^{Advertise | The Dink Home | Shop Gear | Subscribe}

PPA Atlanta has been bonkers so far. ESPN-worthy points. Upsets at every turn. And one 15-year-old in particular who’s on fire and showing no signs of slowing down.

Speaking of heating up, the PPA Tour and MLP have a new parent company, thanks to a landmark $225 million investment announced mere hours ago.

In This Issue:
— A massive day for pickleball
— The bodybag of all bodybags
— Mother’s Day Gift Guide is live

This one is a doozy.

Pickleball Inc. is the new parent company of the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball, thanks to a landmark $225 million investment from Apollo Sports Capital that brings pro play, consumer goods, technology, and media all onto one unified platform. Here’s what that means for you.

In a round-of-32 match with youngster Will MacKinnon, Zane Navratil hit perhaps the hardest bodybag ever recorded against opponent Jack Sock. Full swing. Straight into the chest. Fourteen feet away. 1,000 miles per hour. Absolute carnage.

Teenage sensation Tama Shimabukuro had himself a day at PPA Atlanta yesterday. First he upset #2 Federico Staksrud in round-of-16 singles. Then he and partner Yuta Funemizu took out #2 Christian Alshon and Hayden Patriquin. No big deal.

Up-and-comer Albie Huang took to social media to voice her frustration at several controversial line calls made by opponent Lea Jansen in their round-of-32 match. Three different shots in the same corner of the court. All landed in. All called out. Innocent mistakes in the heat of a match? Or are possible fines on the horizon? Nico the Lefty reports.

The game is close. You’re back behind the baseline, about to return a crucial serve. Suddenly, a nasty thought pops into your head. Whatever you do, don’t dump this return into the net.

Suddenly, your focus is off. Destructive thoughts have replaced productive ones. You’re not having fun. You’re positively stressing out.

Stop. Breathe. Relax.

In pickleball, there are things you can control and things you cannot. Like consciously being a better partner.

You and your partner can dictate how you communicate, how you encourage each other, how you adjust your strategy together, and how you respond to adversity as a team.

This is huge. Because in doubles pickleball, your mental game isn't just individual. It's collective.

If one partner is spiraling while the other is locked in, you're not operating as a unit.

So the next time you’re down a few points or not playing your best, look inward instead of at your paddle. Hype yourself up. Then do the same for your partner. Even if they do dump that return into the net.

Because it’s not about what happens. It’s about what happens next.

➡️ Allow a top pro to explain.

We started digging into Paddle Lab from JustPaddles… and yeah, it turned into a bit of a rabbit hole — but in the best way.

Not overwhelming. Not confusing. Just… everything finally starting to make sense.

You start comparing paddles side by side and realize how different they actually are, not just in feel, but in measurable ways.

Some have noticeably bigger sweet spots. Some generate way more power. Others are way more balanced than you’d expect.

And instead of guessing, you can actually see it.

That’s what makes Paddle Lab so useful — it takes all the vague “this paddle feels better” talk and turns it into something you can actually understand and use.

We’re already pulling insights from it (starting with power paddles with the biggest sweet spots 👀), but if you want to get ahead of it…

Explore the Paddle Lab here to see how your next paddle actually stacks up, and get 10% off with code THEDINK.

Pickleball players obsess over paddles. Power, pop, spin... you name it. But there’s a far more overlooked performance upgrade sitting right under your feet.

Insoles.

We know what you’re thinking. The insoles that come in your shoes do the job just fine.

That’s like saying the bus will suffice when you could easily opt for a Ferrari.

We know because we’ve seen the other side. We tested VKTRY Insoles and can say with certainty we’ll never go back.

They’re built around a patented full-length carbon fiber plate, designed not just for support, but for performance. The subtle curve is what sets them apart, naturally mirroring the shape of your foot.

Step down and you load the spring. Shuffle laterally for a cross-court dink, jump for a lob defense, or charge the kitchen line for a putaway… everywhere you go, the insole returns energy into the movement.

Translation: every step you take means more pop, more responsiveness, less wasted energy.

Try them for the immediate performance upgrade. Use them every session for the built-in injury protection.

Don’t like them? Send them back — VKTRY will even pay the shipping.

➡️ See what you’re missing.

There’s one top pickleball pro who’s notoriously deadly on the ping-pong table, too. You might have heard of him. Goes by the name of Ben Johns.

Well, he’s got nothing on up-and-coming talent Danni-Elle Townsend. As she tells it, they’ve met on the table before. At a fellow pro’s birthday party. It was a casual hit-around, nothing serious. But Johns knew right away he was not in the same league.

It all tracks. Danni was a top junior ping-pong player in Australia. She played competitively with her three brothers growing up, even spending months at a time training in Japan. Six or more hours every day. Loser cleans the facility. She was only six.

Now she’s taking on pro pickleball. And pro pickleball has taken notice — she was the third overall pick for this year’s MLP draft, sliding into Lea Jansen’s former roster spot on the defending champion Columbus Sliders.

Danni joined Zane and Nico in studio for a wild trip down memory lane, full of Star Wars jokes, Australia references, and tales of rookie drama.

➡️ Watch the chaos.

Sunday, May 10, is Mother's Day. A chance to show that special someone in your life just how much you care.

Or at least how much you know they care about pickleball.

You could go with flowers and a card like you do every year. Or you could give her what she really wants: a new paddle, pickleball bag, or massive box of Franklin X-40s.

We've rounded up a select list of some of our favorite pickleball products we know she'll love (because our mothers are getting one of them, too).

She's been with you through everything – high and low, thick and thin. The least you can do is get her that Boomstik she's been eyeing for months.

➡️ Time to go shopping.

A review from the Dink Fam...

Share the best newsletter in pickleball with your friends and you’ll get free stuff. What’s not to like?

{{rp_personalized_text}}

Copy & Paste this link: {{rp_refer_url_no_params}}

If your company is interested in reaching an audience of active pickleballers, you may want to give us a shout.