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Pickleball courts raising home values

Pickleball courts raising home values

Use wind to your advantage. MLP 2024 schedule.

Think about the people you’ve met playing pickleball. Is it safe to assume they’re some of the most friendly and honest people you have ever met?

According to last week’s poll in The Dink Newsletter, 83.5% of pickleball players admit they have never made a dishonest line call. Now, that’s good company to keep.

This week, we’ve been asking readers what they would like to see in a future version of our very popular Pickleball Box, which is shipping soon. Let us know what you’d like to see inside.

What product would you most like to see in an upcoming Pickleball Box from The Dink?

In This Issue:

😵‍💫 Keeping Austin weird
🏆 MLP announces 11 events in 2024
🏡 Raise your home’s value

All aboard.

Become one with the wind

The wind is pickleball’s arch nemesis. Well, outside of rain, snow, and noise complaints, wind is pickleball’s arch-nemesis.

The light, plastic ball is at the mercy of the wind. Even 5-10mph wind can throw off a game.

Unless you’re playing indoors, it’s nearly impossible to escape the wind. So let’s learn how to deal with it instead of giving up and going to fly a kite.

Playing Against the Wind
When the wind is blowing into your face it might seem like a disadvantage, but thanks to the drop, it can actually be a huge advantage.

A drop into the kitchen is easier when hitting into the wind. You can leave the ball high, with room to clear the net and the wind will knock it down to your opponent’s feet.

Play slow, favor the drop
Take more balls out of the air at the kitchen line
Let more balls go out

Playing With the Wind
When the wind is at your back, you don’t have the same advantage. Your advantage is to play fast. Time to unleash the big guns.

Your drives and speedups will be more effective with assistance from the wind. They will have added velocity, giving your opponent less time to react. Just don’t overdo it and send the ball sailing into the back fence.

Play fast, favor the drive
Let balls land in the kitchen instead of overextending for volleys
Their lobs and drives will stay in bounds thanks to the wind, be ready to play everything

Let the wind take the guesswork out of your game. If it’s in your face, play the slow game. If it’s at your back, shift into the fast lane.

Special Delivery for Pickleball Players

Do you wish someone would send a box full of pickleball gear to your house every three months?

If only they’d curate some of the newest and best products on the market, pack them together, and send them to my door. Well, look no further. Pickleball’s #1 subscription box is here.

Sign up for The Essentials Box or The Pro Box and receive a ton of pickleball gear for nearly half the price. Don’t miss out on the spring box, shipping soon!

MLP is back in a big way

Major League Pickleball dropped their highly anticipated 2024 schedule on the pickleball world yesterday. After months of delay during the Tour Wars saga, MLP finally has dates set.

The 2024 schedule will consist of 11 events between May and November. Eight of the 11 will be regular-season events. The other three events include a mid-season tournament and two playoff events at the end of the year.

The eight regular season events will feature six Premier Level teams and six Challenger Level teams. Each team will compete in four regular season events to set up seeding for the end-of-year playoffs.

The final piece to the puzzle is the MLP Draft. The draft is expected to coincide with the PPA North Carolina Open during the first week of April.

Players and fans alike are itching to get the rosters set and the season started. Look for plenty more MLP news leading up to the first event in Atlanta, May 9-12.

It’s cute, but does it have a pickleball court?

His and her sinks, open floor plans, and pools used to be the hottest trends in real estate. Not anymore.

These days, if you want to sell your house, build a pickleball court.

That's right. A recent spike in keyword search data from Zillow shows pickleball courts are the hot new commodity people want in a new place to live, at least in Seattle.

Nationally, mentions of pickleball have soared by 64 percent, while in bustling urban centers like New York City, the presence of public or private pickleball courts has become a prominent selling point, with a remarkable 100 percent uptick in related listings on Zillow brand StreetEasy.

Real estate agents are witnessing a trend where homeowners are reconfiguring their spaces to accommodate pickleball courts, even converting driveways or repurposing existing sports facilities on ultra-luxury properties.

Even pro athletes like Travis Kelce and Tom Brady are adding pickleball courts to their properties.

In tandem with the pickleball craze, another trend gaining traction in the real estate sphere is the rising popularity of cold plunge pools.

Probably to help pickleballers recover quicker, so they can, of course, play more pickleball.

Left-handed play and new champions, here’s to keeping Austin weird

Austin has a reputation for being weird and this week’s PPA did nothing but live up to those standards. Here is everything you need to know so far:

A Left-handed Point in a Semifinal?!
Ben Johns and Jack Sock met in the singles semifinals yesterday in one of the more entertaining matches you will ever see. There was laughing, chirping, and culminated in an agreement to play a point left-handed in game three of the semifinal. The point ended abruptly with a Sock return into the net and Johns went on to win the match. What do you think? Pure entertainment or does this make pickleball look like a joke?

Women’s No.1 Pulls Out from Injury
Anna Leigh Waters chose to sit out from singles due to a minor injury. Don’t worry, she’ll be back in full force for women’s doubles (and will even be stopping by the studio to join PicklePod).

Back to Back Pickles in Quarter-Finals
An unheard-of back-to-back pickle yesterday between Jorja Johnson and Catherine Parenteau in the quarterfinals 0-11, 11-0, 11-5. This resulted in an upset by Jorja who moved on to the semi-final. This is Catherine’s second event not making it to the finals - has she lost her mojo?

A New Champion Arrises
Kaitlyn Christian, is making her first Championship Sunday appearance after a semifinal win over Parris Todd. She’ll go on to play Judit Castillo tomorrow in the final.

Inclement weather is forecasted in Austin this weekend. Expect delays due to storms in the area. You can see the full broadcast schedule here.

MEET CHUCK

Your new favorite pickleball companion.

The GAMMA CHUCK Pickleball is the only ball on the market with 38 holes and a completely symmetrical hole pattern for guaranteed true flight. CHUCK can withstand extreme temperatures on both ends of the outdoor spectrum so it will not warp or crack.

Play with CHUCK. Learn more about the new pickleball from GAMMA Sports and grab a chuckload today.

Cheating in Minnesota - Did some pros cross the proverbial line?

Line calls were a hot topic at the PPA Indoor Championships in Minnesota last week. Travis Rettenmaier reflects on his performance in mixed doubles and men’s doubles, including getting worked by veteran Matt Wright.

One company is making an effort to make sure their new paddles are only used by contracted players, does it give them a competitive edge? Find out what Graham and Travis think on a new Tennis Sucks podcast.