The Pickle Newsletter #3

PPA News:

• Ben John’s has narrowly reclaimed the title as the #1 singles player over Federico Staksrud after defeating him in the gold medal match at the Atlanta Open this past weekend. Federico has made the last 10 finals, but has yet to beat Ben in three head-to-head matchups this year.

• The Johns brothers won 3 out of the 4 final PPA tournaments in April

  • They got pickled in the last PPA event in April for the first time ever against Tardio and Daescu. Watch the point of the match here.

• The PPA no longer allows pros to challenge a paddle after a match. Many believe paddle testing should be based on exit velocity and actual spin compared to deflection and coefficient of friction.

• The USAP has banned the new Joola Gen 3 paddles. Joola says this was due to an administrative error after Joola submitted wrong paddles for certification. In response, The PPA (looking to supplant USAP), announced the United Pickleball Association of America (UPA-A) as a governing body for the PPA/MLP. There is vested interest as Joola is on the advisory board of the UPA. This article discusses the competition between these two governing bodies.

Paddle Updates:

• The new Joola Gen 3 and Vatic Oni paddles have had instances of core crushing in a matter of days (see picture below), raising quality issues with these foam based paddles.

  

  Credit - PB Studio

• PIKKL released their $20 stick on “skins” that refreshes paddle grit to increase spin. Is this concept going to be the future of pickleball?

  • Pickleball Studio mentions that the skins do slightly affect swing weights (weighing 0.4 oz) but is an overall good idea to increase paddle performance without having to buy a brand new paddle after grit wears off.

  • PIKKL owner discussed that these skins can generate approximately 1750 RPMs but future generations of the skins will be over 2000 RPMs. This would be similar to the current top paddles on the market.

Tip of the week: 2 handed backhand dinks

• Many pros are now utilizing two handed backhand dinks. Why?

  • Topspin makes your backhand dink a more aggressive shot, rather than the typical defensive slice.

  • It pushes opponents off the court, potentially giving up more ATPs, but opens up the middle of the court

  • Disguises two handed speed ups off the bounce

• James Ignatowich explains his tips to improve this shot:

  • Use ~75% of your offhand

    • Practice this by hitting dinks with your offhand only to get a feel of the shot. Then place your dominant hand on the paddle for balance. Alternatively you can practice this against a wall.

  • Get low

    • Bend your knees a lot to get under the ball and generate more top spin

  • Cup the side of the ball

    • Do this by brushing the left side of the ball (if you’re right handed) while you are hitting from low to high. This generates side spin along with topspin.

Below are the three main stages of the shot (click pic for video).

 A few things to note:

• He starts with the paddle tip upwards then hops down into a squat in one rhythmic, fluid motion.

• There is limited wrist movement, the arms hinge at the elbows to hit the ball rather than flicking the wrist. Watch the angle between the upper and lower parts of his arm throughout the shot.

• His paddle face remains relatively open upon contact. If you are hitting these in the net, your paddle face is likely too closed.

• James speeds up the ball with near identical mechanics to his dink. In the video he 3 dinks times in a row then speeds up the fourth.

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