The stats you need to win at every level

Improve your backhand thirds. That's a wrap on the MLP regular season.

October 28, 2024

It’s going to be the largest event in pickleball’s history. This year’s PPA Tour World Championships are on pace to break records.

PPA Tour Founder/CEO Connor Pardoe estimates that the World Championships will exceed 3,500 players, which would top last year’s combined efforts at the USA Pickleball Nationals. Will you be there?

In This Issue:

📊 Crunching the numbers on deep returns
🏆 The 5s take over the No.1 spot
🥇 Double gold in Newport Beach

Check your calendars.

Our Picks ☝️

🗓️ Calendar: The Sports Equinox

Today is the 31st time in history that the stars have aligned, and all of the Big Four major sports will have a game on the same day. This year’s equinox includes an additional two MLS games. Maybe next year, pickleball will make it an even six.

🏢 Facility: Milwaukee opens first indoor facility in the county

Premier Pickleball Club opened its doors just in time for winter. The club converted an old bowling alley into 12 courts and is the first indoor facility in the county.

💰 Investment: Tim Tebow Joins The Ranchers Ownership Group

Major League Pickleball’s Texas Ranchers just added more star power to their already loaded ownership roster. Pro footballers Tim Tebow, Juju Smith-Schuster, and an extended list of athletes and investors joined the Ranchers last week.

🏆 Titles: Armaan Bhatia wins Triple Crown at India Masters

The Pickleball World Rankings DUPR India Masters concluded over the weekend, and one man struck gold three times.

Men’s Singles: Armaan Bhatia | Women’s Singles: Sofia Sewing
Mixed Doubles: Armaan Bhatia & Roos Van Reek
Men’s Doubles: Armaan Bhatia & Harsh Mehta
Women’s Doubles: Roos Van Reek & Kaitlynn Hart

How to Improve Your Backhand Third Shot

It’s always nice when your opponent compliments you after a game.

It’s even sweeter when they ask for your advice. Here was mine to this person asking about improving their backhand third shot:

1. Ditch the Slice, Add Topspin
Topspin helps the ball dip quickly after crossing the net, keeping it low and hard for opponents to attack. To practice, roll your wrist over the ball, make contact slightly in front of your body, and start slow to get a feel for the spin.

Minimizing slice reduces "dead" dinks that sit up for easy attacks.

2. Flatten the Shot, Use Less Arc
If topspin isn’t quite there, aim for a line drive. By reducing arc, you limit the time your opponent has to react. Focus on clean contact to hit a flatter, quicker shot that lands softly.

3. Master the Hybrid Third Shot
This shot combines pace and precision with about 75% of your maximum power. The goal is to hit with a slight dip over the net, forcing opponents into defensive blocks.

Use a shorter backswing to maintain control and keep the ball low.

Looking to Level Up Your Pickleball Style?

Here’s one brand pickleballers are raving about: MUEV. MUEV has hit the mark with stylish, functional pieces for both men and women that transition seamlessly from the court to wherever post-game life takes you.

For the guys, they've got sleek blues and neutral tones that bring a laid-back, polished look, while for the ladies, it’s all about cute pastels and vibrant colors—a perfect match for the pickleball girlies looking to make a statement.

Built with lightweight, breathable fabrics, this line is as much about performance as it is about style, so you can stay cool on the court and effortlessly step into whatever’s next. It’s no wonder MUEV’S is becoming a go-to on pickleball courts everywhere.

The Pickleball Stats You Need to Know

There are plenty of unwritten rules in pickleball, but since the game is so young, there isn’t always data to support them. One high school student decided to change that.

Under the guidance of Dr. Scott Powers, Assistant Professor of Sports Analytics at Rice University, 12th grader Jayan Gandhi collected and analyzed data on 2,000 pickleball tournament points at five different skill levels.

The data provided Jayan with a few key takeaways:

Deep returns are crucial at the higher levels

  • At levels 3.5 and up, the returning team won 70% of points when they hit a deep return vs about 50% with a shallow return

  • Keeping your opponent back allows the returning team to maintain their positional advantage as long as possible

3rd Shot Drive vs 3rd Shot Drop

  • The choice between a 3rd shot drop or drive didn’t significantly affect the outcome of points; however, 3rd shot failure rates were surprisingly high, >20%

  • This accentuated the difference you see at the pro level, where third-shot failures are usually around 5% or less

What’s great about the data is that it is broken down into skill levels from 2.5 to 5.0+. So whether you’re 3.0 or 5.0, there is data that applies to your game.

The 5s Steal the No. 1 Seed

It’s been an interesting year for Major League Pickleball. The Tour Wars earlier in the year led to a delayed regular season and a few less-than-ideal scheduling constraints.

That is all behind us now.

It’s playoff time and things are about to get good. We will take a look ahead on Wednesday, but for now, let’s recap last weekend’s MLP Miami.

The 5s Go Undefeated in Miami
The New Jersey 5s needed a near-perfect weekend to move into first place to end the year. Well, they went a perfect 5-0 and racked up four wins in regulation to earn 14 points and move ahead of the Shock.

Both The 5s and the Shock earned a bye into the semifinals, but the first-place finish allows The 5s to choose their opponent and get the decision on all coin toss choices (side, MD/WD first, react in Mixed, react in Dreambreaker).

The Dallas Flash will enjoy the same advantages for this week's quarterfinals. The question now is who Dallas will choose between the fifth-place Texas Ranchers and sixth-place NY Hustlers.

No Cinderella Runs
Three teams entered the weekend with a chance to sneak into the playoffs, but none were successful. The Arizona Drize, Orlando Squeeze, and Carolina Pickleball Club all missed out on the playoffs. The LA Mad Drops actually moved ahead of that pack into seventh place to end the year.

Big Changes at the Challenger Level
The lack of movement at the Premier Level was compensated at the Challenger Level. The Frisco Pandas moved from eighth place to the top six to steal the last playoff spot.

Two teams that seemed like certain playoff contenders, the Brooklyn Aces and Bay Area Breakers, missed the cut. When the dust settled, the Chicago Slice finished atop the Challenger Level standings and will be afforded the same playoff advantages as the 5s.

There is plenty more to cover heading into this week’s quarterfinals. Learn more about how the playoff picture was formed and what to expect this week here.

Florida's Newest Pickleball Hangout is Going Big

Sick of fighting the weather? There’s hope yet—The Pickleball Club could turn into your ideal hangout.

They opened their first club in Sarasota last May, and with six more locations in the works across Florida, they’re setting out to make premium, weather-proof indoor courts a reality. It’s all part of a bigger vision to keep up with the explosive demand for pickleball—especially among the 55+ crowd that’s been driving the sport’s rapid growth.

With membership perks, lessons, events, and even merchandise, The Pickleball Club is more than just a court—it’s a community built for year-round play.

And while they’re focused on making the sport accessible to players, there’s also an investment angle: The Pickleball Club’s private offering for accredited investors taps into the financial potential of a sport that just keeps growing.

Double Golds in Newport Beach

The APP Tour double-dipped with two events in Newport Beach in 2024. A couple of players liked the sound of doubling down and grabbed two golds of their own.

Hendry Goes for Two
Amanda Hendry was a 3x National Champion field hockey goalie at UNC before going pro in pickleball. In Newport, she had her best results to date. Hendry took home her first APP gold medals in singles over Yana Newell and in women’s doubles with Simone Jardim.

Turning Water into Gold
The man they call Purple Jesus, Max Manthou, racked up two golds on Championship Sunday. He and Erik Lange are back-to-back men’s doubles champs. While he and Christine Maddox connected for gold in mixed to give Maddox her first APP title.

Five Straight for Haworth
Chris Haworth topped Grayson Goldin again in Newport to secure his fifth men’s singles title of the year. Learn more about Haworth’s journey to the top here.

APP Newport Beach Open Results

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