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

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

• 5 Ways to Hit a Drop That Actually Drops

• This Simple Mistake Might Be Wrecking Your Recovery

• Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: How To Touch Your Toes In Two Moves

• Sedentary Lifestyle Risk Outweighs Risk of Injury In Pickleball

• Elon Musk's Boring Company Opens $1 Pickleball Court in Texas

• Anna Leigh Waters Takes Over Career PPA Gold Lead With Triple Crown At Worlds

• From Warm-Up To Recovery: Building Healthy Routines In Pickleball

• From Pastime Game to Boardroom Vision: UPA's Revenues Soar to $60 Million

• Coach Mary: Improve Your Two-Handed Backhand In 5 Minutes

🥷SKILLS

5 Ways To Hit A Drop
That Actually Drops

Because soft isn’t enough—it has to sink.

Every pickleball player learns the third-shot drop early on. It’s supposed to be your bridge to the kitchen—the shot that turns defense into control. But for most players, that “bridge” feels shaky: the ball floats, sits up, and gets punished.

The real secret isn’t just hitting softly. It’s giving the drop shape, timing, and purpose. When you understand how to make the ball rise early, fall late, and land where it can’t be attacked, your drops start winning time, space, and confidence.

Here are five ways to make your drop actually drop—not just over the net, but out of reach.

1. Shape the Arc—Don’t Aim Flat

The most common drop mistake is aiming too straight. A truly unattackable drop travels in a soft arc—rising early, peaking about three to four feet above the net, and falling steeply into the kitchen.

Think of your target as a small “window” above the net. Lift the ball through that window and let gravity handle the rest. Your swing path should move up and forward, not straight ahead.

Advanced players use arc to control tempo and reduce errors. A drop with height and fall has margin for safety; a flat drop has none.

Add depth strategy: Try aiming your drop to land about one to two feet inside the kitchen line. That depth forces your opponent to hit up, neutralizing any chance of an aggressive volley.

Drill: Set a line of cones one to two feet from the NVZ and aim your drops to land just before them. Consistency matters more than perfection—arc first, accuracy second.

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

This Simple Mistake That Might
Be Wrecking Your Recovery

This Simple Mistake Might Be Wrecking Your Recovery

Ever wonder why you're still dragging yourself out of bed – even though your last pickleball game was two nights ago?

Many players notice this but think it’s just getting older or being out of shape. But the real reason might just be the timing of your games.

Science shows that playing late can mess with your body’s natural wind-down, making it hard to sleep well.

The Domino Effect of Bad Recovery

Research shows poor sleep from late-night games can make your body and brain recover slower – for up to 2–3 days. You might notice:

• Slower reaction time for fast shots
• Less control with your shots or footwork
• Cloudy thinking during quick decisions

What Happens in Your Body After Night Play

Your body is like an engine that doesn’t just turn off. Pickleball, with its sprints and fast moves, gets your whole system buzzing.

This helps you win close games, but here’s the problem: After a late game, your body can’t calm down fast.

The Body Heat Problem

Hard play can raise your body temperature by 2–3 degrees. But for deep sleep, your core temp needs to drop a bit. If you play late, you’re fighting this natural cool-down, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

How To Touch Your Toes
In Two Moves

⚕️ HEALTH NEWS

Sedentary Lifestyle Risk
Outweighs Risk Of Injury In Pickleball

Experts are pushing back on headlines about pickleball injuries, saying the real threat to public health isn’t a few sprains, it’s sitting still. With most players over 50, specialists argue that pickleball actually combats the true epidemic: inactivity.

“I’d rather see people moving and smiling with the odd strain than glued to the sofa,” said physiotherapist Christien Bird, emphasizing that movement is medicine, especially for women navigating menopause.

Read on to see why doctors say a few sore muscles are a small price to pay for a longer, stronger life on — and off — the court, click here…

🗞️ NEWS

Elon Musk’s Boring Company
Opens $1 Pickleball Court In TX

Elon Musk’s Boring Company has launched Hyperloop Plaza, a new community hub near SpaceX headquarters in Texas that includes a bodega, coffee shop, and $1-an-hour pickleball courts. Visitors have called the setup “a cool concept,” though “incomplete” and “far from everything.”

Still, the project captures Musk’s habit of experimenting across unexpected frontiers — even in the booming world of pickleball.

Read how Musk’s latest venture blends innovation, curiosity, and the sport that’s taking over America.

 🏓 PRO NEWS

Anna Leigh Waters Takes
Over Career PPA Gold Lead
With Triple Crown At Worlds

Anna Leigh Waters has officially rewritten pickleball history — capturing a Triple Crown at the record-breaking 2025 PPA World Championships in Dallas and surpassing Ben Johns as the winningest player in tour history.

Her 168th career title cements her status as the sport’s undisputed star, while the tournament itself marked another milestone with more than 3,500 competitors — the largest ever.

From rising stars to record streaks, the PPA Tour’s momentum shows no signs of slowing. Follow the action as Waters and the game’s elite head into the final stretch of the 2025 season, see more here…

⚕️ HEALTH NEWS

From Warm-Up To Recovery:
Building Healthy Routines In Pickleball

In pickleball, what happens before and after you play matters just as much as what happens on the court. Certified trainer Pauline Geraci breaks down how a proper warm-up — from mobility to activation — and mindful recovery can keep players strong, flexible, and injury-free for years to come.

Read on for Geraci’s full step-by-step guide to building smarter routines that help you play longer, recover faster, and truly enjoy the game, see more here…

💼 BUSINESS NEWS

From Pastime To Boardroom Vision
UPA’s Revenues Soar to $60 Million

Pickleball’s explosive growth has gone from community courts to corporate boardrooms. The United Pickleball Association now reports $60 million in 2025 revenue, a 30% jump driven by sponsorships, sold-out events, and celebrity investors like LeBron James and Tom Brady. What began as a casual pastime is now a major sports enterprise — complete with national TV deals, booming team valuations, and a fan base of nearly 20 million Americans.

Read the full story to see how pickleball became America’s most profitable passion — and where the next big investments are headed, see more here…

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

BAY COUNTY, FL: “Pickleball With The Police” Supports Springfield Police Employees Son Fight Against Cancer
ROANOKE, VA: Community Rallies To Smash Cancer With Carilion Clinic And Performance Pickleball ROA
ROCKY RIVER, OH: Pickleball Disputes Aren’t Just Rocky River’s Problem
OCALA, FL: New Pickleball Facility In Ocala Open 24 Hours A Day
FORT COLLINS, CO: Indoor Pickleball Complex Opens In Fort Collins
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK: YMCA Of Greater OKC Opens Four New Pickleball Courts
KAUA'I': Kauaʻi’s First Pickleball Event To Raise Funds For Local Families In Need
PUNJAB, INDIA: Battling Addiction With A Paddle: Association Hopes To Rewrite The State’s Drug Story

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

  💪 Improve Your Two Handed
Backhand In 5 Minutes

Jordan opens with how the two-handed backhand has really been embraced by the pros.  I noticed this last year, and now I am teaching the two- hander at all levels.  Especially, I recommend the two-hander when you are lobbing on the backhand side.  I use my slice when I am not close enough to the ball, and the two-hander when dinking and for third shot drops with topspin.

1. Two-handed backhand drop at the NVZ – footwork.  (Be sure to watch Jordan’s footwork several times.)

   ·    Wide stance.

   ·    Shuffle step to move sideways.

   ·    Shuffle back with a 45-degree angle if moving back to let it bounce.

   ·    Both wrists are below the ball – check out how low Jordan is, and how much he is bending his knees.

   ·    Contact Point is in front – no backswing.  Contact in front of your front leg.

   ·    Swing Path:  slow down, not power, but

   more spin.  (Watch Ben Johns)

2. Two-handed Topspin 3^rd shot drop:

   Note:  Very similar to the drop at the NVZ.

   ·    Body Positioning – very similar to the dink at the NVZ.  Example:  if you are aiming crosscourt with your third shot drop, your feet should be on a diagonal imaginary line from your contact to your target.  This is a great demo!

   ·    Paddle Preparation

   Wrists are below the ball, so you can get your paddle up and through to your target.

   ·    Use a More Elongated Follow-through from the baseline.  With the dink, finish at your shoulder, across your body.   With the third shot drop from the baseline, finish further out and up, to your ear.

3. When should you not use this two-handed topspin drop from the baseline?

   This is one of the best tips in this video.  This is also why you should have both a one and a two-handed backhand!

   ·    When the return is hard and deep, and you do not have time to move back behind the ball, switch to your one-handed slice backhand to buy yourself more time.

   ·    When you are not balanced.  If you must run to get to the ball, or must use a cross step, the two-hander is difficult to execute.  Use your slice with one hand.
   
   Be sure to watch the demos several times.  Get a ball machine or a partner to feed you balls, and experiment with two hands.  (Ed Ju has a great video on how he learned the two-handed backhand for drives.)  Keep an open mind and attitude!  You may love your one-hander, and resist change.  I absolutely love my backhand slice, but I find that I use my hips and core more effectively, and stay on balance when I use the two-hander, plus I can get more topspin.

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