🦞 Not all lobs are created equally

This week’s epic point is high-level play from start to finish. Drives, dinks, fast hands, resets… and plenty of lobs.

But the standout? An ATP reset. Yep. You don’t see that every day.

Proof that not all lobs are created equally. 🦞

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 🙌

$318 a year

The average pickleball player spends $318 a year on paddles alone, and 90% plan to spend the same or more next year.
(SFIA/DUPR, 2025)

👫 Pickleball's battle of the sexes! Who won?

More than half a century ago, Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in tennis. Men vs women, and the women won. On Wednesday night at Pickleball Slam 4 in Hollywood, Florida, they tried it again… and this time the old guys came out on top.

Andre Agassi and James Blake beat Anna Leigh Waters and Genie Bouchard 3-1, taking home a $1,000,000 check in the process.

It didn't start well for the men. Waters, the 19-year-old world number one, dismantled Blake in singles 15-13, 15-5 and it looked like the women were going to run away with it. Then Agassi stepped up and ground out a tough 15-11, 4-15, 15-5 win over Bouchard. With momentum shifted, Agassi and Blake closed it out in doubles 25-23, 21-15.

Here's the thing though: the men didn't stumble into this. Agassi was driving from Las Vegas to San Diego for weeks before the event just to practice with Blake. He was texting him strategy at 5am. For a celebrity exhibition match, that level of preparation is kind of insane.

Their game plan was simple: stay away from Waters and hit everything to Bouchard. It worked, but only just. Waters ended up covering 60–70% of the court trying to compensate, and she wasn't happy about it.

"We'll need to see a rematch, for sure," she said afterwards. Agassi didn't hesitate: "100 percent, let's go right now."

🤑Tucson looks to charge players for ‘free’ courts

Pickleball players at Tucson's Morris K. Udall Park showed up to protest this week after the city proposed charging $3.50 per court for 90 minutes of play from July 1.

The courts have been free for five years. A small number, sure. But the principle has players fired up, and it won't be the last city to float this idea.

🏝️ What if your next vacation was built around pickleball?

Luxury resorts across the Caribbean and US are quietly becoming the best places in the world to play. We're talking Aurora Anguilla, Rosewood Baha Mar, and private coaching at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman.

These aren't token amenities… they're the main event. Pickleball is now the destination. Read more

🏓 Pickleball even makes you a better MLB coach

The Milwaukee Brewers coaching staff have found that pickleball keeps their competitive edge sharp, brings different departments together, and gives them the mental reset they need during a 162-game season. Golf used to do that. Not anymore. Read more

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.

🤔 “I am left-handed. When I play with one group, they have me stay on only the right side of the court to play, so the middle is always covered. Both of us players switch sides to serve and then jump back to our sides and continue play. Is this legal?”

Yes, this is stacking, and it's completely legal.

Stacking is a legitimate tactical strategy used at every level of the game, from rec play all the way up to the pros. What you're describing — deliberately positioning yourself to keep your stronger or more dominant side covering the middle — is exactly what stacking is designed to do.

The only rule you need to follow is that when you serve or return serve, you must be in the correct position. Once the ball is in play, you and your partner can position yourselves anywhere on your side of the court.

For a left-handed player, stacking to keep your forehand in the middle makes a lot of sense. The middle of the court is where most of the action happens at the kitchen line, and two forehands covering the middle is a genuine tactical advantage.

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

• 🫶 The recovery habit that makes me a better pickleball player

• 👑 We just crowned a new king of spin

• 😲 This paddle hits like it costs twice as much

• 👌 The best all-court power paddle available right now!

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• 🤾 The most controversial shot in pickleball

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