The Johns Bros' last dance & Paddle Debacle: Part Infinity

Avoid the Cone of Death. Guinness World Record for oldest competitive player.

January 08, 2025

We’re eight days into the new year and the drama is already nearing all-time highs. The fallout between UPA and Jill Braverman has spilled over from social media to center court.

After Jill successfully advanced through qualifiers, PPA Tour CEO Connor Pardoe posted a poll on X asking…

Based on the results, it looks like we will see Braverman play her round of 32 women’s doubles match on center court. This is Braverman’s only remaining category after a mysterious withdrawal from mixed with partner CJ Klinger.

We’ll see if Braverman is able to create more waves with a win today.

In This Issue:

🏟️ More on the line at the PPA Masters
🍦 Avoid the Cone of Death
🥇 Pickleball's new world record holder

Here we go again.

Our Picks ☝️

🎭 Mystery Solved: Memes of Pickleball Unmasked Today?

The anonymous, hilarious, and universally adored Instagram account @memesofpickleball will make an appearance today. Memes won the IG Creator of the Year award in last year’s Dink Awards and is a front-runner to repeat. Will we find out the identity behind the memes?

✍️ Sponsor: Kate Fahey Signs With ProXR

Kate Fahey went from an unknown to a top-10 player in a hurry in 2024. This week, the rising star in the women’s game announced a new deal with popular paddle brand ProXR.

🎰 Lottery: US Open Championships Lottery Begins Today

Check this off your pickleball bucket list. The lottery to participate in The World’s Biggest Pickleball Party is now open. Sign up here for your chance to play in the US Open.

🩺 The Doctor is in: Shick Leaves UPA to Pursue Med School

When Collin entered the pro pickleball scene in 2023, it was shocking to learn that he was also enrolled in medical school. After playing pro pickle for almost two years, Shick is headed back to school to finish his degree.

Avoiding the Cone of Death

As the serving team, your goal is to reach the kitchen line quickly to neutralize the point. That, however, does not give you permission to sprint to the line with reckless abandon.

Your approach should be strategic. It depends and multiple factors including the quality of the third shot, placement of the third shot, and your partner’s willingness to move forward.

Selkirk pickleball coach and former pro player, Morgan Evans, shows how you can avoid the cone of death in a new video.

  • As a general rule of thumb it’s a good idea to maintain the same depth as your partner to avoid opening large gaps that can be exploited.

  • The cone of death is created when one player moves forward, their partner stays back, and the ball is hit in front of the partner who stayed back.

  • The gap between partners is an easy and obvious target for the opposing player to end the point.

Evans recommends only staggering with your partner when the player advancing is on the same half of the court that the ball is dropped. This eliminates the advantageous angle from the opponent and opens up poaching opportunities.

The Race Is On!


Hey Dink fam, your energy is off the charts! With over 10,000 votes already cast, this year's Nike Dink Awards are shaping up to be a real nail-biter. Some categories are so neck-and-neck, we might just need Close Call Replay to decide the winners.

By casting your vote, you're not only tipping the scales for your favorite players and creators but also helping them win a $1,000 grant to fuel their growth in pickleball.

Remember, throwing your name in the hat not only boosts your favorites but also enters you to win a Selkirk 007 paddle and stylish performance gear.

Don't let the clock run out—voting wraps up on January 14th. Cast Your Vote Now and be part of pickleball history!

The Last Hurrah for the Johns Bros

The PPA Masters is one of the most unique stops on the tour. It is the only event where players are required to wear all-white resembling the scene at Wimbledon. It is also one of four ‘Slams’ on the schedule offering winners 2,000 tour points compared to 1,500 at Cups and 1,000 at Opens.

Calling it Quits … For Now
This event is also unique because it might be the last time we see the Johns Bros partner for the foreseeable future. Ben has announced a new partnership with Gabe Tardio, but wouldn’t it be fitting to see the bros put together one more title run before the hiatus?

We will also get a look at what could have been. For this event, Tardio will partner with JW Johnson who he was originally believed to be partnering with in 2025.

Tennis Fans Unite
Speaking of Wimbledon, a new Jack Sock/Genie Bouchard mixed doubles partnership might make you double-check that you’re watching PickleballTV and not the Tennis Channel.

These tennis champions had a dominant start in their first match yesterday, winning 11-1, 11-2. They’ll face Meghan Dizon/AJ Koller today for a spot in the round of 16.

2000 Points Up For Grabs
The points available for this Slam could dictate player totals for the remainder of the year. Hunter Johnson, who had a tremendous finish to 2024, could make a strong play toward closing the gap on Federico Staksrud with a win in Palm Springs.

Our guy Erik Tice is predicting a finals run for Judit Castillo who was forced to start in qualifiers. Find a full preview of the event with predictions for each division here. Tune in starting at 1 pm ET today through Sunday on PickleballTV.

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

MUEV’S Got You Covered

Tired of pickleball gear that just doesn’t... well, get you? Check out MUEV.

MUEV's collection offers everything from cool blues for the gents to popping pastels for the ladies, ensuring you look as good as your game feels.

Quang Duong Paddle Dispute

One of the major storylines coming out of the PPA Masters revolves around Quang Duong. Duong was seen changing paddles mid-match from a Selkirk paddle to Proton paddle.

This caught viewers by surprise because Duong is a Selkirk-sponsored player and is contractually obligated to use Selkirk paddles. Chatter about the situation sparked a response from Selkirk which revealed ongoing issues between the two parties.

  • The Selkirk statement cites contract breaches by Duong including “unauthorized auction of unreleased paddles and prototypes to the public” and using other paddles at in-person events and in social media posts

  • It also denies claims of “serving” Duong while on-court and indicates that a cease and desist letter has been issued

A couple additional items of note. Selkirk players were required to use the Project 008 paddle for this event (as a result of ongoing complications with the paddle certification process), which could understandably present problems for players who have not trained with that paddle.

Lastly, it is no secret that The Dink has an active partnership with Selkirk; regardless, we’re committed to non-bias coverage of this story.

Duong’s contract is set to expire in April of this year, but it sounds like there will be plenty to sort out for one of the game’s breakout players in the upcoming months.

94-Year-Old Sets World Record

Joyce Jones just earned a spot in pickleball royalty. Her efforts at the Huntsman World Senior Games awarded her a new World Record.

Guinness World Records recently recognized Jones as “The oldest competitive pickleball player.” She learned to play pickleball from one of the game’s inventors, Joel Pritchard, more than 44 years ago.

Jones competes at the USA Pickleball Nationals Championships every year, including this past year in Arizona. Listen to Joyce tell her story of learning the game and what pickleball has meant to her life over the past four decades.

💼 Want a job in pickleball? Six Zero Pickleball is looking for a few Partnership Activation Managers. Reach out to their team at [email protected] for more info.

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