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

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

• A Simple Way to Stay One Shot Ahead

• The Hidden Reason Pickleball Destroys Your Quads

• The Backhand: Why You Run Around It (And How 4.0 Players Make It a Weapon)

• DRILL OF THE WEEK: Earn The ATP

• Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: Prevent Knee, Hip & Ankle Injuries With These 2 Moves

• USA Pickleball Opens Annual Rule Proposal Process for 2027 Rulebook

• UPA-A Releases Rulebook to Govern PPA Tour and MLP Matches

• What Is Pickleball Elbow? Prevention and Recovery Guide

• Pickleball Inc. Gets $225M Investment from Apollo Sports Capital and Tom Dundon

• HUMOR: The Strategy That Didn’t Work

• Coach Mary: Focus On Footwork

🥷SKILLS

HA Simple Way To Stay
One Shot Ahead

Most rallies are played one shot at a time.

The ball comes over the net, you react to it, send it back, and then wait to see what happens next. It works well enough to stay in points, but it keeps you in a reactive cycle where you’re always a step behind.

The players who start to separate themselves aren’t just hitting better shots.

They’re thinking one shot ahead — and moving accordingly before the ball even comes back.

The Real Shift: From Reaction to Intention

Planning ahead doesn’t mean predicting perfectly.

It means having a clear idea of what your shot is likely to produce — and being ready for it.

The mistake most players make isn’t mechanical. It’s this:

They separate the shot, the expectation, and the movement into three different moments.

They hit… then watch… then react.

Better players connect all three into one continuous action.

💪 Health & Fitness Section

The Hidden Reason Pickleball
Destroys Your Quads

The Hidden Reason Pickleball DESTROYS Your Quads 

You walk off the court feeling great, maybe a little tired. Then you wake up. Your quads are locked up, your legs feel like lead. You've been telling yourself it's the heat, a lack of stretching, or just getting older.  

But what if all those excuses were wrong? New research into what happens to your muscles during a hard session reveals the surprising movement that actually causes your worst soreness—and it has nothing to do with running.  

Once you know the real culprit, you'll start thinking about recovery very differently. 

The Real Culprit 

It's not the running. 

It's the stopping. 

Researchers measured what happens to the front quad muscle during repeated sprints with different stopping conditions — free stops, moderate braking, and hard, short-distance braking. 

The results were immediate and clear: the harder the stops, the more the quad stiffened and thickened across sets. So, athletes performing hard stops showed significantly more quad stress than those who decelerated naturally. 

Crucially, the damage markers didn't peak right after the session. They peaked a full 24 hours later and remained elevated for up to 72 hours—three days after the tests. This 24-hour lag is the missing link explaining why your legs feel fine walking off the court, but ruined the next morning.  

🥷 DRILL OF THE WEEK

Earn The ATP

Most players miss the ATP because they reach too soon, not because they lack touch. The real skill is resisting that first instinct, trusting your feet, and recognizing when a sharp angle has actually earned the shot.

Learn the reads, footwork, and patience that turn the ATP from a low-percentage highlight chase into a shot you can execute with confidence.

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

Prevent Knee & Hip Pain
With These 2 Moves

NEWS

The Backhand: Why You Run
(Around It & How 4.0 Players
Make It A Weapon)

Bob Savar is a 78-year-old PPR instructor. Stuck at 3.5 for 4 years, he broke through to 4.0+ at age 73!

He has a great newsletter called The Next Step to 4.0. His most recent article talks about that backhand you keep running around:

Two weeks ago at Patch Reef Park, I watched a 3.5 player run around every backhand. Eleven balls to his left side. Eleven forehands from three feet off the court. His opponent noticed immediately and fed him nothing but backhands. Middle wide open. Partner scrambling. They lost 11–3.

When I asked why he avoided the backhand, he said what most players say:

“My backhand’s weak. My forehand’s more consistent.”

Here’s the truth: running around your backhand doesn’t hide the weakness — it spotlights it. And it creates problems far worse than a mediocre backhand.

🏓  NEWS

USAP Opens Annual Rule
Proposal Process for 2027

USA Pickleball is opening the rulebook to its members again, giving players direct input on how the sport evolves in 2027. From scoring tweaks to major rule proposals, few sports let everyday competitors help shape the official future of the game like this.

See how the proposal process works, which voices carry weight, and what changes could eventually impact courts nationwide.

🏓  PRO NEWS

UPA-A Release Rulebook To
Govern PPA Tour and MLP Matches

The UPA-A, the governing body overseeing both the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball, just dropped its first standalone rulebook, and it’s packed with changes that could immediately impact pro play. From AI-assisted line calls to stricter conduct penalties and new rules around controversial ball manipulation, competitive pickleball is entering a far more regulated era.

See which new rules, enforcement systems, and officiating upgrades could most change the way the pro game is played this season.

⚕️ HEALTH NEWS

What Is Tennis Elbow?
Prevention & Recovery Guide

That nagging outer elbow soreness isn’t just post-game fatigue, it could be the overuse injury sidelining more pickleball players than they expect. From bad backhand mechanics to the wrong paddle fit, small habits can quietly turn into months-long recovery.

See the early warning signs, proven recovery exercises, and prevention fixes that can keep pickleball elbow from wrecking your season.

🗞️ NEWS

Pickleball Inc. Gets $225M
Investment from Apollo Sports
Capital and Tom Dundon

Pickleball’s gold rush just got a massive vote of confidence, with a $225 million investment officially merging pro tours, major leagues, and more than 150 signed players under one roof. What started as a backyard pastime is now being built like a serious sports business.

See how this landmark deal could reshape pro pickleball’s future, player earnings, and the race to become America’s next major sport.

🏓 HUMOR
The Strategy That Didn’t Work

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

WIMBERLEY, TX: Five Pickleball Players Killed in Texas Hill Country Plane Crash en Route to Tournament
KANSAS CITY, KS: Pickleball Tournament in Overland Park Raises Money for Kansas City Animal Shelter
SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT: City to Scale Back Pickleball Courts After Noise Complaints
CHAMPAIGN, IL: 8 New Pickleball Courts Are on the Way to Centennial Park in Champaign
PALM DESERT, CA: Community Members Join '2026 The Beat Goes On' Pickleball Invitational Fundraiser
ROSEVILLE, CA: World's Best Pickleball Players Compete in Roseville at Tournament Benefiting Shriners Children's
CLAY COUNTY, WV: County Unveils New Community Pickleball and Basketball Courts


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

  💪 Focus On Footwork

Three Pickleball Footwork Drills That Make Every Shot Feel Slow Motion!
Aylex Pickleball Academy welcomes Coach Brandon to demo and explain the importance of footwork, both at the NVZ and at the baseline.

Step # 1:  Pivot Step

·    Much like a basketball pivot.

·    One simple step back with your right foot on the forehand, and with the left foot with the backhand side.

·    Aylex has his paddle too far back.  Brandon explains that your paddle stays in front of you.

·    This happens when your opponent is a good dinker, placing the ball deep and low.  This is when you would need to take a step back, pivoting.

·    Watch the drill with a partner tossing the ball to either side to make you control the pivot step and contact.

Step# 2:  Shuffle step, much like a crab walk.  Set down low and move sideways.  Lateral movement at the NVZ.

·    Shuffle to get to a ball that is further away, then use the pivot.

·    Do not shuffle back first, because you will turn, and use a crossover, which we do not need to do in this scenario.

·    Keep your paddle in front of you!

·    See the drills with your partner feeding you with a toss to either side.

Step #3:  Learn When to Use the Crossover Step

·    Use the crossover when the ball is further away from you.

·    It is usually on the backhand side.

·    Do not fully turn away!  When you crossover, your torso is pulled forward, and your paddle is not behind you.

·    This is a recovery shot, not an offensive shot.  Get the ball back and move into position to defend.

·    Lead with your arm, get your feet in place first.

Step #4:  You are at the baseline, and you are pushing away from the ball, to create space.  This is like “running around your backhand”.

·    Take a short pivot turn, with a short backswing, and push away from the ball, so you can get to your proper contact zone.

·    Be sure to watch the video several times!

·    Often, I see my students open to the net when they hit returns – wrong!  Use a short pivot, push away, and create space to get your body behind your drive/return.

In summary, footwork is key to success in Pickleball.  Move and prepare before the ball gets to you.  Move through your shot, so you can get to the net.

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