🙄 Everything we love (and fear) about pickleball

This week’s epic point is a true example of everything we love (and fear) about pickleball.

Big attacks, sharp counters, clutch resets, overhead slams, scrambling recoveries… the rally has all the ingredients of an instant classic.

And then? A missed dink. Because sometimes the most incredible points end in the most human way possible.

Have a filthy point caught on cam? 📸

Reply to this email or submit yours to [email protected]. The most epic one will feature in next week’s newsletter!

And if we pick your submission, we’ll send you a free Pickleheads t-shirt 🙌

34.8 years old

The average age of a pickleball player in the United States. That's younger than the average NBA fan (42), NFL fan (43), and a Major League Baseball fan (57).

🎰 Andre Agassi’s “World Series” wants more than just pros

This one’s hot off the press!

Andre Agassi is launching the World Series of Pickleball in Las Vegas, and it’s not just another tour stop. The vision includes a marquee open plus a team-based championship week that would bring together players of all skill levels from around the world, alongside substantial prize purses and celebrity participants.

That detail matters.

This isn’t framed as an elite-only showcase. It’s being positioned as something bigger. An open tournament anyone can enter, international players flying in from different countries, high-stakes prize money, complete with some celebrity credibility.

If executed well, it could blur the lines between rec, semi-pro, and pro in a way we haven’t really seen before. Less gated tour event. More global festival with serious stakes.

For everyday players, that’s the aspirational hook. Not just watching from the sidelines, but actually getting in the mix.

That’s a compelling pitch. 👇

🤯 The Xcaliber Ergo: a USAP-approved paddle like no other

Pickleball paddles don’t change much. Shapes evolve, faces get grittier. cores get tweaked. But the handle? That’s usually sacred territory. Well, XCELER8 just went there.

Their USAP-approved Xcaliber Ergo with its pistol-style grip may be the most intriguing innovation we’ve seen lately.

🍏 The creator of the Apple Pencil just designed a pickleball training machine

Jonah Harley, the engineer behind the Apple Pencil and key elements like the Force Touch trackpad or the haptic feedback system of Apple devices, has launched an innovative training solution: the smart pickleball machine named Electron, designed by his company Hydrogen Sports.

🎤 New York’s biggest pickleball club to open in former theater where Frank Sinatra once sang

CityPickle is opening a 37,000‑square‑foot flagship location Friday on the eighth floor of the historic Paramount Building at 1501 Broadway, between West 43rd and 44th streets, the company said Wednesday in a statement.

The space is billed as New York’s largest pickleball club and marks CityPickle’s first year‑round location in Manhattan.

Got a burning pickleball question? About rules, our app, the sport, a news story, anything goes.

If so, click Yes! Drop it in the comments and we'll pick our favorite to answer in next week's newsletter.

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

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

• 🔥 The best paddle deal out there right now!

• 🤯 This paddle gives you more than the JOOLA Pro IV for $100 less

• 🏆 I won a 5.0 tournament with this $100 paddle

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

• 🤾 Aim here when you’re under pressure

• 😳 Pickleball brawl involving 20 people results in two arrests

• 💥 This shot will earn you pop-ups

• 🎬 Pickleheads... the movie!!!

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