🤭 How did they keep this point alive?

Hey there,

Welcome back to the Pickleheads Newsletter!

In this issue:

🤭 How did they keep this point alive?  
🤾 Never hit a ball into the net again
🏓 USA Pickleball kicks off 2024 ‘National Pickleball Month’
🎾 Andrea Petkovic insults pickleball players like a ‘mad woman’

🤭 How did they keep this point alive?

This week’s epic point is soo insane and intense it’s racked up nearly 600 likes and 60 comments in the past week on YouTube!

You’ll be left asking yourself, “how did they keep this point alive?”

To check out this week’s epic point, click the image ▶️

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 🙌 

Just Paddles

I recently ordered a paddle from JustPaddles and must say…

It was a great experience!

I never thought much about where I ordered gear from – as long as I was getting a good price.

But the team at JustPaddles are doing things right. Here’s what I found:

• Free shipping on both the order and return if needed

• Same-day shipping up until 8pm EST (pretty late!)

• Live chat - and this wasn’t buried, it’s at the top of every page

The coolest thing I found though was their “try your paddle” assurance program. For $14.99 you can demo any paddle for 30 days. 

If you like it, you get that $14.99 towards your next purchase. And if you don’t, send it back for a full refund.  

Y’all know I test a lot of paddles and there’s no way to know how a paddle will play before you get it on the court. So this is a really great program.

Are you eyeing a new paddle? Try it out for 30 days and make sure it’s the right one for you👇

☝️ ps - save 10% on everything at JustPaddles with code PICKLEHEADS at checkout. Excludes Babolat, Gearbox, HEAD, Selkirk, and Warstic brands.

🤾 Never hit a ball into the net again!

Rahul, Pickleheads community manager and APP Top 150 player, is back once again with this week’s top tip…

As pickleball players we all make errors.

The most common one I see… hitting the ball INTO the net!

The good news? There’s a very simple fix for this which will change the mechanics of your whole body when hitting the ball.

When hitting a drop or a drive, and especially a drive, make sure you are hitting from low to high.

This does three things:

1. It creates an arc on the ball, leading to a higher percentage of balls going over the net.

2. It forces us to get low and stay low, because we cannot go from low to high without bending.

3. It creates natural topspin because we are brushing over the ball when going low to high. This makes are shots more powerful and less prone to errors.

Now let’s drill to practice going low to high. This week’s drill is one of my favorites…

It’s called the Suey! One of the best, but most exhausting drills in pickleball!

To do this, have your drilling partner on one side of the net with a basket of balls.

They’ll feed the balls to you side to side without stopping.

You need to cover the whole baseline, alternating between a drive down the line and a drop cross court. Running across the baseline to hit both shots.

Make sure to go low to high on both your drive and drops.

You don’t finish a side until every ball in the basket has been used.

100 balls is what you should be aiming to hit on each side.

Here’s a video of Rahul talking you through this week’s tip 👇

🏓 USA Pickleball kicks off 2024 ‘National Pickleball Month’

USA Pickleball, the National Governing Body for the sport, today kicked off celebrations and activations for National Pickleball Month throughout April. 

Established in 2018, National Pickleball Month is designed to connect everyone within the sport while, at the same time, introduce pickleball to new audiences by highlighting its inclusive, fun and healthy qualities. 

In conjunction with Pickleball Month, USA Pickleball also announced the launch of the organization’s official charitable arm, “USA Pickleball Serves”. 

😮 Disgraced pickleball entrepreneur owes a staggering $46.9 million to creditors

I covered this story a few week’s back now. But, it now seems the final figures are in…

Pickleball Rocks CEO, Rodney Grubbs, defrauded investors (including his two sons) to the tune of $46.9 million. 

The vast majority of the debt is due to unsecured creditors. Which poses the questions, where did the money go, and how will Grubbs pay investors back?

🎾 Andrea Petkovic insults pickleball players like a ‘mad woman’ in New York

Former German tennis player, Andrea Petkovic, recently ‘joked’ that she insults pickleball players like a ‘mad woman’ to start her Sunday mornings in New York. 

Andrea even posted about it on her Instagram.

CHOMPS

I played two long sessions last weekend. 3 hours each.

I was out at 7 am… Gotta beat the crowds right?!

No time for breakfast but luckily I grabbed a few CHOMPS meat sticks and…

Not only are they seriously delicious. But they really do keep you full! 

If I eat a granola bar or fruit, I’m back after a few games for more. One meat stick and I was good for a whole session.

This time I tried the taco seasoned beef and it was 🤤

They are my new go-to snack for the courts AND I’m happy the CHOMPS team has offered Pickleheads readers 15% off everything on their site.

Jalapeño beef, taco seasoned beef, pepperoni turkey - you have options 😋

** Code PICKLEHEADS auto-applied in the link above**

Pickleball Paradise, Scottsdale, AZ

You’ll find this week’s dream courts as part of a stunning 5-acre retreat in North Scottsdale, Arizona.

This mansion, which sleeps 20, is equipped with three pickleball courts, a pool, BBQ grill, and 2 decks to soak up the incredible panoramic desert views.

The perfect pickleball getaway? I think we just found it…

Pickleball Central

Now, this is one of our biggest exclusive deals EVER…

Pickleheads readers can now enjoy 10% off everything on Pickleball Central!

Well almost everything…no Selkirk, Gearbox, or machines.

Pickleball Central carries pretty much everything.

Whether you’re shopping for paddles, balls nets, or accessories, check out this sweet deal 👇

Check out our BRAND NEW paddle quiz! I’m really excited about this one…

I get asked every week for paddle recs but it’s hard without knowing your playstyle and needs…

So enter the quiz - answer 7 quick questions and I’ll recommend the 3 best for you. I tested over 80 paddles last year but only picked from the top 30.

Are you playing with the best paddle for your game? Find out below 👇

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