🤯 An INSANE no-look ATP winner

🤟 I tried JOOLA’s newest Pro IV paddles – here’s which one you should actually buy

In the pickleball world, a new JOOLA paddle drop is like Apple launching a new iPhone—huge hype, big pro names, and sky-high expectations.

I’ve played with a lot of paddles, so it’s hard to impress me. But every once in a while, one makes me stop mid-game and say: Yep, this might be it.

JOOLA launched the Perseus Pro IV a little earlier than planned—I’ve already reviewed that one—and today they dropped the rest of the Pro IV lineup: the Scorpeus, Hyperion, and Magnus.

Here’s my honest take: they’re all worth the price if you’re serious about your pickleball—but there’s one paddle I’m going to keep using.

Curious which one stood out?

Shoes that just keep showing up

There’s a moment in every match when your shoes either help your game—or hold you back.

Blisters, slippage, sore feet… most court shoes don’t hold up to the demands of pickleball. The Tyrol Smash is built differently.

Designed for quick cuts, fast stops, and hard pushes off the line, it offers lateral support, solid traction, and cooling ventilation that actually works—even in long, heated sessions.

No break-in period. No hotspots. Just dependable comfort and grip from the first serve to the last point.

Save 10% on Tyrol Pickleball Shoes with code PICKLEHEADS

🇸🇱 A Sierra Leone pickleball adventure

If you ever need a reminder of how powerful this sport can be, read this.

The Sierra Leone Pickleball team just made it to the All-African Games in Ghana—and their journey was anything but easy.

No funding. No major sponsors. No guarantees they’d even make it.

So how did they get there?

One of the team’s leaders sold a piece of his own land to fund the trip.

From Bo City to Liberia, Ivory Coast, and finally Ghana, the team traveled overland for days—sleeping rough, missing meals, and leaning on kindness from strangers and fellow players just to keep going.

They arrived late, missed their first matches… and still showed up with pride, energy, and love for the game. The pickleball community even rallied to help them get home.

For this team, “Pickleball for the people” isn’t just a slogan. It’s how they show up, support each other, and make space for the sport to grow in every corner of Sierra Leone.

Now that’s inspiring.

💥 Guinness Record set in North Texas pickleball marathon

Last week, a group of pickleball enthusiasts in North Texas set a new Guinness World Record for the longest marathon playing pickleball.

☝️ 'Dreambreaker' looks at the massive rise of pickleball

'Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story,' takes a look at the birth of professional pickleball and the celebrities, billionaires, and everyday folks scrambling to get in on the action.

🥺 Quiet paddles now required at Laguna Beach

The latest victim of the pickleball noise wars: the very popular destination of Lang Park in Laguna Beach.

After complaints from a nearby senior living facility, the city’s now mandating “quiet” paddles only.