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MLP Austin did not disappoint. Bodybags were delivered, insults were hurled, and several matches ended in dramatic Dreambreaker fashion. It was also marked by a few notable absences, including Parris Todd (Sliders) and Tyra Black (Flash), who became the focus of a massive trade announced just hours ago.

In This Issue:
— Major trade shakes up MLP
— The only 4 dinks you’ll ever need
— How to be a content creator

Living the dream.

The MLP trade deadline is June 30. Four events into the season, it’s clear who’s a contender and who’s a pretender. That means trades. Maybe lots of them. First up, announced mere hours ago, is a big one: Tyra Black is heading to Columbus and Danni-Elle Townsend will go to Dallas.

The US Senior Pickleball tour is the unique competitive option created by seniors, for seniors ages 50 to 85+. They’ve got events all summer, including one this month in California. But you better act fast — registration ends today.

Anna Bright thinks the MLP Dreambreaker might be the most electric format in all of pro sports. And we’re not disagreeing. But, she says, it’s heavily weighted toward men seeing more of the court time in big moments than women. And she’s got a bone to pick with that.

You know intentional drilling sessions can help you improve your game. But what about a dedicated pickleball coach? The right one could make a huge difference. But before all that, try coaching yourself first. Here’s a good place to start.

Dinks are a lot like shoes. You can rely on the same pair for every situation, but you’re going to look awfully silly wearing heels to the beach.

Not a perfect metaphor, we’ll admit. But you get the idea. Yes, gaining the kitchen line is the goal of any serious pickleball player. But what you do there varies tremendously depending on the situation, your opponents, and the shot sent in your direction.

You can hit a dead dink every shot if you want to, but you’re not going to win many games (or make many friends) that way. But you don’t need to overdo it, either.

Here are the only four dinks you truly need to survive, and thrive, at the kitchen line.

✅ The slice dink. This is your defensive, neutralizing go-to. It works because it stays low and can be tricky for your opponent to handle. This isn’t a winner, it’s a set-up.

✅ The topspin roll dink. Forehand or backhand, this is where you start applying pressure. Hit the roll, lean in, and hunt anything that sits up. If it is high, take it out of the air. If they get it shallow, let it bounce, dink again, and repeat the pattern.

✅ The dead dink. Think of this as your get-out-of-jail-free card. When you’re under attack or pulled out of position, this is the most important pickleball dink you own: a soft, shallow ball aimed at the middle that neutralizes your opponent's pressure.

✅ The push volley dink. Probably the most important dink you’re not using enough. Redirect your opponent's ball out of the air deep back into their kitchen instead of backing up to let it bounce. This dink effectively swallows your opponents’ most precious commodity: their time.

Master these four shots and you’ll be an absolute wizard at the kitchen line.

➡️ See how it’s done.

Think about the points you actually lose.

They're rarely "should've hit it harder." It's the reset that floats, the dink that pops up, the hands battle you couldn't quite win. 

More power doesn't fix any of that. Those shots come down to one thing: a paddle you can trust even when you don't catch it clean.

That's the FLiK F3. Its Triple Core settles the ball at the center and soaks up your misses toward the edges, so the face stays steady wherever you catch it. The misses that used to sail start landing instead.

You still get plenty of pop when the ball sits up, and enough spin to shape it – reviewers have clocked it past 2,100 RPM. And when USAP tightened the rules recently, the F3 stayed legal.

$190 paddle, $126 out the door. Use GasMeUp for $50 off, then THEDINK for another 10% at checkout.

Get your F3 here.

The New Jersey 5s are on a rampage, winning 12 straight matches and their second straight since a tumultuous week one.

After winning this past weekend’s MLP Austin event, they now sit atop the overall standings board.

Super Sunday’s final results:
🥇 New Jersey 5s: 25 points
🥈 Columbus Sliders: 18 points
🥉 Texas Ranchers: 15 points
🏅 SoCal Hard Eights: 12 points
🏅 Miami Pickleball Club: 10 points

Something about this new format seems to be bringing out the fire in people. This event, notably, was not without its on-court drama and fiery flashes of the paddle — and the tongue.

A few storylines that turned heads:

With four MLP events in the books so far, here are the current league standings (just know, not all teams have played the same number of events):

And this isn’t even the half of it. We break down all the action from MLP Austin before turning our sights onto this week’s event in St. Petersburg, Florida.

➡️ Get informed.

Sometimes, when one player is clearly better than everyone else on the court, it’s best to just avoid them. Every time they touch the ball, bad things happen for you. So just stop hitting them the ball, right?

That works to a point. But for elite, aggressive players like Ben Johns, that actually works in their favor. Just because you’re not giving them the ball doesn’t mean they can’t go and get it. In fact, you avoiding them gives them free license to stalk the court at their leisure.

You’ve played right into their hands.

Instead, try taking the opposite approach. Hit to their backhand. Hit behind them. Lob them. Speed up at their chest.

The common denominator: Don’t avoid them, actively hunt them.

➡️ Trust us, it works.

When a paddle-and-ball brand announces it's making a shoe, you brace for a tennis sneaker with a new logo slapped on. The ACV Pro isn't that.

Franklin built the ACV Pro from the ground up for pickleball and brought in the designer who led footwear at Converse and Reebok to do it.

You feel it on the court.

A wide, planted toe box for quick cuts, herringbone tread that grips indoors or out, and the thing reviewers keep coming back to: it doesn't fade.

Grip, cushion, lockdown – they hold up session after session, with basically no break-in. Play in them the day they show up.

Shop the Franklin ACV Pro.

If you’ve ever fantasized about becoming the next “it” pickleball influencer but just don’t know where to start, popular paddle reviewer Chris Olson has some suggestions.

The dude has posted hundreds of videos, after all. When he gives an opinion on a new paddle, the masses stop and listen. But he wasn’t always so polished and confident.

In a Reddit AMA he hosted over the weekend, Chris gave a great response to how you (yes you!) can start posting your own pickleball content.

✅ Stop thinking and start doing. “The biggest thing is, you have to just start doing it and see if you even enjoy it.”
✅ Check your ego at the door. “Your first 100+ pieces of content are not going to be good. But, that is normal and expected.”
✅ Focus on what you love. “If you're doing it because you think it's easy money and not because you enjoy it, you aren't going to do it for very long.”
✅ Expand your horizons. “Watching content outside of pickleball to find ideas that could be brought over is a good way to find new ideas.”
✅ Find your own niche. “Don't just rip other people off. Otherwise they may as well watch the guy who did it first, and likely does it better than you currently.”

Feeling inspired yet? There’s plenty more where this came from.

➡️ Learn from Chris.

A review from the Dink Fam...

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