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Beginning today, a small but elite group of PPA pros will be competing at the Malaysia Cup. Action will be split across two venues, both located about 30 minutes west of the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Will any international talent break through, or will the Americans dominate the podiums? One thing we know for sure, Ben Johns is the guy to beat — he’s teaming up with brand-new partner Christian Alshon in men’s doubles and, for just the second time ever, will be on the same side of the net as Anna Bright in mixed.

In This Issue:
— Try ‘Dingles’ for better court awareness
— Paddle fakes UPA-A seal, gets banned in Asia
— Anna Leigh Waters loves Butter Beer

Ben Johns, so hot right now.

A paddle used in some PPA Asia events, the Arronax KVL004, has been removed from the UPA-A Approved Paddle List for future PPA Tour Asia events for “the unauthorized use of the UPA-A Certification Stamp.” That’s a big no-no — and this paddle won’t be the last.

When a pickleball partnership runs its course, it’s easy to make excuses or, worse yet, simply ghost a player you’ve spent hours on the court with through thick and thin. Don’t do that, do this: Say exactly what you don’t like about how things are going. Now if things don’t change, you’re free to go, no hard feelings.

Much has been made of the pros using wooden paddles this week in Sacramento. But who stands to benefit most? If you ask Zane Navratil, it’s finesse players who aren’t afraid of some cat-and-mouse: “Men’s doubles is going to be the grindiest war of attrition in pickleball we’ve ever seen,” he posted on X.

Mayor Frank Auman has hit pause on a proposal to add new courts to a popular Tucker, GA, park after a sound study called for increased walls to mitigate outside noise and even “enclosing each court with non-transparent sound barriers.”

The origins of tennis have pickleball beat by a few hundred years. So while it’s fun to declare ours the superior racket sport (because it is), there’s a lot we can learn there, too.

Take “Dingles,” a drill favored in tennis for its ability to involve four players and a variety of skills in one simple format.

To play, get four players at the kitchen line. Start two cross-court rallies at once. As soon as one ends, the remaining ball is live and the point is played out just like it’s a real game.

Why this works:

✅ With two balls going at once, this drill trains focus first and foremost. Remain calm and locked-in amid the chaos. Make it a personal goal to never lose the opening cross-court rally.

✅ Partner communication is paramount to your team’s success. As soon as one ball goes dead, make your partner aware that the point is live. Capitalize on the next shot or two, while the other team is transitioning, and you could gain the upper hand.

✅ Make sure you know where your partner is before doing anything crazy. If they lost the cross-court rally, and got pulled wide off the court in the process, you’ll want to play it safe until they regain the kitchen. Court awareness is king.

✅ Speaking of transitioning, knowing how and when to go from defensive dinks to attack-mode offense is a skill that must be honed like any other. Use this drill to identify the right moment to strike. It’s not always right away. But wait too long and the other team might beat you to the punch.

➡️ Allow tennis-turned-pickleball pros, Angie and Alex Walker, to demonstrate. See ‘Dingles’ in action.

Most people think creatine is for bodybuilders. Truth is, it’s one of the most studied nutrients out there and it helps with way more than muscle.

Energy. Recovery. Even memory and mental clarity. If you’re playing pickleball a few times a week (or just want to stay sharp off the court), creatine makes a real difference.

Momentous packs theirs into single-serve lemon packets. No fillers, no junk, just the purest Creapure® creatine on the planet. Trusted by Olympians and pros, now made for everyday players.t time the pickleball crew rolls through, you’re the hero who keeps the night going.

➡️ Try it at livemomentous.com with code THEDINK for up to 35% off your first order.

The PPA Tour Asia is winding down its inaugural season, and this week’s Malaysia Cup looks to be the crown jewel. While the majority of premier pros are busy swinging wooden paddles in Sacramento, a handful made the trek to Kuala Lumpur for a taste of international competition.

The event runs from today through Sunday. Here’s a look at some of the unique partnerships we’re looking forward to.

✅ Men’s doubles: Ben Johns and Christian Alshon / Zane Navratil and Armaan Bhatia
✅ Women’s doubles: Anna Bright and No. 1 Dutch player Roos van Reek / Chao Yi Wang and Caitlyn Christian
✅ Mixed doubles: Ben Johns and Anna Bright / Grayson Goldin and Hannah Blatt

Anna Leigh Waters is taking this one off (more on where she went instead, below).

So, Ben and Anna Bright are teaming up for just the second time ever; they took silver at the PPA LA Open in April 2024.

The marquee matchup is Ben and Christian. This is the first time the duo has ever teamed up.

“It’s not every day you get a chance to play with Ben Johns,” Christian said. “I think we should do well.”

➡️ Check out the full brackets here.

We’ve all been there. You enter a 4.0 bracket, fight your way through a tough draw… and then get steamrolled by someone who looks suspiciously like a 5.0 hiding for hardware. It’s the most complained-about issue in competitive pickleball, and DUPR just announced a fix that could actually stick.

Starting in 2026, more than 300 clubs, and the biggest tours like The Dink Minor League Pickleball, Top Tier Pickleball League, and World of Pickleball, will move to DUPR Verified. Think of it like TSA PreCheck for pickleball: stricter score reporting, verified accounts, and a Fairplay Committee reviewing events to keep everyone honest.

The goal? Stop duplicate accounts, make ratings more reliable, and finally bring fairness to tournament play. If this sticks, sandbaggers may have finally met their match.

👉 Read the full story here

Earlier this summer, a first-of-its-kind clinical study compared balance and stability in major brands like ASICS and Nike.

Guess who came out on top? SQAIRZ. Players wearing SQAIRZ improved their balance by over 15% compared to their personal shoes and by nearly 19% compared to barefoot. Women saw the biggest gains, with an average of 17% improvement.

That’s not marketing fluff. That’s data.

The XRZ™ is built for pickleball, not tennis. Roomier toe box for better stability, lateral support to cut down ankle rolls, and a herringbone outsole designed for all those side-to-side dinks and drives.

➡️ Try the XRZ™ and feel the difference for yourself.

Anna Leigh Waters didn’t travel to Malaysia, and opted out of the wooden paddle experiment in Sacramento. That means a rare and well-deserved off week for the world #1.

But rather than kick her feet up by a pool somewhere, ALW headed to her “favorite places” — the many magical attractions of Walt Disney World in Orlando.

From Mario to Harry Potter and many points in between, it looks like she’s living it up.

And as for her favorite treats, she scored her mac and cheese a 9/10 and was wowed by the Butter Beer.

A review from the Dink Fam...

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