Football has the Superbowl. Baseball has the World Series. For pickleball fans, it’s the Super Final.

Tonight in San Clemente at 9:00pm ET, MVP Ben Johns’ Seattle Pioneers will face off against the well-rounded LA Mad Drops in the first ever Super Final.

Each winning player earns $60K, the most prize money for a single pickleball match, and about $2,000 more than the average American salary in 2021 _{(Bureau of Labor Statistics)}.

Do you have an idea for a great pickleball-themed tee? Email us your t-shirt design here and it could be our next shop item.

In This Issue:

• What to do when pulled wide

• MLP recap ahead of the Super Final

• Tales from the Court, Part 1

• The Onion lambastes PB

Onward!

The Right Choice When Pulled Wide

The glorious ATP. It’s almost impossible to resist. But these days, defensive tactics have caught up. Gone are the days when ‘ATP’ was synonymous with ‘winner’.

When your opponent’s shot pulls you out wide, you have options. Even when the ATP isn’t quite there, you might be tempted to attack your opponent down the line.

But Coach Mark Price insists that while you may be in a good position to attack, you are not in a good position to defend. So, choose your next shot wisely.

Think about it. If your down-the-line attack is countered, you've left the court wide open for a winner. It's like you've pulled the goalie.

As opposed to going for the winner, Coach Price recommends buying time with a reset or cross-court dink. Give yourself time to get back 'in goal.'

This doesn't mean you can't be offensive. In fact, your angle of attack will be even better from this position. They likely will have shifted toward the sideline to cover the angle.

This gives you the chance to hit a sharp cross-court angle and put them on the defensive. Next time you’re pulled wide, think one shot ahead and send the ball back cross-court.

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Pioneers Make MLP History

The pickleball world got the matchup it was asking for. In the Major League Pickleball San Clemente Final, Ben Johns and the Seattle Pioneers went head-to-head with Anna Leigh Waters and the New Jersey 5s.

The top two picks in the draft and undeniable top men's and women's players were on a crash course starting from the group stage. The Pioneers went undefeated through Group C.

The 5's narrowly missed receiving a bye when they lost in a Dreambreaker to the ATX Pickleballers in group play. They rolled through the LA Mad Drops in the quarterfinals then had a thriller against the Milwaukee Mashers in the semis.

• Things got heated between the 5s’ Hayden 'Big H' Patriquin and the Mashers’ Matt Wright in men's doubles.

• It spilled over into mixed doubles where Lucy Kovalova blew Big H a kiss after he sailed a ball long.

• Two points later, a Patriquin celebration crossed into NC-17 range with some explicit language.

• Big H received a Blue Card - but it didn’t matter - he and ALW walked away with the dub.

• The match proceeded to a Dreambreaker filled with emphatic celebrations and displays of swagger ultimately ending in a 5s victory 21-16.

In the final, both the GOAT and the baby GOAT lived up to their status, each winning their respective games to force a 2-2 tie. This meant another Dreambreaker, the first in MLP finals history.

Johns and the Pioneers came out red hot and forged their way to a 12-3 lead, a substantial gap in rally scoring. ALW and The 5s made things interesting in the 2nd rotation, closing the gap to 19-13.

Enter the eventual MVP Ben Johns who, fittingly, closed out the match with a massive forehand.

The Pioneers are now 2X champions and will play the LA Mad Drops in the Super Final tonight on ESPN 2 at 9:00pm ET.

In the Challenger Level, the Dallas Pickleball Club claimed their first MLP title over the Chicago Slice. Jill Braverman came out of retirement to join MLP and brought home MVP honors in San Clemente.

The Challenger Level will have a Super Final of their own featuring the Chicago Slice vs the Bay Area Breakers. Catch that at 6:00pm ET tonight on the MLP Youtube page.

Tales from the Court

Last week, we asked you to tell us about an interesting thing that has happened to (or, in this case, within proximity of) you on the pickleball court.

This first story we’re sharing was submitted by Timothy A.

Thanks, Timmay. Got this one beat? Send us more here!

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 Onion Takes on Pickleball

If you’ve somehow never heard of The Onion, it’s a satirical news site which purposefully peddles humorously-fake news stories as though they were real.

And, they finally took on pickleball. Here’s a quick recap of the Onion’s “Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Pickleball.”

Some of their jokes fell flat:

“Hey, this is way more fun than I thought it would be!”  

Humoring pickleball players to spare their feelings is only going to delay their bitter but necessary realization.

But others…we had to admit, they hit home:

“I think Riley Newman has what it takes to unseat Ben Johns at the top of the pickleball rankings.”

Nice try, but the average pickleball player doesn’t know what this means any more than you do.

“It’s kind of like tennis, right?”

You might as well just spit in their face.

Headlines & Quick Hits

• Portland lags in pickleball court count

• ICYMI: This singles pickleball strategy ALMOST took out Anna Leigh Waters

Highlights

• The rare ‘dink body bag’

• Utter mayhem at MLP

• Relentless attacks 😤

• A tense call

A review from the Dink Fam...