Good Morning Dink Fam, or should we say, Good Morning America…

Pickleball was the feature story on Monday’s Good Morning America as the APP Tour wrapped up the second annual NYC Open. That and more to get your Wednesday up and running.

In This Issue:

• A reason to return to the mall

• 18-year-old ends the Wolf’s run

• Slinky: more than just a toy

• It Feels Right: We had a baby!

Let’s do it!

APP NYC Open Results

The Magical Slinky

We've said it before, we'll say it again: stop warming up with stationary dinks. Standing still and tapping the ball back and forth will not get you ready to play.

In rec play, especially in lower levels, the majority of points don't reach the stage where all four players are at the kitchen dinking. But on almost every single point, one team will be hitting a third and attempting to move through the transition zone.

These shots require a feel for the ball. They require you to fine-tune how hard to squeeze the grip. And they require you to be cognizant of temperature, wind and a host of other factors that change depending on the day.

Start with the slinky drill:

• Dink straight ahead with your partner

• After 10-20 successful dinks, one player takes two steps back

• Continue from the new spot until you're consistently dropping balls in the kitchen, then take two more steps back

• Repeat until you reach the baseline, then switch roles with your partner

*Be sure to practice both forehands and backhands at every step

This drill helps lock-in your drops, resets and dinks - the shots that define consistent play. And it helps you lock them in with consideration of that day’s conditions (wind, temperature, etc).

The drill can be repeated with partners standing cross-court from one another. Cross-court will feel easier: the ball crosses over the lowest part of the net and you have more real estate to work with.

Don’t sacrifice your first game because of a bad warmup. Play your best from 0-0-2 with the slinky drill.

Easy, Safe, Fun: Letric

Forget the hassle of finding parking at pickleball courts.

The XP Lite is a unique eBike with easy maneuverability, a twist grip throttle option, a basket to hold your things, and five levels of pedal assist.

Learn more about this fun transportation option here.

The Future of PB is Indoors

Remember how we said that the billion square feet of empty mall space in America is an opportunity for pickleball? One company is taking that vision very seriously.

The aptly-named Picklemall is a modular indoor pickleball concept combining technology with empty mall spaces. And their first location opens at Arizona Mills this July.

With 104,000 square feet of space and a whopping 24 championship-style courts, the facility certainly proves our earlier point about the use of space potential in disused mall spaces.

Apparently, Major League Pickleball founder Steve Kuhn agrees. He’s reportedly invested money into the concept. One wonders if this will always be a separate investment, or if MLP will be involved with branding or even live events.

But the goal isn’t just to open a bunch of courts. Technology plays a big role in the strategy.

Picklemall is working on an app that will allow users to schedule a game. During the visit, players can be recorded by cameras at the facility, and the recordings will be available to review in the app to help track performance.

"Pickleball has the opportunity to cross the barriers that divide us — age, race, class — to foster togetherness and spread joy to the communities in which Picklemall will reside,” Steve Kuhn says.

“That starts with getting creative about location, and the future of pickleball is indoors,” adds Kuhn.

The company is planning on opening 50 locations within the next two years, so keep your eyes on your local mall.

A Gold Medal, Years in the Making

18-year-old William Sobek made history at the Boca Raton 2023 APP New York City Open, winning his first-ever APP Tour gold medal in a nail-biting men's singles final against Vuk Velickovic.

Sobek fought back from a 14-6 deficit in the tiebreaker to win 16-14. The thrilling comeback was one of the best you will ever see on a pickleball court. Sobek’s journey to gold is well deserved, He and his father Rosti have spent years traveling the country to teach and compete in pickleball.

Silver medalist Velickovic is definitely a player to watch out for. The tennis convert reached the podium in his first pro event.

Salome Devidze defended her women's singles title, while Andrei Daescu & Rob Nunnery, Parris Todd & Simone Jardim maintained their gold medal streaks in men's and women's doubles.

Nunnery also claimed gold in mixed pro doubles alongside Susannah Barr. The pair double-dipped Simone Jardim and Stefan Auvergne in an epic final match 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 16-14.

The tournament attracted over 1,100 players who competed over six days at the iconic USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, NY. While in the big city, the APP Tour made a pit stop over in Times Square.

Good Morning Pickleball

Pickleball returned to Good Morning America on Monday. APP Tour pros Parris Todd, Alix Truong, Hunter Johnson and Yates Johnson starred in a pickle exhibition on ABC.

Co-host of the show and Superbowl Champion Michael Strahan benefited from the pros’ presence as he learned the basics (but let’s just say he needs some more work). As did country music star Jake Owen who was also a guest on the show.

The APP Tour is off until Newport Beach, CA on June 28.

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.

Texas Takeover

The PPA Tour returns to the Lonestar state this week for the Texas Open. Anna Leigh Waters will put her singles unbeaten streak on the line again tomorrow. The 16-year-old seems to be getting more dominant as the year progresses.

Ben Johns had an early exit at the Atlanta Open (at the hands of Christian Alshon) but always seems to rebound well from a loss. Look for him to make a statement in the men’s singles field.

ATL Open champ JW Johnson has a chance at back-to-back PPA golds. Can he pull it off in Texas?

The broadcast duties will be shared between ESPN, CBS Sports, PPATV and Tennis Channel starting tomorrow at 11:00 am ET.

Thursday, June 1
11am - 7pm PPATV and TennisChannel.com
Friday, June 2
11am - 3pm PPATV and TennisChannel.com | 3pm - 6pm CBS Sports
Saturday, June 3
11am - 7pm PPATV and TennisChannel.com
Championship Sunday, June 4
11am - 2pm CBS Sports | 2pm - 5pm PPTV | 5pm - 6pm ESPN

Look for a singles recap and a doubles preview in our Friday newsletter.

Capturing On-Court Controversy

Baby Stone is in the building. AJ makes his first podcast appearance as the guys cover the busy summer months ahead.

Rob and Adam share not-so-fond memories from the Big Apple last year where both were struck by injuries. A new segment is born, the hypothetical bookmaker, where Adam sets the line for enticing pickleball matches.

Watch here or listen here.

Headlines & Quick Hits

• Pickleball fever hits Michigan, Greater Lansing Pickleball sees explosive growth

• Is this new paddle sport going to displace pickleball? Courts proposed for downtown Oceanside

• Pickleball: Scotland to host first championship

Highlights

• The right way to turn out the lights

• Throwback to an unreal day at the New York Stock Exchange

• He made it disappear

• This is how you earn it

A review from the Dink Fam...