Play
What to Bring to Your First Pickleball Game
The complete first-game packing list: court shoes with lateral support, a borrowed paddle, water, sun protection, and ten minutes of rules homework. What to skip and what to buy later.
Dink Feed: pickleball news, gear and court culture
Competition
How to Prepare for Your First Pickleball Tournament
A first-tournament run-through: what to verify before registering, how to practice in the weeks before, the gear and venue checks, match-day timing, and how to handle nerves and rules questions.
Top stories
All stories ↗
Play
The Best Pickleball Drills You Can Do Alone at Home
Solo pickleball drills that actually work: wall dinks, wall volleys, taped targets at net height, shadow swings, grip games, split steps, and a simple weekly routine that keeps your touch alive.
Play
How to Get Better at Pickleball With Only Two Hours of Practice a Week
A structure for small time budgets: split drilling and games, one skill focus per month, deliberate reps with targets, cheap feedback, and the one number worth tracking weekly.
Gear
Can You Use Tennis Shoes for Indoor Pickleball?
Yes, usually: tennis shoes are built for the same lateral movement pickleball demands. What actually matters in a court shoe, why running shoes fall short, and indoor non-marking sole rules.
Play
How to Improve Your Third Shot Drop as a Beginner
The third-shot drop explained for beginners: why it exists, the apex-on-your-side shape, grip and swing basics, when to drive instead, and the ladder drill that builds it.
ILLUSTRATED GRAPHICPlay
Indoor vs Outdoor Pickleball: Which Is Better for Beginners?
How indoor and outdoor pickleball differ: the 26-to-40-hole ball designs, bounce and pace, wind and weather, noise, cost and access, and which version suits a new player.
Play
How to Stop Popping Up the Ball in Pickleball
Why pop-ups happen and how to stop them: the scoop, the big backswing, the death grip, bad shot selection, and the call-it-out drill that retrains your trajectory.
Play
How to Beat Opponents Who Hit Hard in Pickleball
The anti-banger formula: keep every ball below the tape, block instead of counter-swinging, break their rhythm with placement, and let their error rate do the scoring.
Play
Why Do Pickleball Players Hit the Ball Into the Net So Often?
Net errors can come from contact height, paddle angle, footwork, the dink-and-attack cycle, or trying to attack a ball below the tape.
Play
What Is the Difference Between Pickleball and Tennis for Beginners?
Court size, the kitchen rule, paddles versus rackets, the underhand serve, three-number scoring, and which tennis habits transfer to pickleball and which ones hurt.
Play
How to Improve Your Pickleball Dink Without a Practice Partner
Solo dink training that actually works: wall drills with a taped net line, touch ladders, footwork progressions, third-shot drop practice, targets and the two-minute video check.
Play
Common Pickleball Mistakes Beginners Make in Their First Month
The ten mistakes nearly every new player makes in month one: overhitting serves, charging the kitchen, smashing everything, living in no-man’s land, and the habits that fix them.
Rules
Pickleball Scoring Explained With Simple Examples
The four ideas behind the three-number score, walked through rally by rally: the opening turn, both partners serving, the even-right odd-left position check, and what changes at 10-10.
Play
What Is a Good Pickleball Rating for a Beginner?
What DUPR and skill-level numbers mean in a first year: starting near 2.0, why 3.0 is a real milestone, why 3.5 is genuinely good company, and the traps that distort early ratings.
ILLUSTRATIONClubs
Pickle Haus Sets Its Sights on Europe, Starting With Warsaw, Poland
Pickle Haus, an indoor pickleball club brand founded by Gabriel Nimrod, is planning its first location in Warsaw, Poland, with a broader vision of community-focused venues across Europe. Opening date, address and court count are not yet confirmed.
FILE PHOTORules
Pickleball Rules Explained for People Who Have Never Played Tennis
The whole game from zero: court and kitchen, the underhand serve, the two-bounce rule, three-number scoring and the faults that end rallies, with no tennis knowledge assumed.
ILLUSTRATED GRAPHICPlay
How Long Does It Take to Get Good at Pickleball?
Realistic timelines for each rung: days to play socially, a few months of regular play to reach solid intermediate, and a year-plus of deliberate practice for advanced, plus the traps that add months.
FILE PHOTOPlay
What to Bring to Your First Pickleball Game
The complete first-session kit: borrow the paddle, bring real court shoes and more water than you think, skip the gear haul, and pack the social habits open play actually runs on.
FILE PHOTOPlay
How to Play Pickleball for the First Time: A Complete Beginner's Guide
Everything between never-held-a-paddle and your first real game: the five rules that matter, three-number scoring, first-game strategy and the beginner mistakes worth skipping.
FILE PHOTOClubs
How to Find Pickleball Games When You Are Between Beginner and Intermediate Level
The 2.5-3.0 band is the most populated level in pickleball. Leveled open play, round robins, ladders, scheduling apps and a provisional DUPR rating turn it from invisible to booked out.
ILLUSTRATIONPlay
What Is the Best Way to Practice Pickleball When You Have No Regular Playing Partner?
Solo practice works: wall routines for touch, serve and return targets on an empty court, shadow footwork at home, ball machines for volume, and drill formats whenever one person shows up.
FILE PHOTOPlay
Why Do Pickleball Games Feel More Competitive Than They Should?
The sport's design, the DUPR rating era and a shifting player base all push rec games toward intensity. The fix is choosing the right session, format and foursome, not a different sport.
FILE PHOTORules
How to Keep Score in Pickleball When Everyone Forgets the Score
Pickleball scoring has built-in recovery tools: the three-number call, the even-right odd-left position check, and a called score before every serve. Reconstruct lost scores instead of guessing.
ILLUSTRATIONClubs
What to Do When Nobody Wants to Play With You at Pickleball Open Play
Feeling frozen out at open play is usually rotation mechanics, preset groups or level sorting, not hostility. Work the paddle rack, stack as a single, get rated, ask directly, and try more than one venue.
ILLUSTRATIONPlay
How to Play Pickleball When Your Partner Is Much Better Than You
Mismatched doubles works when the weaker partner plays the percentages: take the right side, cede the middle, stay consistent, skip the apologies, and treat the pairing as free coaching.
FILE PHOTOGear
Why Does My Pickleball Paddle Make a Different Sound Than Other Paddles?
Paddle sound comes from construction: core material and thickness, face material, and how the two vibrate at contact. A difference between paddles is design; a sudden change in your own paddle can mean damage.
FILE PHOTOPlay
Can You Play Pickleball With Only Two People?
Yes. Singles is a fully recognized format on the same court with the same rules, and two-player options like skinny singles and drill games make a duo session one of the best ways to improve.
FILE PHOTOGear
Selkirk's S2 Pro ball puts a one-year warranty on pickleball's most disposable item
Selkirk Sport launched the S2 Pro on October 20 with what it calls an industry-first one-year warranty against cracking and out-of-round warping, a patented 38-hole design, and APP Asia tournament backing.
FILE PHOTONews
Two towns, two noise answers: Brownsburg builds a $128,500 fix while Calimesa keeps late hours
Brownsburg is advancing fence, gate and shrub sound mitigation at Stephens Park; Calimesa made 6 a.m.-10 p.m. court hours permanent but cuts lights at 9:30 after overtime-heavy gate callouts.
FILE PHOTOHealth
Pickleball injuries rose 17-fold in a decade, but not per player: what the new surveillance study found
A medRxiv preprint analyzing NEISS data estimates 101,450 emergency department-treated pickleball injuries from 2014-2023, finds no rise in injury risk per participant, and debunks search-interest proxies with a sourdough control.
FILE PHOTONews
Oklahoma City approves $5.1M Booker T. Washington Park overhaul with three pickleball courts
OKC Council approved final MAPS 4 plans for Booker T. Washington Park: three pickleball courts outnumbering tennis, as part of a $5,134,560 package with construction starting in December.
FILE PHOTOHealth
Pickleball passes its latest clinical test, and the research gap is closing
An eight-week RCT found supervised pickleball improved lower-limb coordination in dual-task walking among pre-frail older adults, while a new racket-sport meta-analysis shows how new pickleball's trial evidence still is.
FILE PHOTONews
Columbus, Georgia's pickleball bet: how a $1.6M facility became an $8.4M project
Columbus Council approved another $1.7 million for the Third Avenue pickleball complex on October 13, taking the taxpayer total to $8.4 million, roughly five times the early estimate.
FILE PHOTOGear
Mint Sport goes all-foam: three Gen 4 paddles with a trampoline twist
Mint Sport has announced three Gen 4 foam core paddles, the Sigma Super, Sender Pro X and Carbon Flow Foam, leaving honeycomb cores behind across its new line.
FILE PHOTOCompetition
Karnataka's first pickleball league: seven franchises, a nine-round draft and a content company owner
The Karnataka Pickleball Premier League debuted October 9-11 in Bengaluru with seven franchise teams and 56 players drafted from a pool of 89.
FILE PHOTOClubs
Dill Dinkers Visalia opens with 11 indoor courts, the South Valley's first dedicated club
Dill Dinkers has opened Visalia's first indoor pickleball club at 700 S. Bridge Street with 11 regulation courts, the franchise system's second California location.
FILE PHOTOClubs
Cadillac Rotary puts $92,000 behind two public courts at Baker College
The Rotary Club of Cadillac is investing $92,000 to build two public pickleball courts on the Baker College campus, with construction planned after the club's May auction.
FILE PHOTOCompetition
1.800.ASK.DAVE backs the All Florida Pickleball Circuit: free entries and $6,000 in prize money
The All Florida Pickleball Circuit has named 1.800.ASK.DAVE presenting sponsor for 2026-27, covering 180 player entries and adding $6,000 to the Open Points Race.
FILE PHOTOClubs
Wantage tennis club's £256,526 plan: two padel courts, one pickleball court, public money
Wantage Lawn Tennis Club has applied to build two padel courts and one pickleball court at Memorial Park, with the Vale council expected to agree £256,526 in section 106 funding this week.
FILE PHOTOClubs
Stevenage Pickleball Club goes after the next generation: youth sessions start October 26
The 210-member Hertfordshire club partners with Everyone Active for a half-term session for 7-15s on October 26, with weekly after-school sessions from November 3.
FILE PHOTOCompetition
ASU sweeps the NCPA California Fall Regional: 43 teams, 18 schools and a 4-0 final
Arizona State's top team beat Cal Poly SLO 4-0 in the final at The Hub in San Diego after a 4-2 semifinal over Hawaii, capping one of the largest collegiate regionals of the fall.
FILE PHOTOClubs
Cowdenbeath's pickleball festival: 32 places, one morning, and Scotland's grassroots playbook
Fife Sports and Leisure Trust hosts a three-hour pickleball festival at Cowdenbeath Leisure Centre on October 24, open to players 14 and over with equipment provided.
FILE PHOTOCompetition
251 players, one cause: Langford's Forget-Me-Not dementia tournament sells out
The Forget-Me-Not charity tournament ran October 16-18 at the Victoria Pickleball Centre with 251 registered players raising money for the BC Dementia Care Society, whose earlier edition raised over $21,000.
FILE PHOTOCompetition
Huntsman World Senior Games close with a record 12,200 athletes and pickleball in the finale
The 2026 Huntsman Games in St. George set an attendance record with 12,200+ athletes from 33 nations, and pickleball singles was the final gold-medal division of the two-week event.
FILE PHOTONews
DUPR+ launches at $19.99 a year: AI recaps, metro rankings and a scouting report for your game
DUPR's rebuilt premium tier adds an Insights dashboard, monthly AI recaps, metro area rankings and optional PB Vision video analysis, free to try until October 27 with the core rating staying free.
FILE PHOTONews
DUPR goes to the club level in Thailand: Pickle Time partnership brings QR-code rated play
DUPR's integration with Thai club platform Pickle Time lets players scan a QR code to join sessions and lets organizers submit eligible results straight to DUPR, no app download required.
FILE PHOTOClubs
The Serve opens in Kohler: six indoor courts, heated platform tennis and a 5:45 a.m. line
Kohler Hospitality's 26,000-square-foot racquet complex opened October 1 with six indoor pickleball courts and two heated platform tennis courts, drawing nearly 700 visitors over its four-day grand opening.
FILE PHOTOClubs
The Bend NKY opens in Hebron: seven indoor courts, turf soccer and a beer garden on the way
The 5.3-acre Northern Kentucky complex pairs seven indoor pickleball courts with two indoor turf soccer fields, a bar and food trucks, with The Backyard beer garden planned for mid-2027.
FILE PHOTOClubs
Pickleball Kingdom takes Livermore's old Joann store: eight courts by late December
The chain's second California club converts 25,000 square feet of vacated Joann Fabrics space at 4650 Arroyo Vista, with Tri-Valley Pickleball Club members getting early access in December.
FILE PHOTOCompetition
Noe Khlif signs with Arronax: a top-10 pro leaves JOOLA for Malaysia's upstart brand
Arronax announced the signing of world No. 10 Noe Khlif on October 11, mid-way through his Virginia Beach Open run, making the Malaysian brand a serious player in the paddle sponsorship market.
FILE PHOTOCompetition
MLP Asia takes shape: THE DOTS TOKYO and Viet Panthers join the inaugural season
MLP Asia's first season opens November 13 with six teams, a Tokyo opening night hosted by TBS and dentsu's DOTS TOKYO, and the Viet Panthers launching in Ho Chi Minh City.
FILE PHOTONews
JOOLA and RPO fund both sides: $5,000 Growth Grant for GPF and WPF member federations
Announced at the Global Pickleball Summit 2026 in Hong Kong, the JOOLA and RPO Growth Grant will fund equipment for school programs, coach education and beginner clinics across both federations' members.
FILE PHOTOGear
Costa Pickleball's bet: identity-first paddles now, a quieter paddle next
MIT Technology Review profiles Stanley Anderson '79, whose Las Vegas startup Costa Pickleball sells $129 decorative Identity Pro paddles and is developing a quieter paddle aimed at the sport's noise problem.
FILE PHOTOCompetition
Chambersburg's Rally in the Valley turns five: chamber-run pickleball pays off
The Greater Chambersburg Chamber's fifth annual Rally in the Valley ran October 16-17 at the Memorial YMCA, with Mandi Bittinger taking double gold across women's and mixed doubles.
FILE PHOTOGear
Six Zero turns four: 500 gold Double Black Diamonds, and then they are gone
Six Zero's Double Black Diamond Gold is a 500-unit worldwide anniversary edition of its signature paddle, on pre-order now at A$225 with full USA Pickleball approval.
FILE PHOTOGear
JOOLA x Steve Aoki: the Perseus Pro V goes HiROQUEST with a $349.95 collectible paddle
JOOLA's limited-edition HiROQUEST collection pairs two Perseus Pro V 16mm paddles with table tennis rackets, randomized character cards and numbered chase cards, sold exclusively at JOOLA.com.
FILE PHOTOCompetition
From rackets to paddles: Philippine tennis names explain the switch to pickleball
Ruben Gonzales, Johnny Arcilla and the Patrimonio sisters told ABS-CBN what transfers from tennis to the Maharlika Pilipinas Pickleball Tour, and what does not.
FILE PHOTOClubs
Park City cancels 35,000-square-foot indoor pickleball facility after partnership talks fail
Park City ended its public-private partnership with Wadsworth Development Group for an indoor facility The Picklr would have run, saying the decision was independent of The Picklr's bankruptcy.
FILE PHOTOPlay
Pickleball for a cause: Altadena fire recovery, Missouri's Pink Paddle Open and Charlottesville's Big Serve
Three recent tournaments raised money or awareness: an Assemblymember's event for Altadena recovery, Missouri's third Pink Paddle Open with nearly 200 players, and a youth mentoring Big Serve.
FILE PHOTONews
Pickleball growth: Huntsville ranks second by DUPR user growth and Bulacan launches an 80-club league
DUPR data put Huntsville second in growth at 70.6% more users in a year, just behind Cleveland, while Bulacan in the Philippines launched a league with more than 80 clubs and teams.
ILLUSTRATIONPlay
Booked a court, got called out: the reservation vs queue-culture fight at public courts
A Reddit post about a player who reserved a public court through the city system and got confronted by regulars running an informal queue has become a wider debate over who sets the rules on public courts.