🤪 2025: Pickleball’s wild year

Hey reader,

Welcome back to the Pickleheads Newsletter!

And just like that… it’s New Year’s Day.

The snacks are mostly gone, the calendar’s flipped, and there’s that familiar feeling of wanting to start fresh without fully giving up the holiday vibes just yet. Some people are talking resolutions. We’re mostly thinking about getting back on the court.

Wherever you’re reading this from, we’ve got plenty to kick off the year right with some smart tips, and a few stories worth your attention.

Here’s to more rallies, better dinks, and finding your rhythm again in the year ahead 🥂

In this issue:

🤪 2025: Pickleball’s wild year
🤾 WAIT! Fix your dinks by doing this.
💥 A pro secret for consistency
🧨 A pickleball pattern that will win you more points

🤪 2025: Pickleball’s wild year

I think we’d all agree if pickleball had a personality this year, it would be slightly chaotic but still very, very lovable.

Let’s start with paddles. Again. New tech dropped, faces got hotter, spin got spinnier, and suddenly half of us were checking whether our paddle was legal before open play. USA Pickleball announcements sparked panic, refunds, and more than a few Reddit meltdowns.

Then came the noise wars. Cities debated sound levels. Neighbors debated their sanity. Players just wanted somewhere, anywhere, to play. Which helps explain the next big trend.

Indoor pickleball everywhere.

Warehouses. Old retail units. Tennis clubs flipping courts. If it had four walls, someone’s trying to turn it into a pickleball complex.

Rules had their moment too. Updates, clarifications, and the annual “wait… is that legal now?” conversation. As always, most of us nodded politely and played the same way we always have.

And yes, there were viral blowups. Meltdowns, arguments, and etiquette debates that may have dented the sport’s reputation. But hey, turns out every “friendly sport” still has competitive humans in it.

But the biggest story was pickleball’s continued meteoric rise. It’s community. New players. New groups. New venues. New formats. New strategies. And everyone chasing that one final game before home.

Here’s to an even better year for pickleball in 2026! 🥂

🤾 WAIT! Fix your dinks by doing this.

Stoked to welcome back Kyle from That Pickleball School for this week’s Level Up.

Hey Pickleheads readers,

If your dinks start falling apart against better opponents, it’s usually not your touch. It’s your positioning and timing.

A common mistake I see is players feeling rushed at the kitchen line and trying to dink too early. When you take the ball before it reaches its peak, you shrink your margin, lose control, and create pop-ups without realizing it.

Instead, give yourself just a little more patience. Let the ball travel. Allow it to reach its highest point before you make contact. That extra fraction of a second gives you better balance, more options, and far more consistency.

This is why strong players seem so calm in dink rallies. They aren’t doing more. They’re waiting better.

Fix your timing, and your dinks instantly feel smoother, softer, and harder to attack.

👉 Watch the full video to see how this small timing adjustment shows up in real dink rallies — and why it makes such a big difference.

😍 Introducing Pickleheads Plus

ICYMI: A few weeks ago, we rolled out something big… Pickleheads Plus! A simple $1/month upgrade that unlocks the stuff players have been asking for.

With Plus, you can now:

• 🌴 Find & join games while traveling

• 🔍 See players, games, and groups at every court in the world

• 💬 DM players directly to set up your next matchup

If you love getting games in (anytime, anywhere), this one’s for you. 👇

Chicken N Pickle – Kansas City, MO

This is pickleball with personality. Chicken N Pickle Kansas City blends serious play with serious hang time!

Eight dedicated courts (four indoor, four outdoor), all reservable, all buzzing. Rally for a couple of games, then roll straight into food, drinks, lawn games, and fire pits without ever leaving the complex.

It’s loud, social, and built for groups. Come for the pickleball, stay for everything that happens after that last point.

Fresh takes, spicy debates, and the latest hot paddles & gear – catch up on our latest Court Talk highlights:

• 😍 The paddle Six Zero thinks can top the DBD

• 🎁 My best pickleball Christmas gifts

• 🥤 An electrolyte mix that comes with some serious pickleball cred

• 😍 Six Zero releases a new contender for paddle of the year

Skipped a scroll or two? No worries — here are the last few editions we sent your way:

• 😍 Speed up, reset, repeat

• 🫡 Back to pickleball mode

• 🎄 How to watch ‘A Pickleball Christmas’ for free

• 🤾 How much you should drill vs play

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