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

We’ve got a fun one for this fine Friday. Mark Wahlberg is dipping his toe into pro pickleball. A top pro shares his secrets for sneaky attacks. And we take a closer look at the biggest storylines heading into this weekend’s MLP Finals.

In This Issue:
— How to disguise your dinks
— Reader poll: Where do you stand?
— MLP Finals: 5 things to watch

Liftoff.

Put your hand up if you’ve never once attempted a Nasty Nelson. Yeah, us too. Well, one intrepid rec player decided to send a nuke of a serve straight at his buddy’s chest. To start the game. Even Jack Sock weighed in: “I approve.”

Is it cool or cringe to vocally celebrate a great point in rec play? Comments in a Facebook post are surprisingly split between a) it’s a competitive sport, be as loud as you want, or b) super lame, act like you’ve been there before. What do you think?

Pro Kyle Koszuta has a word of warning for anyone trying to keep up at the kitchen: If you’re in a hands battle looking like you’re getting a picture taken at the DMV… yeah, you’re doing it all wrong, buddy.

Here’s a question for all you active players out there: Where do you stand during a serve as the non-returning player? Out wide, dead center, or aggressively lurking around the center line? Inquiring minds want to know…

Sure, ripping a passing drive or smashing an overhead through the back of the court feels great. But there’s something uniquely satisfying about winning a point off a perfectly disguised dink.

It takes a bit of finesse. But like all great pickleball shots, there’s an art and a science to it. Take it from Richard Livornese, one of the top players currently steamrolling the APP Tour.

❎ Technique 1: The Body Lean Fake — This is your bread and butter. You shift your weight or rotate your torso toward the non-paddle side of the court, let your opponent read that movement, then redirect the ball in the opposite direction. So shifty.

❎ Technique 2: The Hold and Snap — Instead of moving your body one way and going the other, you keep your body completely still and use a late wrist snap to redirect the ball at the last possible moment. Exaggerate the pause for added effect.

❎ Technique 3: The Pattern Flip — Hit a dink you love over and over. Say a cross-court slice dink out wide. At a pivotal moment in the game, when you need a point, go back to this pattern, then flip it at the first sign of an attackable ball. Cross-court. Cross-court. Cross-court. BAM: Twoey down the line.

Timing is critical for all of these. Don’t throw away a feint on an unattackable ball. That’ll tip your hand before you get a chance to strike.

Be patient. Mix and match all three techniques. Build the point through deception, not overwhelming power.

➡️ Watch and learn.

Your shampoo is cleaning your hair. It's also stripping the scalp, drying it out, and disrupting the follicle environment that healthy hair needs. SLS. Salt. Parabens. They're in almost every standard shampoo, and they're working against you every morning. Particle Hair-Thickening Shampoo has none of them. SLS-free, salt-free, paraben-free — a science-backed formula that doesn't just clean, it rebuilds from root to tip. Over 1,000,000 men have already switched. They're not switching back. Try it risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee. 20% off with code BH20.

Try It Risk-Free

Today’s the day. By the time you’re reading this, MLP Finals will be well underway from Wollman Rink in NYC’s Central Park.

We put together a handy guide breaking down the full schedule, plus where you can catch each day’s action.

And just to whet your appetite a bit more, here are five storylines to be on the lookout for from the Big Apple…

🔥 Revenge. The 5s lost to the Cinderella Sliders in last year’s MLP Final. An MLP Championship is the one trophy that eludes Queen ALW. You just know she’s been waiting all year for another shot.

🗽 Hometown. The Brooklyn Pickleball Team might not be the favorites on paper, but the local crowd will be giving their full support. Can the home crowd propel them to a massive upset over the 5s?

🕰️ Timing. The Shock have been the top team all year and possess the strongest starting roster. But they have a history of crumbling come playoff time. Can they finally put it all together when it matters most and take home the title?

🚨 Chaos. Dallas is surging behind the inspired and at times downright reckless play of JW Johnson and Danni-Elle Townsend. They’re this year’s dark horse. Could they possibly dismantle the Shock and shake things up for Sunday?

💪 Clutch. With the four top teams competing for all the marbles, Dreambreakers feel inevitable. Playoffs hit different, and it’s anyone’s guess who will rise to the challenge.

➡️ Full schedule, streaming options, and storylines — your complete guide to MLP Finals 2026.

Everyone's chasing more pop these days, but most rec players don't need help hitting harder. They need help keeping the ball in bounds.

That's the gap hybrid paddles are built for: foam cores and hybrid shapes that add stability and feel without sacrificing pop.

We rounded up seven standouts, including Bread & Butter's Loco (voted The Dink's 2025 Paddle of the Year by you, our readers), 11SIX24’s Vapor Power 2, and Six Zero’s Coral.

Four more round out the list, spanning budget-friendly to premium.

Even better, a couple of these come with an extra discount at checkout with code THEDINK.

Find your match.

Actor, burger entrepreneur, and former teen heartthrob Mark Wahlberg has become famous for his obsessive fitness routine.

Look a little closer and you’ll notice a common theme: he’s always rocking apparel from his own brand, MUNICIPAL.

A recent visit to catch some live MLP action seems to have inspired him, because now the Dallas Flash will be decked out head-to-toe in fresh MUNICIPAL gear as part of a new apparel partnership.

“The Dallas Flash have created a winning culture and an incredible following,” said Wahlberg. “We love partnering with people who compete at the highest level and are always looking to raise the bar. We’re excited to bring MUNICIPAL’s style, quality and performance to the Dallas Flash.”

In addition to custom jerseys, the squad will receive performance gear, lifestyle apparel and footwear.

That’s another ringing celebrity endorsement of pro pickleball’s bright future if we’ve ever heard one.

➡️ See the photos.

A review from the Dink Fam...

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