Are you familiar with the term Golden Pickle? It is a variant of “getting pickled,” or losing a game with no points scored.

A Golden Pickle is what the other team metaphorically earns when they beat you using only their first server, going from 0-0-2 to 11-0-2 without losing a point.

A truly painful way to lose the game, for sure. But I think there should be honorary names for more in-game achievements:

Silver Dink: Only using dinks to score points.

Bronze Lob: Scoring at least 10 points with lobs.

Platinum Paddle: Getting away with using a delaminated paddle in a tournament.

In This Issue:

• Don’t poach this

• The paddle issue we don’t talk about

• APP in NYC preview

Onward!

“I Had That”

Stop poaching this ball from your partner.

You're both trying to move towards the kitchen and you're a step ahead. The next ball is headed directly for your inside foot.

Instead of trying to hit a drop from your shoetop, let it go. Learn to trust that your partner has your back.

They will have a better look at the ball after it bounces.

In the transition zone, the height of the ball is just as important as whose side it is on. For balls in the middle, either player has the opportunity to make a play.

As you move in, factor height into the equation. If a ball has you out of position, call for help. Let your partner take it off the bounce.

Provide the same coverage for your partner and let them know you’re there. If you see a ball they will need to bend for, call them off.

Too often, points are lost on shots that could easily be returned by the partner. Ideally, your partner should tell you “I’ve got it,” not “I had that.”

Beautiful, Functional Courtwear

This flowy court dress is cute on or off the courts.

With a built-in low-impact bra, built-in shorts, and high-quality fabric, you’ll feel beautiful and confident in this dress.

See all the available colors here.

The Paddle Factor We Don’t Consider

With all this talk over delamination and deflection, it’s an interesting time to be a pickleball paddle manufacturer. Especially in an industry where enthusiasts place such importance on factors like paddle length and weight.

But why doesn’t the industry put much consideration into a paddle’s swingweight?

That’s the question posed in an open letter to the pickleball paddle manufacturing industry from WeArePickleball.

Think of swingweight as the force the paddle exerts back onto our hand/wrist/arm as we swing it through the air.

Two 8-oz. paddles can have different swingweights depending on how those 8 ounces are distributed through the paddles.

Paddle swingweight impacts paddle performance in two key ways:

• The heavier a paddle swings, the more power it will deliver to the ball. 
  

• A heavier swingweight paddle will be slower than its lighter swingweight counterpart.

A higher swingweight could benefit players in singles, where powerful serves and groundstroke rallies are of greater importance than fast hands battles.

Of course, different swingweights can impact your body’s performance, too, especially if you’re a consistent player.

The open letter delves into all of that and asks paddle manufacturers to start disclosing swingweight so players can make informed paddle decisions.

Read the full letter here.

Pickleball on Tennis Hallowed Ground

The APP Tour returns to one of the grandest stages in pickleball this weekend for the New York City Open. Pickleballers will flood the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the second straight year.

The stop has become one of the most coveted tournaments for the thousands of tennis converts that have upgraded to pickleball.

Andrei Daescu's doubles game has dominated the tour and shows no signs of slowing down. He and Rob Nunnery will run it back this week after a championship in Cincy.

Thirty women will compete in one of the largest singles fields on the tour thus far. Judit Castillo and Salome Devidze lead the pack and would make for a must-see match on championship court.

Sixty-three men will attempt to hoist the hardware in Flushing Meadows. Unfortunately, if your last name isn't Johnson, the odds are against you. Yates and Hunter Johnson have scooped up all of the singles titles this year.

If you want to tune into the event, you'll need to subscribe…To ESPN+, that is.

The stream from the mothership will be live from 1:00-8:00 PM EST on Saturday and 1:00-6:00 PM on Championship Sunday.

PCKL Elite 40 Deal Alert

PCKL Elite 40s are REALLY starting to pop.

Players have consistently said the balls are easy to track, withstand hard hitting games and provide excellent feel that results in predictable flight with solid spin response.

We even saw Pros like Ben Johns and Anna Bright play with them at the Pros vs. 5.0s event in Arlington earlier this month.

Now, as an exclusive for Dink readers, you can save 40% when you grab 48 balls and use code DINK15 checkout.

Headlines & Quick Hits

• Make money while solving pickleball’s biggest problem by renting your home court

• ICYMI: Hitting and returning lob shots

Highlights

• I could have been a pro

• Showing up to the court with ping pong paddles

• Pulled the goalie

• Never seen this before 🤯

A review from the Dink Fam...

Are you familiar with the term Golden Pickle? It is a variant of “getting pickled,” or losing a game with no points scored.

A Golden Pickle is what the other team metaphorically earns when they beat you using only their first server, going from 0-0-2 to 11-0-2 without losing a point.

A truly painful way to lose the game, for sure. But I think there should be honorary names for more in-game achievements:

Silver Dink: Only using dinks to score points.

Bronze Lob: Scoring at least 10 points with lobs.

Platinum Paddle: Getting away with using a delaminated paddle in a tournament.

In This Issue:

• Don’t poach this

• The paddle issue we don’t talk about

• APP in NYC preview

Onward!

“I Had That”

Stop poaching this ball from your partner.

You're both trying to move towards the kitchen and you're a step ahead. The next ball is headed directly for your inside foot.

Instead of trying to hit a drop from your shoetop, let it go. Learn to trust that your partner has your back.

They will have a better look at the ball after it bounces.

In the transition zone, the height of the ball is just as important as whose side it is on. For balls in the middle, either player has the opportunity to make a play.

As you move in, factor height into the equation. If a ball has you out of position, call for help. Let your partner take it off the bounce.

Provide the same coverage for your partner and let them know you’re there. If you see a ball they will need to bend for, call them off.

Too often, points are lost on shots that could easily be returned by the partner. Ideally, your partner should tell you “I’ve got it,” not “I had that.”

Beautiful, Functional Courtwear

This flowy court dress is cute on or off the courts.

With a built-in low-impact bra, built-in shorts, and high-quality fabric, you’ll feel beautiful and confident in this dress.

See all the available colors here.

The Paddle Factor We Don’t Consider

With all this talk over delamination and deflection, it’s an interesting time to be a pickleball paddle manufacturer. Especially in an industry where enthusiasts place such importance on factors like paddle length and weight.

But why doesn’t the industry put much consideration into a paddle’s swingweight?

That’s the question posed in an open letter to the pickleball paddle manufacturing industry from WeArePickleball.

Think of swingweight as the force the paddle exerts back onto our hand/wrist/arm as we swing it through the air.

Two 8-oz. paddles can have different swingweights depending on how those 8 ounces are distributed through the paddles.

Paddle swingweight impacts paddle performance in two key ways:

• The heavier a paddle swings, the more power it will deliver to the ball. 
  

• A heavier swingweight paddle will be slower than its lighter swingweight counterpart.

A higher swingweight could benefit players in singles, where powerful serves and groundstroke rallies are of greater importance than fast hands battles.

Of course, different swingweights can impact your body’s performance, too, especially if you’re a consistent player.

The open letter delves into all of that and asks paddle manufacturers to start disclosing swingweight so players can make informed paddle decisions.

Read the full letter here.

Pickleball on Tennis Hallowed Ground

The APP Tour returns to one of the grandest stages in pickleball this weekend for the New York City Open. Pickleballers will flood the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the second straight year.

The stop has become one of the most coveted tournaments for the thousands of tennis converts that have upgraded to pickleball.

Andrei Daescu's doubles game has dominated the tour and shows no signs of slowing down. He and Rob Nunnery will run it back this week after a championship in Cincy.

Thirty women will compete in one of the largest singles fields on the tour thus far. Judit Castillo and Salome Devidze lead the pack and would make for a must-see match on championship court.

Sixty-three men will attempt to hoist the hardware in Flushing Meadows. Unfortunately, if your last name isn't Johnson, the odds are against you. Yates and Hunter Johnson have scooped up all of the singles titles this year.

If you want to tune into the event, you'll need to subscribe…To ESPN+, that is.

The stream from the mothership will be live from 1:00-8:00 PM EST on Saturday and 1:00-6:00 PM on Championship Sunday.

PCKL Elite 40 Deal Alert

PCKL Elite 40s are REALLY starting to pop.

Players have consistently said the balls are easy to track, withstand hard hitting games and provide excellent feel that results in predictable flight with solid spin response.

We even saw Pros like Ben Johns and Anna Bright play with them at the Pros vs. 5.0s event in Arlington earlier this month.

Now, as an exclusive for Dink readers, you can save 40% when you grab 48 balls and use code DINK15 checkout.

Headlines & Quick Hits

• Make money while solving pickleball’s biggest problem by renting your home court

• ICYMI: Hitting and returning lob shots

Highlights

• I could have been a pro

• Showing up to the court with ping pong paddles

• Pulled the goalie

• Never seen this before 🤯

A review from the Dink Fam...