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Welp, Punxsutawney Phil saw his silly shadow this morning, which means six more weeks of winter — and indoor pickleball — for all of us in colder climates. Anyone in Florida have a guest bedroom? Asking for a friend…

In brighter news, we’re announcing the first batch of winners of The 120/Life Dink Awards this week: The Pros. That means men’s and women’s player of the year, best comeback, breakout star, and much more. Subscribe to the PicklePod to hear it before anyone else.

In This Issue:
— The outdated rules of doubles
— Back-to-back Nastys
— MLP trade mill heats up

Thanks, Phil.

MLP trades are flying right now, and a big one happened over the weekend: the New Jersey 5s traded their longtime captain Zane Navratil to the Chicago Slice. It’s “bittersweet,” says Zane. But it’s not all bad. His new men’s teammate is top-ranked Hunter Johnson (more on that below).

It’s rare when a pickleball clip has us picking our jaw up off the floor. Then again, one Nasty Nelson in a game is rare enough. But what about two. Against the same player. In consecutive points. Pack your bags, bud — you just don’t come back from that.

If you don’t know the name Sofia Sewing, let us catch you up to speed: in 2025, she was one of the most dominant females across all three disciplines on the APP Tour. And beginning this season, she’ll be eligible to play in Major League Pickleball. Get acquainted.

The votes have been counted and the winners are locked. This week, we’ll start announcing the winners of the 120/Life Dink Awards, first on the PicklePod, then across our site, social channels and, of course, right here in the newsletter. The wait is almost over. In the meantime, here’s a refresher on all of this year’s categories.

Everyone thinks they’ve got this pickleball thing all figured out. Heck, we tell you how to play better, smarter, and more efficiently in this very newsletter all the time (we’re doing it right now, in fact).

But the truth is: there’s no one-size-fits-all formula that works for everyone. And as the game matures, rules we once thought were ironclad suddenly feel antiquated. Or downright silly.

Here are a few once-common “rules” that haven’t stood the test of time. Modern pickleball, it turns out, isn’t as black-and-white as we all once thought.

🚫 Putaway shots are all about power. Yeah, nope. It’s true that paddles have become more powerful, but players understand court geometry at elite levels now and it’s tough to hit kill shots through your opponents every time. Take some pace off and utilize your angles instead.

🚫 Never hit a drop shot. If the ball is above shoulder height, blast it back down the middle or at an aggressive angle (we just talked about this, remember?). If it’s lower, and your opponents are flat-footed behind the baseline, a drop is fair game. But use this sparingly; if it gets predictable, it becomes a weakness.

🚫 Always target the weaker player. Even weaker players have good shots. Instead of targeting a player, target specific areas or shots on both opponents. One might have a weak backhand return but a great backhand dink. Assess this early and adapt your strategy in real time.

If you found these helpful, we’ve got a few other modern doubles strategies people don’t talk about enough.

➡️ Watch the video.

Not judging. Okay, maybe a little.

Pickleball footwork is chaos in disguise — quick shuffles, weird lunges, that one scramble where you somehow end up sideways at the kitchen. Court shoes actually matter more than most of us admit.

Midwest Racquet Sports has a ton of legit pickleball options that are built for lateral movement instead of straight-line miles. Better grip. More stability on those awkward stops. And your ankles will probably thank you by game four.

If you’ve been meaning to upgrade but keep forgetting, consider this your sign.

Check out pickleball shoes at Midwest Racquet Sports and use code THEDINK for 15% off at checkout.

The 2026 Major League Pickleball season gets underway in May — but we’re nowhere near ready for the first serve.

In the next couple of months, all Premier and Challenger Level teams will be getting their rosters in fighting shape. That means trades. Lots of them.

And we’re already off to the races. In the past few days, we’ve seen a couple major moves at the Premier Level:

🔁 Trade 1: LA Mad Drops receive Max Freeman; Chicago Slice receive Hunter Johnson and cash considerations

🔁 Trade 2: Atlanta Bouncers receive Jay Devilliers; Miami Pickleball Club receive Eric Roddy and cash considerations

🔁 Trade 3: Chicago Slice receive Zane Navratil; New Jersey 5s receive cash considerations

🔁 Trade 4: Atlanta Bouncers receive Kaitlyn Christian; Texas Ranchers receive Victoria DiMuzio and cash considerations

Snap analysis: Ben Johns clearly wanted to play with a lefty, and Max got the call; elite women are at a premium — Kaitlyn is at that level; and Zane has been synonymous with the New Jersey 5s for years, so it’s the end of an era there.

For more, check out Erik Tice’s MLP Trade Tracker, which we’ll be updating on a rolling basis.

➡️ Moving and shaking.

The US Open Pickleball Championships are back on in Naples, Florida, this April, celebrating its tenth year the only way it knows how: going bigger than ever before.

That’s saying something for an event that’s become known as the "Biggest Pickleball Party in the World™.”

We’ll have plenty of coverage as the date draws nearer, but here’s what you should know right now: if you want to watch any matches on Zing Zang Championship Court — including Anna Leigh Waters — you’re going to need a ticket. And the only way to procure such a ticket is to enter the lottery.

The lottery is live now. You’ve got until midnight EST on Thursday, Feb. 5, to throw your name in the hat.

➡️ Get on it.

Long rallies are fun. Long-term health matters more.

120/Life is a daily superfood drink mix designed to help support healthy blood pressure, circulation, and overall heart health — without prescriptions, extremes, or guesswork.

Better circulation supports endurance. Heart health supports recovery between games. Healthy blood pressure supports longevity in the sport we’re all obsessed with.

It’s built from natural ingredients you’ve actually heard of:
Beetroot. Pomegranate. Tart cherry. Cranberry. Hibiscus. Magnesium.

Antioxidant-rich. Designed to support blood flow. Made for real life — and real play.

Grab 120/Life here and get 20% off with code DINK.

Few pickleball players on the planet will ever know what it's like to possess a DUPR rating of 7.0 or above — this list has two of them.

Once again, our pals over at DUPR have put together a comprehensive roundup of the best pickleball players from January 2026, men and women, ranked by DUPR rating across each of the continents — this time, for doubles.

It’s full of names you probably haven’t heard before, proof-positive that this sport is exploding in every corner of the globe.

But there are pros like ALW, Tina Pisnik, and Gabe Tardio. And a couple guys you might recognize from the PPA Tour who are operating in rarefied air: Ben Johns and Andrei Daescu, the only two players to crack the elusive 7.0 mark. Must be nice.

➡️ See the full list.

A review from the Dink Fam...

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