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

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

• 4 Small Changes That Make Your Third Shot Drop Better

• How to Improve Shoulder Mobility for Pickleball

• DRILL OF THE WEEK: The Misdirection Dink Drill

• Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: How to Do a Turkish Getup

• Joola Resolves Majority of Pickleball Paddle Patent Lawsuits

• GEAR REVIEW: Franklin Sports X-40 Pickleballs

• When Should You Add Weight to Your Paddle?

• Austin Artist Turns Broken Pickleballs Into Wearable Art

• HUMOR: My Face When Playing Pickleball With My Spouse

• This $27 Million Upper West Side Penthouse Has NYC's First Residential Pickleball Court

• Tips On Groundstrokes, Drills & Defending Attacks

🥷SKILLS

4 Small Changes That Make Your
3rd Shot Drop Better

The third-shot drop does not have to be one perfect shot hit the same way every time.

The basic job stays the same: get the ball into the kitchen (non-volley zone) so the serving team has an opportunity to move forward. But the ball that comes back after the serve is rarely identical. Some returns are deep, some are short, some pull a player wide, and some leave plenty of time to set up.

A reliable drop can adjust to those situations without requiring a completely different stroke. Small changes in height, depth, pace, and placement can make the same basic shot more useful.|

1. Change the Height

Players sometimes become so focused on keeping the drop low that they forget why the ball is being hit softly in the first place.

The goal is to make the ball descend into the kitchen and force the opponent to contact it from a less aggressive position. Sometimes giving the ball a little more height makes that easier.

⚕️HEALTH & FITNESS

How To Improve Shoulder Mobility

A stiff shoulder can make overheads feel harder than they should, but simply stretching the joint more may miss the real problem. Comfortable movement depends on the shoulder, shoulder blade, and upper back working together, and a few simple exercises can help keep that entire system moving.

See the mobility routine that can help you reach, rotate, and get your paddle overhead more comfortably.

🥷 Drill of the Week:

The Misdirection Dink Drill

The Misdirection Dink Drill starts with something simple: give your opponent the same crosscourt pattern long enough that they begin to expect it. Then, when the right ball arrives, you change the picture without telegraphing where it’s going.

Try the drill to learn how to disguise your redirect and use your opponent’s anticipation against them.

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

How To Do A Turkish Get Up

🏓 PRO NEWS

Joola Resolves Majority of
Pickleball Patent Lawsuits

JOOLA’s fight to protect its Propulsion Core paddle technology has led to another settlement, this time with Proton. The agreement puts some unusual conditions on what happens to Proton’s affected paddles next, while JOOLA’s larger patent battle continues.

See what the two companies agreed to and which parts of the dispute are still unresolved.

⚙️ GEAR REVIEWS
 
Franklin Sports X-40 Pickleballs

NEW FROM PICKLER JUNCTION: The Pickler Junction Team’s reviews go above and beyond a simple thumbs up or thumbs down. They pull together independent testing, verified buyer feedback, community opinions, and objective performance data to show where the Franklin Sports X-40 Pickleball Reviewshines, and where it may not be the right fit, depending on how you play. Note: Review will list MSRP, link will show sale price if available.

Shopping for new pickleball gear? Reply here and we’ll tell The PJ Team what to review next!

 🏓 PRO NEWS

Major League Pickleball
Australia & Asia Season Preview

The U.S. Major League Pickleball season may be over, but MLP is just getting started elsewhere. Australia is opening its fourth season with a smaller eight-team field, while six new franchises across Asia are preparing for the league’s first season there, with plenty of familiar pro names on both sides.

See the new rosters, marquee players, and what to watch as MLP Australia and MLP Asia get underway.

⚙️ GEAR TALK

When Should You Add Weight
To Your Pickleball Paddle?

Adding weight to a pickleball paddle can change its power, stability, balance, and how quickly it moves in your hands. The bigger question is knowing when your paddle actually needs that adjustment, and when adding weight could create a new problem instead.

See when adding weight to your pickleball paddle makes sense and what to consider before reaching for the tape.

👏 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
Austin Artist Turns Broken
Pickleballs Into Wearable Art

An Austin pickleball club had garbage bags full of cracked balls and no good way to use them. Then artist Joanne Cabarrus saw something completely different in the colorful plastic, turning the court’s trash into wearable art.

See how discarded pickleballs became fashion, and the personal details Cabarrus found a way to preserve.

🏠 REAL ESTATE NEWS
$27M Upper West Side Penthouse
Has NYC’s First Residential Pickleball Court

A $27 million penthouse on Manhattan’s Upper West Side comes with nearly 5,000 square feet, two terraces and sweeping city views. Yet one of its most unusual perks isn’t inside the apartment at all: the building claims a residential first for Manhattan involving pickleball.

See what makes The Henry’s pickleball amenity unusual, and what else comes with life in the luxury tower.

🤣 HUMOR

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

LONG BEACH, CA: Long Beach Police Write Dozens Of Tickets To Late-Night Pickleballers
LYNCHBURG, VA: Lynchburg High School Student's Pickleball Invention Catches Mark Cuban's Attention
MISSOULA, MT: Ace! Montana Senior Olympics Kicks Off With Pickleball Competition
LOUISVILLE, KY: Shaggy To Headline Free Pickleball Festival In Louisville
DULUTH, MN: Up North: Local Pickleball Players Rally For Women's Care Center
SCOTTSDALE, AZ: Center Court Pickleball Club Expands Valley Footprint With 2nd Scottsdale Venue
BIRMINGHAM, AL: Unique Pickleball Event ‘Great Way to Honor Deaf Awareness Month
LA CANADA, CA: Young & Healthy’s Fundraising Event Seeks Pickleball Players


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

  💪 Tips On Ground Strokes,
Drills & Defending Attacks

3 SHORT BUT SWEET VIDEOS

1. Callie Smith: What a great visual lesson! Callie does not even speak! She wags her finger to let you know that the demo she just showed is wrong. Staying open when hitting a groundstroke from the baseline. Then, she demonstrates closing your stance, to engage your hips and core and shoulders. Then she gives you a thumbs up!

Simone Jardim
Simone and her guest recommend that when drilling, you focus on just one skill, rather than trying to cover multiple shots in one session. Great tip. She uses the third shot drop as the one shot being emphasized in one drill session.
· Practice the shot crosscourt, then down the line on both sides (4 locations).
· Switch with your partner, so now the other one is feeding, and your partner is executing the third shot from all four areas.
· Put the drill into a game and play the point out. The player who executes the third shot drop will follow it in and play out the point crosscourt and/or down the line.
· Note: Always put your drill into a competitive situation!

3. Tanner covers how to defend when you know you are going to be attacked.
   · If you or your partner pops a ball up, instead of just holding your ground, where you might need to defend with a forehand or a backhand, slide to the outside of the court.
   · Now, you will either have a forehand or a backhand, depending on which side of the court you are on. This takes away having to choose and defend both sides.

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