At the Black Desert Resort Utah Open in March, Dylan Frazier and Dekel Bar made quite a fashion statement when they arrived on the court wearing matching T-shirts that said “The Big D’s.”

Pickleball fans everywhere thoroughly enjoyed it. That's for sure. 

Before Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher went their separate ways, they were affectionately known as “The Girlies” and made branded Girlie merch that sold out in record time online.

That marketplace success inspired Frazier and Bar to create their own T-shirts as well. 

Even Danny Jensen, Wes Burrows, Sam Querrey and Rafa Hewett made sweatshirts inspired by Bright and Rohrabacher for the Carvana Mesa Cup, calling themselves “The Daddies.”

The Girlies were trendsetters in the merch department, and imitation is obviously the sincerest form of flattery. 

When Frazier and Bar first revealed their “Big D’s” tagline to the picklesphere, it made headlines, but it was more of a last-minute attempt to generate buzz on gender doubles day.

They weren’t trying to be the Girlies. At least that wasn’t their intention.

Now, we fast forward to May, the Girlies have split up, and their merch has moved on to the big pickleball court in the sky. And the only other gender doubles on tour with merch? 

The Big D’s. 

At the Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships, Frazier and Bar paired up again and decided to take things up a notch. 

They arrived not only with an updated logo and font, the new Big D’s T-shirts now include images of Frazier and Bar (so perhaps it’s a little more obvious what the reference is to if fans decided to wear these shirts at their local rec courts).  

Taking things a step further, Pickleball Central sold these coveted shirts on site in Atlanta so lucky attendees could snag these coveted and humorous shirts. Frazier and Bar also spent some time signing the shirts and taking photos with fans of the Big Ds. 

“They’re $34.99, but the price is probably going to have to go up,” said Frazier.

“Every win, the price goes up,” added Bar. 

Frazier and Bar are more calm, cool, and collected pros on the court, so they’re having a lot of fun showing off their sense of humor with this partnership. 

The success of the Big D’s merch appears to be a complete happy accident. And while the Girlie’s merch was cute, comfy, and clean, The Big D’s is just plain silly. But considering the fact that pickleball is a fun and playful sport, it’s no wonder this merch is a success. 

Though I think we’ll all mourn the loss of the Girlies, at least we have the Big D’s to take their place. 

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