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If there’s one piece of advice you should take to heart heading into your next court session, make it this one: Stop missing balls short.

Drives don’t have to skim the tape. Every drop doesn’t have to be perfect. Make it your superpower to extend every rally by just one more shot and watch the points start piling up. Don’t believe us? Then take it from a PPA pro’s recent experience, below.

In This Issue:
— Ben Johns’ overhead smashfest
— The tour for seniors, by seniors
— 5 new poppy paddles

Let the games begin.

MLP St. Louis is underway, and all the favorites are moving on with a win under their belts as LA, St. Louis, and Brooklyn took care of business yesterday. Ben Johns is still a man on a mission. The Shock are hungry for their first event win. Here’s how to watch.

Instead of aimlessly dinking for a few minutes before open play, pick one specific skill and drill it intentionally instead. Maybe it’s a twoey cross-court dink. Or your baseline drip. Repetition breeds success. Pro Allyce Jones shows you the way.

Yes, paddle tech is improving almost daily right now. But while it’s tempting to level up to the next best thing, don’t lose sight of the fact that technique and discipline trump surface grit every day of the week. As the saying goes, it’s the carpenter, not the tools.

We’re lucky enough to return one overhead smash from deep behind the baseline. Connor Garnett and Allyce Jones survived eight absolute nukes from Ben Johns before he finally put the ball away. You gotta see it.

When rising pro Cam Luhring found himself facing Eric Oncins and Dylan Frazier at a recent PPA event in Sacramento, he knew he had an uphill battle to stay in the match and be competitive.

Instead of adopting a killer mentality, he focused instead on not beating himself.

For Cam, and for you (we guarantee it), that often manifests in the importance of extending rallies just one more ball. Over and over again. Even when you feel like all is lost and your back is against the wall.

Psychologically, this will do wonders for you. You’re not a sitting duck. Not one to go away quietly with your tail between your legs. You’re here to fight. That’s a positive mentality to take into any match. And it’ll apply some added pressure to your opponents as well.

🔑 If there’s one underlying tip to take away from all of this, here it is: Refuse to miss a ball short. It sounds so simple, and yet you do it all the time. You swing out of your shoes when you shouldn’t. Go for a heavy topspin roll drop when a simple push will do.

Treat this next sentence like gospel: You’re far better off hitting a drop shot a foot or two high than dumping the ball into the net. Stop killing yourself before you even have a chance.

Cam and his partner lost that match in Sacramento, but he took a few other critical lessons away from it in the process.

➡️ Learn from his experience.

There’s a reason athletes across a bunch of sports use VKTRY insoles.

The carbon fiber design is built to help with explosiveness, support, and shock absorption during high-impact movement.

And honestly, pickleball checks every box for that.

Quick lateral movement. Constant push-offs. Long hours on hard courts.

If your feet feel cooked after long sessions, this is one of the easiest gear upgrades worth trying.

Check out VKTRY insoles here!

Seniors helped fuel pickleball's rise from niche pastime to national phenomenon, which is exactly why US Senior Pickleball believes older players deserve a fun and competitive playing experience designed specifically for them.

And whereas other senior-based organizations are getting younger, building out divisions for the 30+ and 40+ crowds, USSP is proudly and uniquely positioned as the only major organization that caters to a player base from 50 years old to well over 80.

On the court and off, that means age- and skill-based competition, senior-specific resources, grassroots programming, and a nationwide tournament circuit tailored to older athletes, including a burgeoning new wheelchair division.

The 2026 USSP National Championship presented by Humana goes down this November in Casa Grande, Arizona. Last year it attracted nearly 1,000 participants. This year is shaping up to be even bigger.

In order to compete in Nationals, you must enter a separate USSP Circuit, Regional, or Zone Championship event. Here’s what’s coming up:

In a sport obsessed with what's next, US Senior Pickleball focuses on the players who helped get pickleball here in the first place.

And with members ranging from newly retired competitors to players well into their 80s, it's proving that the fastest-growing sport in America doesn't belong to one generation. It belongs to everyone.

➡️ Join the largest senior pickleball community on earth.

Fun fact: when you think about a power paddle, it's probably pop you're after.

The difference largely boils down to swing path:

In simpler terms, power is often on display from back near the baseline while pop becomes more important at closer quarters up at the kitchen line.

The way a paddle feels is different for everyone, of course. But the pickleball meta does appear to be shifting away from pure power and more toward all-court paddles that perform well across a wide range of shot types – including enough putaway power (or "pop”) for those firefights, punchy counters, or wristy flicks.

If it's pop you seek, the five paddles below are a great place to start.

Some will feel more power-oriented (like the Aireo Cyclone) while others promise a true all-court feel (enter: the Selkirk Omni). All of them are guaranteed to pack plenty of punch when you need it.

➡️ Punch it up.

Pickleball is basically controlled chaos for your feet.

Constant cuts. Quick stops. Weird lunges. Random recoveries.

The Stria G1 Pro was designed around exactly that.

The shoe combines a wider supportive base with strong ankle stability and lightweight cushioning so you feel secure without feeling heavy or stiff.

And unlike a lot of bulky court shoes, they still feel quick enough for fast kitchen exchanges and speed-ups.

Shop the G1 Pro here and use code THEDINK for 10% off.

For even the most diehard of pro pickleball fans, it can feel like a lot to keep track of what’s going on in Major League Pickleball week to week.

We know. And in between the major storylines, there are a ton of fun little plotlines you’re probably missing, too.

Like Genie Bouchard not playing a minute for the LA Mad Drops because apparently that’s been her plan all along? Or Zane cheering for his former team the New Jersey 5s live during a match… against the 5s (old habits die hard). Then, of course, there’s the incredible comeback story of Palm Beach Royals player Grayson Goldin.

There’s a lot more to pro pickleball than winners and losers. We break it down every week on the PicklePod.

➡️ Catch the latest episode.

A review from the Dink Fam...

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