Health, Fitness, News & Fun for Picklers of All Ages

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

• 12 Ways to Improve Your Pickleball Serve

• What Bad Pickleball Games Reveal About Your Health

• Off Balance In Pickleball? Here's What's Happening

• Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: How To Get Rid Of Tight Lats

• Trustee Seeks Return Of Payments PB Rocks Founder Sent Pre-Bankruptcy

• Burger King Japan Launches Pickleball Burgers

• Pickleball Prodigy, 18, Fined $50K For Competing in Vietnam

• Stack Athletics And Chaifetz Group Acquire Vulcan Pickleball

• Promising Asian Player Defers PhD Program To Give Pickleball Career A Shot

• Coach Mary: Avoiding Common Crucial Mistakes

🥷SKILLS

12 Ways To Improve Your
Pickleball Serve

It might not be the flashiest shot on the court, but your serve is the one thing you control completely. There’s no opponent charging the net, no tricky bounce—just you, the ball, and the opportunity to start the point on your terms.

A smart, well-placed serve won’t usually win the rally outright, but it can set the tone and tilt momentum your way. And yes, even seasoned players have room to make their pickleball serve more reliable, more unpredictable, and more strategic.

If you're ready to stop treating the serve as a formality and start using it as a weapon, here are a dozen ways to make it sharper—starting today.

1) Vary the Placement If you’re always hitting the same deep, middle serve, opponents catch on fast. Try targeting the backhand corner, a sharp angle out wide, or even directly at the body to jam the returner. Changing placement forces your opponent to move, adjust, and think—which often leads to mistakes..

💪 Introducing Our New Health & Fitness Section
Weekly Advice To Keep You Fit & Injury Free

  What Bad Pickleball Games
Reveal About Your Health

What Bad Pickleball Games Reveal About Your Health 

Picture this: You show up with your usual crew, paddle in hand, ready for a fun match.  
But from the first serve, things feel... off. Your dinks float. Your reflexes lag. You forget the score twice and miss a sitter at the net. 

 You chalk it up to poor sleep, getting older, or maybe just a bad day. But what if it’s something else? 

 What if those “off” days are your body’s way of sending a message… 
The Hidden Problem Behind "Off" Days 

Pickleball might look breezy – but it’s actually a full-body workout. 

You need fast-twitch reflexes to chase a dink, sharp focus to track the ball, steady coordination to hit your shot, and joint resilience to play again tomorrow. 

All the above rely on micronutrients – small nutrients your body runs on. 

But here’s the catch: Age, common medications, and gaps in your diet, lead to your body’s micronutrient reserves running out. 

 ♟️ STRATEGY

Off Balance In Pickleball?
Here’s Whats Happening

Lunging, reaching, or reacting in panic often leaves players off balance—leading to weak shots, unforced errors, or even injuries. But good news: balance is a skill you can train.

To stay steady, focus on athletic posture, proper footwork (no backpedaling!), and court awareness. If you do lose balance, don’t go for a winner—reset with a soft lob or a safe middle shot to recover positioning.

Off the court, exercises like lateral jumps, single-leg reaches, and squat-to-balance drills can build control and stability. Smart play beats flashy mistakes—your joints (and your partner) will thank you.
Click here to see more tips…

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

How To Get Rid Of Tight Lats

⚖️ LEGAL NEWS

Trustee Seeks Return of Payment
PB Rocks Founder Sent
Pre-Bankruptcy

As unpaid investors line up in court, embattled Pickleball Rocks founder Rodney Grubbs is under scrutiny for wiring over $80,000 to select individuals just before filing for bankruptcy.

The trustee is now demanding that money back, arguing those payments gave certain creditors an unfair edge.

With accusations of a $57 million Ponzi scheme still swirling—and even his own children listed among the 335 creditors—this case continues to shake the pickleball business world.

  😋 FOOD NEWS

Burger King Japan Launches
Pickleball Burgers

In a quirky nod to the pickleball craze, Burger King Japan has teamed up with the Pickleball Japan Federation to launch the “Pickleball Burger” — featuring three beef patties, a towering 11 pickles, and rice-patty buns.

Fans are split on the oddball creation, with some intrigued by the protein-packed novelty and others questioning the ingredients.

Whether it’s a clever marketing move or a fast-food foul, the internet can’t stop talking about it. Click here to read more about this tasty new treat…

🏓 PRO NEWS

Pickleball Prodigy, 18, Fined $50K
For Competing In Vietnam

18-year-old Vietnamese-American star Quang Duong has been fined $50,000 and suspended by the United Pickleball Association for competing in a charity tournament in Vietnam—violating his exclusive contract with the PPA and MLP.

Duong, currently ranked 6th in the world, will miss two key events, including the high-point Orange County Cup.

Despite his rising stardom and deep ties to Vietnam, the UPA’s strict enforcement highlights growing tensions between player freedom and league control as pickleball goes global. Read More Here…

💼 BUSINESS NEWS

Stack Athletics & Chaifetz
Acquire Vulcan Paddle

In a major shakeup within the pickleball industry, apparel brand Stack Athletics (a subsidiary of The Picklr) and private equity firm Chaifetz Group have acquired Vulcan Pickleball, a legacy paddle and ball brand, to form a new entity: Stack Vulcan.

The move brings together fashion-forward design, pro-level gear, and expanded distribution muscle. The new leadership sees this as a chance to breathe new life into Vulcan, refresh its product lines, and potentially dominate in both consumer sales and pro-level sponsorships.

Expect revamped paddles, new apparel, and broader reach—driven by passionate pickleball insiders ready to scale. See More Here…

🏓 PRO NEWS

Promising Asian Player Defers
PhD Program To Give Pickleball
Career a Shot

Former NCAA tennis standout Long Yufei has postponed her PhD in biomedical informatics to pursue a professional pickleball career through the United Pickleball Association’s new Asia Trailblazers Program.

The 26-year-old Vanderbilt alumna, ranked No. 71 in women’s singles, will train in the U.S. and compete globally under a two-year contract. Already a PPA Challenger winner, she’s set to star in the inaugural PPA Tour Asia this year—including Hong Kong’s $50,000 Open and China’s $1 million Slam.

Her long-term goal: to represent China if pickleball becomes an Olympic sport by 2032.
Read her story here…

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

JOHNSON CITY, TN: Pickleball Tournament In Johnson City Raises Funds For Habitat For Humanity
CAMBRIDGE, MA: Dill With It: Harvard's Pickleball Club Is Here To Stay
BERWYN, PA: Neighbors Sue Upper Main Line YMCA And Easttown Township Over Pickleball Noise
MEMPHIS, TN: Veterans Take The lead At Golden Age Games Featuring Pickleball Competition
CAYMAN ISLANDS: In A Pickle: Single Men Needed To Make A Pickleball Pair
CINCINNATI, OH: Tennis Courts Succumb To An Invasive Species: Pickleball Players
ZANESVILLE, OH: Pickleball Tournament Serves Up Support For Shelter Pets
CHICAGO, IL:  Catholic Church To Become Indoor Pickleball Clubhouse

DO YOU HAVE LOCAL NEWS TO SHARE? REACH OUT TO US AT
[email protected] and send us a link to your story!

  💪 Avoiding Common Crucial Mistakes

CHECK OUT ELISHA AND JUSTIN FROM PICKLEBALL JOURNEY AND SEE IF YOU ARE MAKING SOME OF THESE 8 CRITICAL MISTAKES

Be sure to watch the video numerous times – It’s a good one!

Serve & Stay! After serving, you step into the court, and you are not ready to react to the return. Remember the two-bounce rule! Stay behind the baseline. It is easier to move in than to move back.

Foot Faults at the NVZ: Players volley, taking the ball out of the air, but they step in the Kitchen either on contact or on follow-through. Sit down, soft knees, balance, and use your hips and shoulders, rather than a step to contact the ball.

Hitting Out Balls: Arrgh! Says your partner! Remember this rule: “Shoulder high, Let It Fly!” Too often we contact balls that are going out. It takes discipline and patience to let an out ball go by, but its a skill we have to develop.

Down the Middle, solves the Riddle: If the ball is down the middle, you must communicate! Talk about this prior to the match. Forehand generally takes it! If you have a lefty partner, make sure you “Respect the X.“ If it is coming from cross-court, the player on the diagonal takes it. If one of you is stronger at the net, be aggressive, and poach or take a ball that is going to your partner.

Don’t Dilly Dally, Get To The Net: Return deep, so that you can get to the net before your opponent receives the ball. If you are the serving team, execute a third ball drop that lands softly in the NVZ so you can get to the net before they contact the ball.

Watch The Ball AND MORE: Use your peripheral vision, and see both of your opponents, as well as the ball. Track the ball with your paddle and shift your weight with your feet and shoulders. Anticipate by tracking the ball with your body, not just your eyes.

Consistency, Placement, Power. Consistency First! Master the simple stuff, then add spin. Keep your paddle in front, use your hips and shoulders, keep your knees soft, balls of your feet. Add spin using your hips and shoulders, not just your arm.

Use Topspin: When you have a return that is short, and you feel you can attack it, do not hit it as hard as you can! Use topspin and hit it three quarters speed. Low to high. We often attack a short ball too hard and it goes out. Stay low, short backswing, and follow-through with your hips and shoulders.

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