Top 3 overall storylines in New York:

• Will the Hogs make a run up the standings after acquiring Etta Tuionetoa in a trade?

• At the Brooklyn Pickleball Team’s home event, will Pat Smith, or AJ Koller, or Rafa Hewett (or…someone else) be called upon again to fill in for Riley Newman and/or Dekel Bar (who were both out of PPA and MLP in San Clemente due to injury)? 

• Which team(s) will have a strong showing in New York and start spreading the news about their momentum heading into the mid-season tournament in Grand Rapids?

Storylines per Premier team participating in New York:

Brooklyn Pickleball Team (10 wins, 5 losses, 33 standings points, 4^th place in points/match): With the uncertainty of the available men to pull on the Brooklyn jersey, Rachel Rohrabacher and Jackie Kawamoto went 4-0 in San Clemente to help lead their team to 10 points in four matches. Can the ladies ignite the fireworks again during this holiday weekend event?

Carolina Hogs (2-12, 7 points, 16^th place): Does the new look team deliver more energy, more camaraderie and more wins? Etta Tuionetoa, Roscoe Bellamy, and Martin Emmrich are in. Kaitlyn Christian, Collin Johns and Brandon French are out. 

Columbus Sliders (10-5, 30 points, 5^th place) – After grabbing 10 standings points in four matches in San Clemente, can they maintain that impressive play as one of only 2 teams in NY playing back-to-back (Brooklyn is the other).  

Miami Pickleball Club (6-9, 16 points, 10^th place): Having won just 3 of 16 individual games when they ran into the gauntlet of strong teams in Austin in late May, what will the confidence of this team look like as they play together for the first time since that event? They currently hold the 10^th and final playoff position in the 16 team Premier division. 

New York Hustlers (3-10, 8 points, 15^th place): If this team is at full strength, can they pull an upset or two in their metropolis? They also have a new Helena (Jansen-Fink) - she was acquired in a trade with the Texas Ranchers (for Felicity DiLaura) and will don the Hustlers jersey for the first time in front of the hometown fans.

Orlando Squeeze (10-5, 28 points, 8^th place): Will the Squeeze be able to gain some momentum going into the second half of the season with a big weekend in the big apple? This team has not played since Austin and ironically plays the last team they played in their first match in NY – the Miami Pickleball Club.

10 Premier teams not playing in New York:

Atlanta Bouncers, Chicago Slice, Dallas Flash, LA Mad Drops, New Jersey 5s, Phoenix Flames, SoCal Hard 8s, St. Louis Shock, Texas Ranchers, and Utah Black Diamonds.  

All 6 Challenger teams will be competing – Top 2 storylines:

• Can the Las Vegas Night Owls maintain their top position in the standings? They lost their first match of the year to the D.C. Pickleball Team in San Clemente.  

• Despite that impressive upset of the Night Owls, D.C. is just 5-5 on the season. Can they put together a consistent, complete weekend in NY and grab 2^nd place in the standings?

Marquee matchups: 

• Saturday, July 5th @ 4:15pm EST: Orlando Squeeze vs. Brooklyn Pickleball Team: Can the Squeeze prove they deserve stronger consideration as a top tier team by upsetting Brooklyn in Primetime?

• Sunday, July 6th @ 2:30pm EST: Orlando Squeeze vs. Columbus Sliders: Can the Sliders run the table in NY, capping it with a win in this showdown and fly into Grand Rapids brimming with confidence?

Location/times:

• Sportime Randall’s Island, 1 Randall’s Island, New York, NY

• Play on Championship Court starts at 2pm EST on Thursday, July 3^rd, 12pm EST on Friday, July 4^th, and 11am EST on Saturday, July 5^th and Sunday, July 6^th.

• Catch the action on Pickleballtv.