The Dink Pickleball Newsletter: Dinking With 19 Million Friends, The Dink MiLP Gets Exotic, and Pickleball’s Underrated Assassin

March Madness is underway—the ultimate showcase of college hoops, where school spirit, career-defining performances, and Cinderella stories create must-watch TV.

That's great and all, but we're far more excited for next month's DUPR Collegiate National Championship: 64 teams, hundreds of the nation's top young pickleball players competing for glory (and scholarship money).

Just don't ask us for bracket advice. Ours will inevitably be busted on day one, just like everyone else's

Our Picks ??

?? Best Dressed: Which Pros Turned Out in Texas?

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but court style is always on full display. From JW and Jorja Johnson to Kate Fahey, Eric Oncins, and more, here are the best-dressed pros from the Texas Open.

?? Fans for Life: Christian Alshon’s Touching Moment

Hot-headed PPA pro Christian Alshon showed a soft side after securing singles gold in Texas, giving his winning paddle to a young fan who was in attendance as a Christmas gift. Said his dad, “You’ve got two new fans for life.”

?? Trade Tracker: Two More Teams Make Moves in MLP

There have been a slew of MLP trades since the draft concluded in early March. Most recently, The Bay Area Breakers (Challenger) acquired Alix Truong , while Allyce Jones heads to the Utah Black Diamonds (Premier). We’ve detailed the trades and provided analysis, right here.

?? FOMO, Engaged: The Dink MiLP Gets Exotic

This past weekend, The Dink Minor League Pickleball held another spectacular tournament in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Feeling jealous? Don’t sweat it—there are plenty more events coming up, with locations ranging from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Rome, Italy.

Pro Strategy Breakdown — Smart Moves Win Games

Ever finish a match and think, What the heck just happened? Was your partner out of position, or did you just hand your opponent a perfect put-away? Most of us are left guessing—but for this lucky group of players we had PPA pro Eric Roddy analyze their game and call out exactly what they did right … and where they totally blew it.

What They Did Right: Smart Moves to Steal

Patience at the Kitchen – Instead of panicking and ripping a ball into the net, these players worked the point until they had a real opportunity.

?? Lesson: Control the rally, don’t let it control you.

Attacking the Backhand – When in doubt, hit to the weaker side. Their opponents struggled, and errors piled up.

?? Lesson: Test Your opponents, find the weakness, and keep feeding it—no mercy.

Mixing Up Third Shots – They didn’t just bang every third shot; they threw in drops to keep their opponents off balance.

?? Lesson: If your third shot is predictable, you’re making life too easy for the other team.

Where They Screwed Up: Fix These ASAP

Mistimed Speed-Ups – Some players got overexcited and attacked balls that were too low, which is basically an invitation for your opponent to smack it back at you twice as hard.

?? Fix it: Only speed up when the ball is at net height or higher—otherwise, enjoy watching it come back at your face.

Standing Too Tall at the Kitchen – Bad posture = slow reactions = getting worked. Staying too upright also meant they were constantly in a defensive position instead of staying aggressive.

?? Fix it: Bend your knees, stay low, and be ready to pounce. You’re not admiring the scenery—you’re in battle mode.

Get the full breakdown and watch the clips on our site. If you want a chance for your own match to get a pro-review, email us: thedinkteam@heydink.com

Heads Up: Selkirk’s Running a 40% Off Sale

If you were waiting for a sign to get some new pickleball gear, this is it. Selkirk is already in full spring cleaning mode and running a massive spring sale.

Get 40% off shorts, shirts, joggers, and hoodies (even select paddles are marked down).

Get a head start on your spring refresh and score some sweet pickleball gear at a discount.

Dinking with 19 Million Friends

Fellow Americans, we've done it again: For the fourth consecutive year, pickleball is officially the fastest-growing sport in the U.S.

This news comes from an annual report sampling nearly 20,000 individuals aged six and older, representing the U.S. population based on quotas related to gender, age, income, region, and ethnicity.

While this might not be the most precise count of all pickleball players in 2024 across every state, it's the best we've got—and we'll happily take it.

A few highlights:

• 19.8 million people played pickleball in some capacity in the U.S. last year
• 13.6 million were casual players (1-7 times per year), marking a 55.6% increase from 2023
• 6.2 million were core players (8+ times per year), representing a 28.2% increase from 2023

Overall, that's a 45.8% rise from 2023 and an impressive 311% growth over the past three years.

Here's what we want to know: What do you call someone who plays pickleball 8+ times every week?

Putting the Squeeze on Paddle Manufacturers

The governing body of professional pickleball, the United Pickleball Association -A, is tightening regulations on paddle manufacturing.

Specifically, they're enforcing consistency within paddle model lines to ensure uniform performance standards.

That means, of the 700+ paddles tested at a recent pro event, there should be no discernible differences in spin, power, pop, or any other key performance attributes between those from the same brand and model line.

“If it is found that the key performance metrics of any paddle are not within ten percent of the measured values of the paddles submitted for certification of that particular model,” the new rule states, “that paddle will be considered out of compliance and the certified paddle model in question will be subject to further compliance testing and associated penalties.”

The message here is clear: As paddle brands grow, and models are launched by the tens or hundreds of thousands, quality control must take priority over profits—or else.

This Could Be You at The Dink MiLP National Championship!

That's the energy you'll find at The Dink Minor League Pickleball tournaments! And that guy's level of stoke might just be because he's got his sights set on the 2025 National Championship.

Here's your roadmap to get there, too: The Dink MiLP offers TWO routes.

You can win a Dream Ticket at a State Championship or Regional Showdown. Or you can earn your spot by climbing the National Leaderboard through points earned at local MiLP events.

And the reward is HUGE this year: a $100,000 prize purse across ALL divisions. That's double what it was last year!

Find your nearest The Dink MiLP tournament and register your team today.

Pickleball’s Underrated Assassin

This week’s PicklePod features three special guests. First is Zane Ford who is quickly burning his way through the pro ranks. With his flashy style and unique accessories, he is catching attention (and some ricochets) from the competition. We catch up with him after a marquee victory over Ben Johns.

Next is Andrei Daescu who strung together three straight PPA men’s doubles championships and shows no signs of slowing down. Daescu is well decorated with titles on the APP Tour, PPA Tour, and MLP but still seems underrated. We dig in on the secrets to his success in a new episode.

Finally, rumors are swirling around the lofty promises of international pickleball that have not yet come to fruition. Pickleball World Rankings CEO Pran Kohli joins the pod to explain why the tour has been delayed and what the future looks like for PWR.

Catch the all-new episode here.

Headlines & Quick Hits

• Major League Pickleball Adds Weekend Matches Under the Lights
• Can Partnering with a Spouse Ever Pay Off?
• The Association of Pickleball Players Tour Makes Its 1st Stop in the Cayman Islands
• Does Playing Pickleball Help You Live Longer?
• Your Next Paddle Might Already Be In Someone Else’s Bag

Highlights

• Just an unreal ATP defense
• SF’s parking crunch: Just add pickleball
• Zane Ford goes full split