🙈 A 33-shot defensive battle

This week’s epic point comes from the rooftop courts in West Hollywood, and it’s a grind in the best way possible.

One team refuses to let the rally die, digging out shot after shot in an incredible defensive effort.

Thirty-three shots later and the point finally ends. Sometimes defense really is the best offense.

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 🙌

The more you play, the better you feel!

A 2025 Saint Louis University study found a clear dose-response relationship between pickleball and mental wellbeing: the more sessions you play per month, the happier you become.

It's not anecdotal. It's science.

⌚️ Timex just dropped a Snoopy pickleball watch

You know pickleball’s gone big when you see Snoopy holding a paddle!

Last week, Timex released a Peanuts x Timex Pickleball collection.

The drop includes three models across Timex’s classic lines. Each one shows Snoopy gripping a paddle, ready for action. A playful nod to the sport’s explosion in popularity.

Prices range from around $169 to $349 depending on the model.

It might sound random, but it’s actually part of Timex’s long-running collaboration with the Peanuts franchise, which has featured Snoopy playing everything from baseball to tennis over the years.

Safe to say pickleball has officially reached Snoopy-level fame. And honestly… Snoopy looks like he’s got a pretty solid dink game.

🧑‍🎨 This paddle pushes the boundaries of design

Pickleball gear keeps evolving, but the Kobo Thunder Infinity might be the most unusual design yet.

Recently approved by USA Pickleball, this paddle is turning heads with its extra-long handle, edgeless frame, oversized throat holes, and almost alien-looking head shape.

It definitely won’t blend in… but the big question is: does it actually play as well as it looks weird?

💻 Microsoft is bringing AI coaching to pickleball

Imagine finishing a game and getting instant AI feedback on how to beat that one opponent who always seems to get the better of you.

PlaySight has just launched InSight AI, a new generative analysis tool built with Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI. It debuted at RacquetX last weekend and is designed to give recreational players tactical tips and post-match insights.

🏥 Why pickleball is sending more older adults to the hospital

As pickleball grows, many older players are getting hurt more frequently. With spring approaching and warm weather returning, Dr. Emmanuel Atiemo has some tips to help older players ease in, or back, to pickleball.

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 hit a ball that lands in my opponent’s kitchen, then spins back over the net on its own and lands in my team’s kitchen. Is the point good? – Andy, Lakewood, CO

Yes! The point goes to the player who hit the shot. Once the ball has bounced in the opponent's kitchen, it's on them to play it. If it spins or drifts back over the net untouched, that counts as a second bounce on their side, which is a fault.

But here's the part most players don't know: the opponent is actually allowed to reach over the net to play it! As long as the ball has already bounced once on their side first, and they don't touch the net or the opponent's court. It's one of the few legal moments in pickleball where you can put your paddle over the net.

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

• 🫶 An elite paddle under $200 that keeps up with your game

• 🥤 A better-for-you energy drink with electrolytes to help you win

• 😲 The JOOLA Pro V just dropped, and now I'm hyped!

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

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

• 🤾 Feel it. Fix it. Move forward.

• 🔥 Hustle for every point

• 🤾 I wish my coach told me this sooner!

• 🔥 Behind the back defense, but make it casual