electric Red and Mint Chrome.

And if you want proof they can hold up under pressure, just watch Sofia Sewing using the Dynasty in the AARP Open women’s singles final this Sunday.

These paddles might not guarantee medals… but they definitely help.

➡️ Check out the Franklin C45 Series.

A video posted to Instagram yesterday ripped through the pickleball world like wildfire.

It shows footage from a match at last week’s Charleston PPA Challenger in which one player, Dennis Uspensky, appears to make several wild line calls, then taunt both his opponent and members of the crowd with offensive language and threats of violence.

Amazingly, Uspensky has only doubled down since the clips went viral.

“I stand by my intensity. I stand by my career. And I’ll always stand on the side of fierce, no-holds-barred competition,” he posted in the comments. “Respect the name when you speak it.”

For his conduct, Uspensky earned a 90-day suspension from all PPA Tour-related events, including the upcoming LT Open, for which he’s registered.

➡️ Watch the unbelievable video.

Just three days before PPA Malaysia, Eric Oncins wasn't planning to go anywhere. In fact, he was scheduled to play the PPA Vintage Open in Sacramento and looking forward to it.

Then his phone rang.

Federico Staksrud couldn't get his visa sorted in time to attend, he was told. On the line was an executive from JOOLA, looking for a high-quality partner for Tyson McGuffin. Oncins said no. Then he said no again.

"If you get me business class, I'll be there," Oncins told them, half-joking. When they initially declined, he figured that was that. But circumstances have a way of changing minds, and suddenly Oncins found himself doing a coin toss to decide whether to make the trip or stay stateside.

The coin said go. Good thing he listened.

Oncins and McGuffin would go on to win men’s doubles gold in Malaysia. Just days later, they did it again in Vietnam.

It was an unforgettable experience for Oncins, who had never played in front of a crowd that large. "I got goosebumps, chills, just from being there, feeling that energy,” he told Zane on this week’s PicklePod. “This is how pickleball should be.”

➡️ Watch this week’s PicklePod.

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A new study out of Saint Louis University, published in Frontiers in Sports Science, actually measured the connection between pickleball participation and mental well-being.

The results? Let’s just say your regular Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday routine might be doing more for your mood than your morning coffee.

Researchers surveyed over 1,600 pickleball players across the U.S., ages 18 to 89 — though most hovered around 63.

They weren’t just looking for casual “yeah, I feel good” answers. Participants filled out the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, a legit global standard for measuring mental health, alongside detailed questions about how often and how long they played pickleball each week.

Here’s what they found:

This isn’t exactly the excuse you’ve been looking for to hit the courts seven days a week, but we’re not mad to hear that consistent, longer sessions are associated with improved well-being.

So if you’re playing once or twice a week, maybe add a weekend morning or stay for an extra game or two.

➡️ Your brain might thank you.

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