We’re in the heat of summer, and while indoor pickleball courts are great with air conditioning, sometimes they come at a cost I just don’t want to pay for. So, I end up suffering through the summer heat. 

But luckily, there are a few easy additions and swaps that make playing pickleball outside in the summer just a little more bearable.

Here are a few tips for staying cool on the court when you play. 

Wear clothes with UV protection 

Sun protection is crucial when you’re playing outside, especially during the summer months when the UV is higher. Sunscreen can be thick, gloppy, sweat right off after a game, and just a pain to continue to lather up. A great alternative is to invest in pickleball clothing with UV protection with all the benefits of wearing sunscreen, without getting your skin oily. 

This long sleeve workout shirt is a great option for women that comes in a variety of different colors. And here’s a great option for the guys that comes in a bunch of different colors. 

Another popular brand on the pro pickleball court is Sparms for added sun protection as well. 

Fabrics made from bamboo or cooling materials  

Another great addition is clothing that is made with cooling fabrics, sweat wicking, or quick dry. A personal favorite of mine is tasc Performance for both men and women. All of their fabric is made with cooling bamboo infused fabric that’s lightweight and breathable. And lots of their tops come with UPF, so it’s an added bonus.

Shirts with mesh panels or cutouts can also be helpful for added ventilation. For example, this dress from 11NIL that Jorja Johnson and Hurricane Tyra Black regularly wear on the court. 

Lather up on your sunscreen 

Don’t let your pickleball game be the reason you’ve got to take a trip to the dermatologist to get a mole removed, so proactively wear your sunscreen. Spray, lotion, doesn’t matter. Allocate a few minutes before you warm up to apply it. 

A go-to favorite from the pros who are constantly playing pickleball outside during long tournament days are Elta MD and Supergoop.

Drink plenty of water and electrolytes 

This may seem obvious, but I think a lot of us are not hydrating enough before and after we get a good workout on the court. When you’re playing outside and you’re sweating, you’re going to need to be properly fueled. 

So bring your favorite water bottle and pour a packet of your favorite electrolytes for added hydration. I personally love every flavor I’ve tried from Ultima.

Bring a cooling towel 

Another great addition to your pickleball bag is a cooling towel. If you’ve never tried one, let me tell you, they’re a game-changer. This pack of four is a bestseller on Amazon for a reason. I cannot express how incredible it feels to throw a fresh cold towel on the back of your neck during a water break. It really helps cool your body down after a sweaty rally. 

Wear polarized sunglasses

I remember when polarized sunglasses became popular and they used to be so expensive. Now, you can get a quality pair of polarized sunnies for a good price. A go-to brand for me and my doubles partner is Goodr. All their sunglasses are incredibly comfortable, come in a variety of sizes, and will keep your eyes protected from the harsh rays. 

Invest in a large brim hat 

For additional sun protection, I highly recommend a wide brim hat. Sure, a baseball hat is good, but wearing a wide brim hat can give you added shade on your head, neck, and shoulders. 

Here’s a great sporty visor to add to your cart. 

And finally, don’t forget to take breaks if you need them. Stand in the shade, sit down, and pace yourself. There’s no need to overexert yourself, no matter how good the rallies are. So stay cool, and I’ll see you on the court. 

To keep up to date on all things pickleball, follow us on Instagram.

For about two and a half years now, the OWL paddle has occupied a strange spot in the sport. It's best known for its carpet-like surface texture that significantly dampens the sound of hitting a ball, but players who have spent real time with one, especially after it breaks in, will tell you it produces a level of spin higher than anything else on the USAP approved list. The paddle testing community (John Kew, Pickleball Studio, etc) has said the same thing in public, yet the paddle has carried USA Pickleball's full tournament approval the entire time, sold across an expanding product line, with nothing on the approved equipment page to suggest the approval was anything other than ordinary.

John Kew's OWL Paddle Testing Results

As someone who's played against the OWL many times, I've been trying to understand how that approval came to be, and after a long exchange with USA Pickleball I have a much clearer picture. The short version is that the approval of the OWL lineup is actually provisional, but that detail was kept from the public and the rest of the industry. OWL paddles couldn't be approved through the traditional process as the surface roughness test that every other USAP approved paddle needs to pass was waived because OWL's Acoustene surface couldn't be measured by it. USAP has reasons for all of that, and I am going to lay those reasons out in full, in their own words, because they deserve a voice in the discussion, but the reasons don't resolve the part that actually matters. What is a compliance standard worth when one company's products can be exempted from it without notice and sold freely for years while everyone else is still held to it?

"What is a compliance standard worth when one company's products can be exempted from it without notice and sold freely for years while everyone else is still held to it?"

How the OWL got here

OWL entered the market through USAP's Quiet Category, which was created to address pickleball's noise problem, one that is very real. The sound of the game has become a genuine obstacle to its growth in certain areas leading to municipal ordinances and building codes that restrict where people can play, and USAP is right to treat it as a priority. When the category launched, the announcement was explicit that this was a way to get quiet products in the market even if they weren't fully competition legal.

In order to speed development in this category, there is specification relief for products solely designed for non-sanctioned events, such as this first product from OWL.

USAP Quiet Category announcement. https://usapickleball.org/usap-news/equipment-news/usa-pickleball-announces-its-first-certified-quiet-product-the-owl-by-owl-sport/

That tracked. The Quiet Category was for non-sanctioned play, and it came with specification relief. Full competition certification, the approval that gets a paddle into real tournaments, was supposed to be the higher bar. The line made sense.

Then in early 2024 the line moved. OWL received competition certification, announced through a PRNewswire release that described the paddle as

100% USAP tournament play-approved and certified for amateur and professional players to use at any event or competition in the world.

PRNewswire competition certification release

There is no qualifier in that sentence, and there was none on the approved list either. As far as any player or buyer could tell, the OWL had cleared the same bar as everything else. What I have since confirmed is that it had not, and that USAP knew it had not at the time.

What USAP confirmed

I put my questions to Carl Schmits, USA Pickleball's Chief Technical Officer, and to his credit he answered them in detail and on the record. Three things came out of that exchange that change the story.

The first is that the Acoustene surface cannot be evaluated by the conventional roughness test that anchors paddle certification. In Schmits's words, it "could not be certified by measuring roughness conventionally with a profilometer." So the surface roughness requirement was waived entirely for the OWL lineup. The paddle still cleared the other tests every paddle clears, including coefficient of friction (CoF) and PBCoR for power, with no relief on either. The OWL was not given CoF in exchange for skipping roughness, since every paddle has to pass CoF anyway. It got a pass on the roughness test, with CoF left to carry the spin-bounding job roughness would normally share.

The second is that the competition certification was provisional, granted in the first quarter of 2024 with the intent, in Schmits's words, "to re-evaluate once spinrate had been completed." USAP has reportedly been working on a lab spin test for a few years now. The reason for the provisional status was that the surface's spin impact could not be measured at the time, because the test to measure it did not yet exist.

The third is the one I find most troubling. I asked whether the provisional status and its terms were published anywhere a player, buyer, or manufacturer would actually see them. The answer was that they were not. Schmits's answer below:

"Internal until ready for disclosure. Any determination realized through this process that has a public impact will be clearly communicated with reasonable timelines and implementation."

So the provisional nature of the approval was a matter of internal record by design. The public-facing message was full certification. The internal reality was a conditional approval on a surface USAP itself could not fully test, and the two were never reconciled for the people buying the paddle.

Why the secrecy is the problem, not the provision itself

I want to be careful here, because a provisional approval is not inherently wrong. USAP was facing a surface that solved a problem the sport needed solved, that it could not measure with its existing tools, and it made a judgment call to certify conditionally while it built better tools. Schmits describes this as bounding the certification until a proper scientific approach could answer the open questions, and as a conscious decision to act on what they knew they did not know. Taken on its own terms, that is a defensible piece of caution.

The trouble is that a relief lane nobody can see is a relief lane nobody else can ask for. Every other manufacturer was still being measured against the published standard, because none of them had any way of knowing an unpublished pathway existed. During the same stretch, OWL expanded into multiple models on the same surface and sold thousands of paddles under a banner that read 100 percent approved. Whatever the intent behind the provisional approval, its practical result was an extended commercial head start on a measurable on-court advantage, available to exactly one company, granted through a process no competitor could enter.

"A relief lane nobody can see is a relief lane nobody else can ask for."

Even as this article is being written, certain small brands are under investigation by the USAP for exceeding surface roughness with the threat of being de-listed. You can see them for yourself at USAP compliance page. The question is about the integrity of the regime rather than the physics. If the roughness standard is firm enough to pull a paddle from a smaller brand and make that brand answer for it publicly, it is hard to explain why the same standard could be set aside for a novel surface, with no public notice, for years. A test that can be enforced against one company and waived off the record for another is not really functioning as a standard.

The spin question, and USAP's answer to it in full

The best independent testing available to the public, John Kew's, puts the OWL at the top of the field for spin, and finds that the advantage grows as the paddle is broken in. It matches what competitive players report once an OWL has some hours on it, and it is the reason the paddle has the reputation it does at the higher levels of the game.

John Kew's OWL Paddle Testing Results

I told Schmits plainly that this is the heart of the piece, that a brand new surface cleared certification while its real-world spin, in independent testing, comes in higher than paddles that were pulled for failing the roughness test. I said I would rather have his response sitting in the article than left hanging, and I committed to running whatever he gave me in full. Here is his answer, in two parts, exactly as he sent it:

We're nearing completion of spinrate definition and we'll reach a determination for outliers. While we don't recognize any current spinrate test as robust a lab-grade solution relative to that which we are launching, we'd be interested in reviewing that independent data as well as the viability of the test itself.

As your research into this article likely revealed, extreme textures that would fail a surface roughness test may also yield an unexpected inverse result after a certain point, essentially decreasing the material 'contact patch' between paddle and ball.

On the underlying metric, Schmits's position is that coefficient of friction is doing real work. He describes dynamic CoF as "a fundamental parameter in contact mechanics" that has "reliably held spin in check since its intro in 2020, bounding both surface roughness and coatings as significant spin contributors," and says the data gathered during spinrate development supports that. USAP considered retiring the roughness test entirely and kept it because it still has value for field compliance.

I have thought hard about this, and I do not think it answers the question players are actually asking. CoF being a sound parameter in the abstract is not the same as CoF capturing what the OWL does on a worn face in the eleventh game of the day, and the one public dataset that looks at exactly that, Kew's, points the other way. Schmits's response to that dataset is to set it aside as not lab-grade while acknowledging that USAP's own lab-grade test is not finished. That is a deferral rather than a rebuttal, and the deferral is not neutral, because OWL continues to sell into the window the deferral creates. The contact-patch point in his second paragraph is real physics, and it is worth taking seriously, but it is offered without any evidence that it actually describes the OWL's felt surface, and it argues against the field data rather than engaging it.

There is also a fairness issue in how the spin gets characterized. USAP is willing to call independent testing insufficient while the marketplace waits on a standard that has been coming for over two years. In the meantime the people most affected, the players, already know what these paddles do. You do not need an ASTM-grade rig to notice that a broken-in OWL spins the ball in a way the rest of the field does not, and a governing body telling players to wait for the real test is a hard sell when a paddle excused from the existing test is winning points right now.

The precedent USAP leans on

When I pressed on how something stays provisional for this long, Schmits pointed to precedent, arguing that provisional approval is not unique. He noted that the UPA-A granted provisional approval to manufacturers roughly fifteen months ahead of its formal specification rollout in September 2025, and he cited the first paddle to receive provisional UPA-A certification, in June 2024, as having come from a product that had previously failed USAP certification and that was later sunset under PBCoR.

I went to the UPA-A to check that account, and the picture I got back does not match Schmits's. According to Jason Aspes, President of the UPA-A, the paddle Schmits is describing as that first provisional certification, the JOOLA 3S, is still approved by the UPA-A and now by USAP as well, the only difference being a smoother surface, because the UPA-A measures spin rather than grit. The paddle Schmits appears to be thinking of is the JOOLA Gen 3, which USAP delisted for being too powerful and which would not have passed the UPA-A's standards at any stage, provisional, interim, or full. If that is correct, then the example USAP is using to show that provisional approval is a known and reasonable pathway is mixing up two different paddles, which does not do much to reassure me that the long provisional window here is well understood by the people defending it.

One more fact worth putting on the table without editorializing on it. The PRNewswire release announcing OWL's 100 percent approval went out the same day as the announcement of OWL's partnership with the APP Tour.

Full OWL USAP Approval and APP Partnership Announcement

Where I come down

I went into this with some bias against the OWL paddles having played them with and against them and feeling they gave an unfair advantage on court. The truth is the tech is pretty cool and offering a quieter paddle option is good for the game. My biggest issue is with the secret provisional approval. What started as a rules exception that allowed a quiet product to be used in tournament settings ended up as a years long competitive advantage across an entire product line that wasn't disclosed as provisional to consumers or available to other manufacturers. That's not cool. 

"The provisional approval may have been sensible. Keeping it invisible was not."

The fix is not complicated. A provisional approval should say it is provisional, on the approved list, where buyers look. The terms should be public, so that any manufacturer with a surface that cannot be measured by the current tests knows the same lane is open to them. And the spin standard that has justified two and a half years of waiting needs to actually arrive, with a real determination for the paddles already in the field, the OWL included. Until then, the honest description of the situation is that the most spin-heavy surface in the sport is being sold as fully certified on the strength of a test that was never designed to measure it, and a future test that is not here yet.

I asked the hard questions and USAP answered them, which is more than a lot of governing bodies would do, and Schmits's full response to the spin issue is printed above so you can weigh it yourself. I just do not think the answers hold up the way they are meant to.

If a professional pickleball player could only practice five drills for the rest of their career, these would be the ones.

PPA Tour professional Ashley Griffith has narrowed down the drills she believes are the most effective for improving every part of your game—from soft touch and consistency to fast hands and competitive match situations.

Whether you’re a beginner looking to build a strong foundation or an experienced player trying to sharpen your skills, these drills are designed to help you become a more complete pickleball player.

1. The 100-Ball Dink Rally: Build Consistency and Control

The first drill focuses on one of the most important skills in pickleball: the dink.

The goal is simple: rally 100 consecutive dinks with a partner without making a mistake.

Players can perform this drill straight ahead or crosscourt, but the emphasis remains the same: control, patience, and consistency.

The goal is not to hit an aggressive shot or force a winner. Instead, players should focus on hitting a neutral dink that stays low, doesn’t pop up, and cannot easily be attacked.

This drill helps develop:

- Ball control
- Soft hands
- Patience during rallies
- Reliable dink technique

A consistent dink game is essential because not every point is won with an aggressive attack. Being able to repeat a quality shot over and over is what separates great players.

2. The Slinky Drill: Master the Transition Zone

The transition from the baseline to the kitchen line is one of the toughest parts of pickleball.

The slinky drill helps players improve their ability to move forward while hitting drops and resets.

Here’s how it works:

- One player starts at the kitchen line.
- The other player starts at the baseline.
- The baseline player slowly works their way forward using drops and resets.
- Once they reach the kitchen line, the other player works their way back.

Players continue switching roles, creating a back-and-forth movement pattern.

This drill teaches players how to:

- Reset difficult shots
- Hit controlled drops
- Move through the transition zone
- Stay patient while advancing

The key is not rushing. Players should focus on making quality shots from every position on the court.

3. Dead Dink Hands Drill: Improve Your Speed-Ups and Reaction Time

Pickleball can change in an instant when a dink turns into a hands battle.

The dead dink hands drill prepares players for those fast exchanges at the kitchen line.

To start:

- Two players exchange neutral dinks.
- One player intentionally hits a slightly higher “dead dink.”
- The other player attacks the ball.
- Both players then engage in a fast hands battle until someone wins the point.

This drill is competitive, fast-paced, and extremely useful for improving:

- Speed ups
- Reaction time
- Hand battles
- Finishing points at the net

Adding scoring to this drill can make it feel even more like a real match.

4. Figure Eight Drill: Develop Power, Movement, and Conditioning

The figure eight drill is designed to challenge both your physical and technical skills.

Players start at the baseline and rally crosscourt, but with a twist:

- One player hits every ball down the line.
- The other player hits every ball crosscourt.
- Players switch roles throughout the drill.

The result is a constant movement pattern that requires players to cover the court while maintaining quality shots.

This drill helps improve:

- Footwork
- Drive consistency
- Conditioning
- Singles movement
- Offensive ability

It’s also a great way to raise your heart rate while getting valuable repetitions.

5. The 7-Eleven Drill: The Ultimate Match Simulation

Ashley Griffith’s favorite drill is the 7-Eleven drill—and it’s the one she would choose if she only had 10 minutes to practice before a tournament.

The setup:

- One player starts at the kitchen line.
- One player starts at the baseline.
- The net player tries to score 11 points.
- The baseline player tries to score 7 points.

The point begins with a feed, and players compete until someone wins.

This drill creates realistic match pressure because each player has a different challenge.

The player at the net must:

- Stay aggressive
- Finish points
- Control attacks

The player at the baseline must:

- Work their way forward
- Use resets and drops
- Find a way to win from defense

The result is a competitive drill that mimics real match situations.

Improving at pickleball doesn’t always require complicated training. Sometimes, the best progress comes from consistently practicing the fundamentals.

From building a reliable dink to improving your hands and learning how to win points from different positions, these five drills cover every major part of the game.

Add them into your practice routine, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a more confident and complete pickleball player.

After the 2026 MLP draft took place in late February, Trade Window #2 of the MLP season is now open and will run through July 20.

This article lists each trade and the most up-to-date rosters, with the newest moves at the top.

The eighth event of the season, MLP San Diego, starts July 16th in Southern California.

July 13

A trade was announced between the California Black Bears and Florida Smash:

• California receives Zoey Weil
• Florida receives Mya Bui and cash considerations
•  

Updated Rosters

California: Sahra Dennehy, Zoey Weil, Jalina Ingram, Pablo Tellez, Anouar Braham, Joey Wild, Luca Mack (IR)

Florida: Martina Frantova, Mya Bui, Paula Rives, Connor Mogle, Chris Crouch, Cason Campbell

A trade was announced between the Chicago Slice and California Black Bears:

• Chicago receives Emma Nelson
• California receives Jalina Ingram and cash considerations
•  

Updated Rosters

Chicago: Jamie Wei, Elsie Hendershot, Emma Nelson, Zane Navratil, John Lucian Goins, AJ Koller

California: Sahra Dennehy, Mya Bui, Jalina Ingram, Pablo Tellez, Anouar Braham, Joey Wild, Luca Mack (IR)

A trade was announced between the Carolina Hogs and Phoenix Flames:

• Carolina receives Wyatt Stone
• Phoenix receives Michael Loyd and cash considerations
•  

Updated Rosters

Carolina: Abbigal Hatton, Nicole Conard, Aiko Yoshitomi, DJ Young, Wyatt Stone, Brandon French

Phoenix: Daria Walczak, Alexa Schull, Albie Huang, Jonathan Truong, Cam Chaffin, Michael Loyd

July 7

A trade was announced between the Bay Area Breakers and California Black Bears:

• Bay Area receives Kiora Kunimoto and James Delgado.
• California receives Mya Bui, Pablo Tellez, and cash considerations.
•  

Updated Rosters

Bay Area: Kiora Kunimoto, Genie Erokhina, Ella Yeh, Blaine Hovenier, Len Yang, James Delgado

California: Sahra Dennehy, Emma Nelson, Mya Bui, Pablo Tellez, Anouar Braham, Joey Wild, Luca Mack (IR)

June 24

MLP announced the first four-team trade in league history involving the Chicago Slice, St. Louis Shock, Texas Ranchers, and Atlanta Bouncers:

• Chicago receives Elsie Hendershot from St. Louis
• St. Louis receives Angie Walker and cash from Texas
• Texas receives Kaitlyn Christian and cash from Atlanta
• Atlanta receives Mari Humberg from Chicago

Updated Rosters

Chicago: Jamie Wei, Elsie Hendershot, Jalina Ingram, Zane Navratil, AJ Koller, John Lucian Goins

St. Louis: Anna Bright, Kate Fahey, Angie Walker, Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Hunter Johnson

Texas: Lea Jansen, Layne Sleeth, Kaitlyn Christian, Eric Oncins, Nico Acevedo, Rafa Hewett

Atlanta: Mari Humberg, Jessie Irvine, Keilly Ulery, Jay Devilliers, Jaume Martinez Vich, Donald Young

A trade was announced between the Chicago Slice and St. Louis Shock:

• Chicago receives John Lucian Goins
• St. Louis receives Hunter Johnson and cash considerations

Updated Rosters

Chicago: Mari Humberg, Jamie Wei, Jalina Ingram, Zane Navratil, AJ Koller, John Lucian Goins

St. Louis: Anna Bright, Kate Fahey, Elsie Hendershot, Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Hunter Johnson

June 23

A three-team trade was announced between the Bay Area Breakers, Las Vegas Night Owls, and Miami Pickleball Club:

• Bay Area receives Blaine Hovenier from Las Vegas
• Las Vegas receives Clayton Powell from Miami and cash from Bay Area
• Miami receives Luc Pham from Bay Area and cash from Las Vegas

Updated Rosters

Bay Area: Blaine Hovenier, Pablo Tellez, Len Yang, Genie Erokhina, Mya Bui, Ella Yeh

Las Vegas: Roscoe Bellamy, Clayton Powell, Braden Jacobson, Chao Yi Wang, Callie Smith, Liz Truluck

Miami: Dylan Frazier, Yuta Funemizu, Luc Pham, Isabella Dunlap, Estee Widdershoven, Rika Fujiwara

June 22

A trade was announced between the Dallas Flash and Phoenix Flames:

• Dallas receives Alix Truong
• Phoenix receives Albie Huang and cash considerations
•  

Updated Rosters

Dallas: Danni-Elle Townsend, Alix Truong, Brooke Buckner, JW Johnson, Augie Ge, Ivan Jakovljevic

Phoenix: Daria Walczak, Alexa Schull, Albie Huang, Jonathan Truong, Wyatt Stone, Camden Chaffin

June 15

A trade was announced between the Columbus Sliders and Dallas Flash:

• Columbus receives Hurricane Tyra Black
• Dallas receives Danni-Elle Townsend and cash considerations
•  

Updated Rosters:

Columbus: Parris Todd, Hurricane Tyra Black, Judit Castillo, Andrei Daescu, CJ Klinger, Alex Crum

Dallas: Danni-Elle Townsend, Brooke Buckner, Albie Huang, JW Johnson, Augie Ge, Ivan Jakovljevic

June 2

A trade was announced between the California Black Bears and Carolina Hogs:

• California receives Connor Mogle
• Carolina receives Michael Loyd
•  

In a corresponding move, Carolina waived Mogle and added James Delgado as part of MLP Waiver Period 2.

Updated Rosters

California: Kiora Kunimoto, Sahra Dennehy, Emma Nelson, Anouar Braham, James Delgado, Joey Wild, Luca Mack (IR)

Carolina: Nicole Conard, Abbigal Hatton, Aiko Yoshitomi, Brandon French, Michael Loyd, DJ Young

A trade was announced between the Texas Ranchers and Carolina Hogs:

• Texas receives Genie Bouchard
• Carolina receives Aiko Yoshitomi
•  

Updated Rosters

Texas: Lea Jansen, Layne Sleeth, Genie Bouchard, Eric Oncins, Nico Acevedo, Matthew Barlow

Carolina: Allison Phillips, Abbigal Hatton, Aiko Yoshitomi, Brandon French, DJ Young, Connor Mogle

A trade was announced between the Texas Ranchers and Miami Pickleball Club:

• Texas receives Nico Acevedo and Aiko Yoshitomi
• Miami receives Dylan Frazier, Ava Cavataio, and cash considerations
•  

Updated Rosters

Texas: *see above trade*

Miami: pickleball.com/culture/prince-harry-plays-pickleball-in-uk Victoria Radnothy Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0000 Culture pickleball.com/culture/prince-harry-plays-pickleball-in-uk The Duke of Sussex dinked and delivered.

Prince Harry made headlines with a recent return to the UK—his first in four years—and his visit included a few unexpected activities: goat yoga, wheelchair rugby, and, most notably, pickleball.

The Duke of Sussex was in town for The Invictus Games, the international adaptive sporting event he founded in 2014 for wounded, injured, and sick service members and veterans. Harry, who served 10 years in the British Army, has remained closely tied to the event ever since.

While in Birmingham, England, he took part in a mixed doubles exhibition match. Dressed in a polo, jeans, and loafers—and wielding an Invictus-branded paddle—his outfit may not have screamed “pickleball-ready,” but his play told a different story.

Harry showed solid instincts on the court, including a clean cross-court putaway, no kitchen faults, and a relaxed, ready stance throughout. More than anything, he looked like he was enjoying himself—smiling, laughing, and fully embracing the moment.

Pickleball is set to become one of the newest additions to the Invictus Games, with its official debut scheduled for 2027. For an event that already showcases adaptive sports like wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, sitting volleyball, swimming, indoor rowing, cycling, athletics, and archery, the inclusion of pickleball feels like a natural fit.

Known for its accessibility, pickleball can be easily adapted for athletes of all abilities. Wheelchair and adaptive versions of the sport have been gaining momentum in recent years, with more tournaments across the country beginning to feature dedicated divisions.

Seeing a high-profile figure like Prince Harry embrace pickleball is undeniably a positive moment for the sport.

That said, it was a bit surprising to see him pick up a pickleball paddle instead of trying padel.

Padel, a hybrid of tennis and squash played on an enclosed glass court where players can use the walls, has surged in popularity across the UK. While it’s still gaining traction in the United States, it’s already well established overseas.

According to Third Shot UK, there are an estimated 230,000 padel players in England compared to around 40,000 pickleball players. Padel may currently lead in popularity across the pond, but when it comes to accessibility and ease of entry, pickleball still has the edge.

Since stepping back from his royal duties in 2020, Prince Harry has spent the past several years living in the U.S.—the birthplace of pickleball, which now boasts an estimated 24.3 million players nationwide.

Given the sport’s explosive growth in America, it’s fair to wonder whether that influence played a role in pickleball’s inclusion in The Invictus Games. Either way, its addition marks another exciting step in the game’s global rise, especially as it continues to expand opportunities for adaptive and inclusive athletes.

To keep up to date on all things pickleball, follow us on Instagram.

]]> pickleball.com/news/st-louis-shocks-new-jersey-to-win-mid-season-tournament Jim Kloss Mon, 13 Jul 2026 13:00:00 +0000 News pickleball.com/news/st-louis-shocks-new-jersey-to-win-mid-season-tournament Time to separate fact from fiction and see where the teams stand heading toward the playoffs.

Going into the MLP Mid-Season Tournament, the expectation was that St. Louis would face New Jersey in a finals showdown. For once, the prevailing wisdom proved correct, as the two best teams did indeed make the final. In that final, St. Louis was the better team, winning 3-0. St. Louis thus takes over the top spot in the standings, with New Jersey dropping to the second slot. Time to separate fact from fiction and see where the teams stand heading toward the playoffs.

 

1. St. Louis is the best team. FACT

 

St. Louis has long been thought to be the best team. Indeed, you could make a good argument they were the best team in 2024 and 2025. But they came up short both years. St. Louis looked very, very good all week, and especially against their rival New Jersey. Recency bias will lead many fans to now overrate St. Louis’ chances of winning it all, but while St. Louis may be the best team, they are far from a sure thing to win it all.

 

In the Mid-Season Tournament, St. Louis easily handled Texas in the quarterfinals. But, in the semifinals, St. Louis struggled to defeat LA. St. Louis won both genders doubles matches 12-10, but lost to Ben Johns in mixed, with Gabe Tardio and Kate Fahey closing it out in mixed with an 11-7 win over Max Freeman and Catherine Parenteau. Obviously, either of those gender doubles matches could have gone the other way, which would have resulted in a DreamBreaker, where anything could have happened.

 

 

In the final, St. Louis played a freeze out strategy, hitting as few balls as possible to Anna Leigh Waters. Jorja Johnson played (for her) poorly. This allowed St. Louis to score the first win of the year against the New Jersey women, and it seemed like that result set the tone for the entire match. New Jersey was never able to recover, and St. Louis had the victory.

 

St. Louis is the best team. They are the favorite to win the 2026 championship. But they are not overwhelming favorites. The playoff semifinals and finals will be close, difficult matches. Betting on St. Louis to win it all in 2026 is reasonable, but don’t bet the house on it.

 

2. New Jersey is in trouble. MOSTLY FICTION

 

New Jersey rolled into the finals fairly easily. In the quarters, they defeated Dallas 3-1, not being seriously threatened. In the semis, New Jersey defeated Columbus 3-1. In both of their wins, New Jersey was led by Anna Leigh Waters, who comfortably won all four of her doubles games.

 

The final against St. Louis was different from the get-go. It started, as usual, with women’s doubles. Coming into the final, the combo of Waters and Johnson was undefeated. This record allowed New Jersey to always set the tone, begin 1-0, and put pressure on the opponent. But St. Louis was having none of it. Anna Bright and Kate Fahey used a new strategy, hitting every ball possible to Jorja Johnson. Johnson did not respond well to this pressure. St. Louis led early, and Bright/Fahey finished it off 11-6. St. Louis won as expected in men’s doubles, and Bright and Hayden Patriquin closed it out with an 11-8 victory over Waters and Noe Khlif.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New Jersey did not look good against St. Louis. But New Jersey is built differently from St. Louis. St. Louis features four very strong doubles teams, while New Jersey has one super strong pair, one very strong pair, and two good but inconsistent pairs. New Jersey is super reliant on winning that first women’s doubles match, and in the rare instance they lose it, their whole strategy is thwarted.

 

New Jersey will survive this loss. They are likely to face St. Louis again at MLP Orlando. They could well play each other in the MLP finals. Expect St. Louis to again try to freeze out Waters. But also expect Jorja Johnson to see it coming and respond better. Congrats to St. Louis, but do not count out New Jersey.

 

3. There are only five teams which can win it all.  FACT

 

We went into the Mid-Season Tournament thinking the championship contenders were St. Louis, New Jersey, LA, Columbus, and Brooklyn. We have emerged from the Mid-Season Tournament with those same five at the top. Brooklyn had an awful time in the tournament, but it was understandable as they were missing three starters. When healthy, Brooklyn still has a solid lineup. Brooklyn is a poor man’s St. Louis; they do not have any great doubles pair, but do have four solid pairs.

 

Columbus is still trying to gel with their remade roster. CJ Klinger is not playing to his usual standards. The mixed pairs are struggling some. But in the end, we are talking about the team that won it all in 2025 and now has Tyra Black in for Lea Jansen. You absolutely cannot count out Columbus. They have shown they are capable of raising their play in the playoffs.

 

 

LA remains a threat. When you have the world’s best player, and he gets to play two of your four matches, you cannot be counted out. LA almost lost to Palm Beach and narrowly lost to St. Louis. LA is a team that can beat anyone, but is also capable of losing to a weaker team. LA is going to play a fair amount of DreamBreakers based on how they are constructed, and DreamBreakers are unpredictable.

 

After the top five, the next tier is Texas, Dallas, and Palm Beach. Each team has some strengths, but lacks the star power of New Jersey or LA, and lacks the depth of St. Louis, Columbus, or Brooklyn. Could Texas, Dallas, or Palm Beach sneak an upset in a playoff quarterfinal? Yes, with LA being the most vulnerable to an upset. But winning it all requires beating three of the top teams in a row, and Texas, Dallas, and Palm Beach cannot accomplish that task.

 

4. LA needs a trade. FACT

 

The MLP trade deadline has been moved back once again to July 20. Of the top five teams, one team very, very clearly needs a trade.

 

Here are the PPA gender doubles rankings for the four starters on the top five MLP teams: St. Louis T1, T5, T1, 14; New Jersey 16, 103, T1, 4; LA T1, 32, 6, 8; Columbus 4, 8, 3, 5; Brooklyn 3, 12, 7, 11.  There are two outliers, Will Howells (#103) and Max Freeman (#32). Howells came to PPA late from APP, got injured, and his low ranking is purely a result of him not having played many PPA events. He is a top 15 player, and once he plays enough PPA events, his ranking points will reflect his skill level.

 

Settling Howells aside, who is the outlier? Who is the only non-top 16 player on a top five team? The answer is Max Freeman. No disrespect to Freeman, every player in MLP is one of the best pickleball players in the entire world, but Freeman is simply a weak link on the LA team. Freeman went 0-3 in his last three mixed doubles games in the tournament when LA was playing good teams. LA has three top 10 players and then a big dropoff. Fortunately for LA, there is a solution. Miami has Dylan Frazier, ranked #10 in the world, and is going to trade him before the deadline. Frazier would be a perfect fit on LA. He can play a great right side next to Johns, and is an improvement over Freeman at mixed doubles. 

 

Rarely is a trade this obvious. It is a win for Miami, as they get cash from LA. It is a huge win for LA, as they add a fourth top 10 player to their roster. A complete, total, 100% no brainer of a trade. It would lift LA into solid championship contention.

 

Next up is MLP San Diego, starting Thursday. Catch all the action on Pickleballtv.

 

Follow me on X @pickleball_jim.

]]> pickleball.com/news/shock-sweep-5s-for-first-mid-season-tournament-title-in-franchise-history Will Daughton Sun, 12 Jul 2026 22:25:00 +0000 News pickleball.com/news/shock-sweep-5s-for-first-mid-season-tournament-title-in-franchise-history After setting the tone with a statement women's doubles upset, the St. Louis Shock closed out the sweep for their 15th straight win.

In front of a national audience on FOX on Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Shock claimed the title at the Edward Jones MLP Mid-Season Tournament with a 3-0 sweep of the New Jersey 5s. 

New Jersey swept St. Louis when they last met at MLP Columbus in May, but St. Louis flipped the script in front of a sold-out crowd at Belknap Park as they cruised to their 15th straight victory. 

The Shock’s Anna Bright/Kate Fahey kicked things off with a statement 11-6 victory over the 5s’ undefeated pairing of Anna Leigh Waters/Jorja Johnson, who entered Sunday with a 25-0 record. 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Jorja and Anna Leigh are by far the number one women’s team in MLP, but we played really, really well. We came out with a specific game plan, and it started working. To hit the ball to Anna Leigh is a little bit scary, so we were definitely trying to avoid that,” Fahey explained afterwards. 

And avoiding hitting to Waters is exactly what they did, as the Shock effectively iced out the world’s best female player and sent nearly every ball to Johnson, which proved to be a winning recipe. 

“It definitely requires discipline and patience. I think it also requires perhaps a lack of pride to an extent, just to kind of say, ‘We’re going to do this, and we’re going to commit to this game plan,” Bright said of the strategy. “It was pretty obvious what we were doing, but it worked.” 

Hayden Patriquin/Gabe Tardio followed suit in men’s doubles, as they took down New Jersey’s Noe Khlif/Will Howells 11-3 to capture their ninth straight win as a partnership. 

And from there, Bright/Patriquin sealed the sweep with an 11-8 win over Waters/Khlif to earn the right to hoist the trophy after falling in the final of last year’s tournament to the Dallas Flash. 

 

 

 

 

 

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For Shock owner and chairman Richard Chaifetz, Sunday’s triumph felt like destiny. 

“I woke up this morning, and I knew our team was locked in. We were prepared for destiny today,” he said. “This team, when they are ready to play and they’re clicking on all cylinders, will beat anybody. I’m incredibly proud of them.” 

St. Louis will also earn ten standings points for winning the mid-season crown, while New Jersey will receive six for getting second place. 

As a result, both teams will be tied for the top spot in the standings at 93 standings points with one regular season event remaining for both squads. 

It’s worth noting, though, that St. Louis would hold the tiebreaker if the season were to end today because they have a better win rate across their regular season matches (91% v. 86% for New Jersey). 

In the third-place match, the Columbus Sliders defeated the Los Angeles Mad Drops 3-1 to secure a podium finish and earn the four standings points that come with it. 

After a memorable week in Michigan, the MLP season continues with MLP San Diego, which will run July 16-19 at Barnes Tennis Center in Southern California. 

Get tickets here, and catch all the action on Pickleballtv. 

]]> pickleball.com/news/top-seeds-new-jersey-st-louis-set-to-clash-for-mid-season-crown Will Daughton Sun, 12 Jul 2026 01:00:00 +0000 News pickleball.com/news/top-seeds-new-jersey-st-louis-set-to-clash-for-mid-season-crown The match will be broadcast live on FOX starting Sunday at 3pm ET.

The New Jersey 5s and St. Louis Shock entered this week’s Edward Jones MLP Mid-Season Tournament as the top seeds, and both teams appear to be deserving of their respective seeds after earning convincing semifinal victories on Saturday. 

The 5s—who hold the No. 1 seed after winning their last three events—defeated the Columbus Sliders 3-1 to advance. 

Just like in their most recent meeting at MLP Austin, the squads split the gender doubles games with Anna Leigh Waters/Jorja Johnson winning women’s doubles for New Jersey and Andrei Daescu/CJ Klinger taking men’s doubles for Columbus. 

From there, New Jersey’s mixed doubles pairings of Johnson/Will Howells and Waters/Noe Khlif both won their respective games to help the 5s become the first team to book their spot in Sunday’s final. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Waters/Khlif closed out the contest with an 11-7 victory over Parris Todd/Andrei Daescu to earn their tenth straight win together and improve to 23-2 as a partnership. 

Waters says she feels that Khlif and her regular partner on the PPA Tour, Ben Johns, play a similar brand of mixed doubles. 

“I honestly feel like Ben and Noe play kind of similar in a way,” she told Pickleballtv’s Kamryn Blackwood and Matt Manasse. “Maybe Noe doesn’t flick quite as much as Ben, but he has the same backhand dink consistency. His drops are very similar; he shows a little bit more emotion than Ben does on the court, but it’s overall very similar, so I love playing with him.” 

Waters and Johns have won 64 PPA titles together, so a comparison like that bodes well for New Jersey as the 5s prepare to face another challenge on Sunday in the form of the St. Louis Shock. 

The Shock defeated the Los Angeles Mad Drops 3-1 in the final match of the day at Belknap Park. 

Anna Bright/Kate Fahey gave St. Louis an early advantage with a 12-10 victory over Catherine Parenteau/Jade Kawamoto in a back-and-forth encounter. 

Bright/Fahey jumped out to a 7-1 lead but ended up facing game point at 9-10 before rallying to close out the opening game. 

“It’s always a tough out with Jade and Catherine,” Bright said afterwards. “I think we started really strong. We responded to their aggression really well initially, but then I think they pulled back a little bit and the points got a little bit more grindier; I think them going back to their default is actually kind of what messed us up there. We got up 7-1, and then from there it was just an absolute dogfight.” 

 

 

 

 

 

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Notably, the Mad Drops were assessed a Blue Card after a frustrated Parenteau hit a ball that struck a fan in the crowd after the final point. 

That penalty gave the Shock’s Hayden Patriquin/Gabe Tardio a 1-0 lead over Ben Johns/Max Freeman in the men’s doubles game, a point that helped lift them to a 12-10 win to put St. Louis up 2-0 going into mixed doubles. 

Kawamoto/Johns got Los Angeles on the board with an 11-8 win over Bright/Patriquin, but Fahey/Tardio went on to seal the deal with an 11-7 win over Parenteau/Freeman to give the Shock their third straight win over the Mad Drops. 

Saturday’s results set New Jersey and St. Louis up to meet for the third time this season in the final; the Shock took a DreamBreaker win when they met at the season-opening MLP Dallas, and the 5s earned a 3-0 sweep one week later at MLP Columbus. 

The mid-season tournament title—and the 10 standings points that come with it—will be up for grabs when they meet once again on Sunday in Grand Rapids.

The match will be broadcast live on FOX starting Sunday at 3pm ET. Click here to watch.

]]> pickleball.com/news/devilliers-able-to-return-to-action-friday-after-taking-paddle-to-the-head Pickleball.com Staff Sat, 11 Jul 2026 01:55:00 +0000 News pickleball.com/news/devilliers-able-to-return-to-action-friday-after-taking-paddle-to-the-head After getting five stitches in the side of his head, Jay Devilliers returned to the court on Friday to help the Atlanta Bouncers advance in the back draw in Grand Rapids.

Just a day after being struck in the side of the head with a pickleball paddle at the Edward Jones MLP Mid-Season Tournament, Jay Devilliers returned to the court for the Atlanta Bouncers on Friday afternoon. 

Devilliers suffered the injury during the Bouncers’ loss to the Los Angeles Mad Drops on Thursday when he went to poach over Jessie Irvine in their mixed doubles game against Jade Kawamoto and Ben Johns. 

Both players swung for the same ball, and Irvine struck Devilliers in the side of the head with her paddle on her follow-through. 

 

 

 

 

 

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After a 15-minute medical timeout, Devilliers was able to return and close out the 11-5 win, although Atlanta would end up losing the match in a DreamBreaker. 

“We had a strategy that was working pretty well,” he told MLP on Friday. “Jessie was staying a little bit further back from the kitchen line so that I could poach, but on the last one, I was a little bit late to the party.” 

And after getting five stiches and missing Atlanta’s 3-0 win over Team Australia on Friday morning, the 31-year-old returned to the court for the team’s second match of the day and helped Atlanta secure a 3-1 victory over the California Black Bears to stay alive in the back draw. 

“If there’s one lesson from yesterday, it’s that communication is everything in pickleball,” he wrote on social media. “Jessie and I have played for a long time, but yesterday I was a split second late on my poach and definitely paid the price. But that’s part of competing, learning, and trusting your partner.” 

 

 

 

 

 

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Devilliers is expected to be available for Atlanta’s next match against the Chicago Slice on Saturday. 

]]> pickleball.com/learn/anna-bright-shares-how-to-raise-your-pickleball-ceiling Pickleball.com Staff Fri, 10 Jul 2026 19:15:00 +0000 Learn pickleball.com/learn/anna-bright-shares-how-to-raise-your-pickleball-ceiling You can definitely become a more dangerous and unpredictable player.

If you've been playing pickleball consistently but feel like your progress has stalled, you may have reached a performance plateau. According to Anna Bright, the key to breaking through isn't always reducing mistakes, it's learning how to raise your ceiling by becoming a more dangerous and unpredictable player.

Know whether it's time to raise your ceiling

Before focusing on advanced skills, video yourself playing and watch your matches. If you're losing because of unforced errors then consistency should remain your priority. However, if you're reaching the kitchen, keeping rallies alive, and still struggling to beat stronger opponents, the problem may be that you're not applying enough pressure.

When opponents feel comfortable hitting to you, it's a sign that your game needs more offensive options rather than fewer mistakes.

Build variety without sacrificing consistency

One of the biggest factors in pickleball strategy is expanding your shot arsenal. Variety includes your ability to change speed, spin, placement, and trajectory while attacking from different positions on the court.

Developing weapons such as forehand speed-ups, backhand flicks, aggressive dinks, and effective attacks off the bounce makes you much harder to predict.

However, variety only works when it's built on consistency. Having every shot in your toolbox doesn't help if you can't execute them reliably or choose the right moment to use them.

Improve your pickleball IQ

Shot selection is just as important as shot execution. Great players don't simply possess more skills, they know exactly when to use them.

Improving your pickleball IQ means recognizing attackable balls, understanding your opponents' weaknesses, and making smarter decisions throughout each rally. Watching your own matches helps identify situations where a better decision could have created more offensive pressure.

Develop weapons on both sides

A balanced offensive game prevents opponents from targeting your weaknesses.

Ideally, you should have reliable attacking options:

• Off the bounce on both forehand and backhand

• Out of the air on both forehand and backhand

If one side lacks an offensive threat, experienced opponents will repeatedly direct the ball there until they force an error. Adding even one dependable weapon to each wing makes your entire game more difficult to exploit.

Apply constant pressure

Anna Bright emphasizes that pressure is the defining characteristic of elite pickleball. Pressure doesn't simply mean hitting harder, it means making opponents feel like every slight mistake will be punished.

You create pressure by:

• Attacking high dinks

• Keeping opponents deep after returns

• Moving the ball to uncomfortable locations

• Using aggressive court positioning

• Mixing pace, spin, and placement

The goal is to make opponents feel like nothing is safe, forcing rushed decisions and creating opportunities to finish points.

Focus on the fourth shot

A lot of players are hyper fixated on the third shot. But oftentimes, the fourth shot is an underutilized weapon. Since it appears in nearly every rally, developing a stronger fourth shot can help keep opponents from advancing comfortably to the kitchen and immediately shift momentum in your favor.

Improving your pickleball strategy isn't just about eliminating mistakes. Once your fundamentals are solid, raising your ceiling requires smarter decision-making, greater shot variety, and the ability to apply relentless pressure. By honestly evaluating your game, expanding your offensive options, and learning when to attack, you'll become a far more complete player and give your opponents far fewer places to hide.

To keep up to date on all things pickleball, follow us on Instagram.

]]> pickleball.com/culture/which-pro-pickleball-stars-belong-on-love-island Victoria Radnothy Fri, 10 Jul 2026 18:30:00 +0000 Culture pickleball.com/culture/which-pro-pickleball-stars-belong-on-love-island There are plenty of great contenders to choose from.

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know the season finale of Love Island is right around the corner. It’s been a wildly entertaining ride, but like all good things, it’s coming to an end. Of course, with the show dominating the conversation, Major League Pickleball couldn’t resist joining in, asking its pros which players they think would thrive in the villa.

Yates Johnson from the Orlando Squeeze said: “Jay Devilliers because he’s French. He’s got the accent, and he’s pretty good looking.”

Devilliers may be a married father of four, but you can’t fault Johnson for the pick. The suave “Flying Frenchman” has all the makings of a standout. Drop him into another timeline, and he’s a perfect Love Island contestant.

 

 

 

 

 

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Devilliers had his pick locked in, naming Jaume Martinez Vich as the best fit for Love Island—and he wasn’t alone. Martinez Vich quickly emerged as a fan favorite among the pros, with Cleo Bond and Federico Staksrud also backing him as a top choice.

Martinez Vich didn’t shy away from the idea either. He fully backed himself as Love Island material, even going as far as to say he’d win the whole thing.

“I will win cause I’m an island boy,” said the Hawaii native. 

Martinez Vich already has a reputation as one of the biggest flirts on tour, and paired with his pro-athlete charm, he’d be a natural “bombshell” in the villa. You can easily picture him walking in, turning heads, stealing a few hearts, and quickly becoming a fan favorite on his way to coupling up and taking home that $50K prize.

While Martinez Vich backed himself as the top pick, he had a strong second choice ready—Hayden Patriquin. With his personality and presence, Patriquin would be another entertaining figure, more than capable of shaking things up.

 

 

 

 

 

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And for the girls, there were a few nominees. Staksrud suggested Anna Bright, “because she’s always talking about dating. Every time I open up Instagram she’s talking about dating.”

Bright has a strong case as pro pickleball’s most eligible bachelorette, and she’s never been shy about sharing stories from her dating life. She’d be a natural on reality TV. Her candid humor alone would make her an instant fan favorite. And honestly, don’t be surprised if she ends up turning the tables and winning over Martinez Vich.

A few other names thrown out were Bond, Hurricane Tyra Black, and Parris Todd. Each of these women are incredible athletes, have immaculate fashion, and literally look like models. Of course they’d make perfect Love Island contestants.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Texas Ranchers also got into the Love Island fandom when they made a full video where their players filmed a pickleball-themed intro for the show. Eric Oncins, Layne Sleeth, Lea Jansen, and Marcela Ampon introduced themselves as the OG love islanders. 

Then a hot new bombshell entered the villa – Nico Acevedo. It was hilarious timing right after he was traded to the Ranchers. 

With pro pickleball’s popularity continuing to surge, it feels inevitable that we’ll see a player make the jump to a reality dating show. It’s not a matter of if, but when. And when that moment comes, I’ll definitely be tuning in.

To keep up to date on all things pickleball, follow us on Instagram.

]]> pickleball.com/culture/let-them-play-the-case-for-teenagers-in-mlp Victoria Radnothy Thu, 09 Jul 2026 21:15:00 +0000 Culture pickleball.com/culture/let-them-play-the-case-for-teenagers-in-mlp Zane Navratil isn’t holding back on this one.

Major League Pickleball is packed with star power, and a surprising number of those stars are still teenagers. Lately, that’s sparked a debate online: should teens even be allowed to compete in MLP?

The argument goes like this: they’re too young, they should be enjoying their childhoods instead of stepping into the pressures of professional sports. Some believe pro pickleball should be reserved strictly for adults, leaving juniors to develop separately before making the leap.

It’s a fair concern. Protecting young athletes from burnout and excessive pressure matters. But this argument overlooks one major reality: Anna Leigh Waters.

Waters turned pro at just 12 years old and has since become the face of the sport—arguably the greatest player pickleball has ever seen—all before turning 20.

It’s hard to argue that teenagers don’t belong in pro pickleball when its biggest star is still one herself.

Pro player Zane Navratil, currently competing with the Chicago Slice, finds himself alongside three teenage teammates—Jalina Ingram, John Lucian Goins, and Elsie Hendershot—and he’s made his stance on the debate clear.

“These people are at the pinnacle of the sport, so if they’re not supposed to play pro ball, then where are they supposed to play?” posed Navratil. “They’re proving it out there every single time.”

And he has a point. With each passing season, more teenage players are stepping into pro lineups and not just holding their own, but taking down some of the sport’s top talent.

That’s part of what makes pickleball so unique. It’s a sport that spans generations, where age doesn’t define ability. If a player is competing at the highest level, their age shouldn’t be what holds them back.

The reason teenagers aren’t competing in pro leagues like basketball or football comes down to physical development. Those sports demand a level of size, strength, and contact that younger athletes simply aren’t ready for. But pickleball is different. There’s no physical contact, and the game relies more on skill, touch, and strategy than brute force. It’s why kids can step onto an amateur court and hold their own against adults, so why shouldn’t that translate to the pro level?

And it already is. Some of the best players in pickleball today are teenagers or just barely in their twenties. Waters, Hayden Patriquin, Jorja Johnson, and Gabe Tardio are just a few examples proving that age isn’t a barrier. It’s irrelevant when the talent is there.

“Imagine telling a 14-year-old who’s good enough to play pro that they can’t play. Where else are they supposed to play?” emphasized Navratil. “There’s nobody else their age for them to play against. You’d be stunting their growth by some arbitrary number.”

This conversation has really come into focus this MLP season, as younger players continue to get signed and deliver standout performances for their teams. Rising talents like Kelly Goodnow and Tama Shimabukuro have gone on impressive runs, showing that youth isn’t a limitation—it’s quickly becoming a competitive advantage.

 

 

 

 

 

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“They prove that you can be 13 or 14 years old and absolutely ball,” said Navratil. 

So Navratil’s argument is simple: if they’re good enough to compete, why shouldn’t they play? It’s hard to disagree.

If anything, these teenage players are in an ideal position. They’re sharing courts and locker rooms with some of the best in the game—learning, adapting, and accelerating their development in real time. That kind of exposure is something most athletes don’t get until much later.

Teenagers in MLP? That’s not a problem. It’s part of what makes the league so exciting.

What do you think about this debate? Let us know on Instagram.

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