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- Anna Leigh Waters gets her MLP title
Anna Leigh Waters gets her MLP title
These paddles are perfect for "bangers"
Heading into last weekend, Anna Leigh Waters had won all there is to win in pro pickleball except one thing: A Major League Pickleball title.
That changed on Sunday, as the New Jersey 5s completed a 2-0 sweep of the St. Louis Shock in the 2026 MLP Finals in front of a packed crowd at Central Park in New York City.
Both matches were extremely close, with huge momentum swings, drama, amazing performances and plenty of chirping. We break it all down below.
In this issue:
This lob was as clean as it gets 🧼
The best paddles for bangers 💣
Your guide to reaching 5.0 📈
Is the Jade RPM’s best paddle yet? 🤔
VAIR is more than a rating system 📋
Let’s cook! 👨🏻🍳
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
Is there anything better than a clean lob winner?
The genius of Anna Leigh Waters is that she can do just about anything with the ball from the position in the screen grab above. She can speed up at either player on the other side of the net, or split the middle, or hit an aggressive roll dink to either corner.
But on this point she chose another option: A filthy lob over the top of Anna Bright and right into the back corner of the court. The ball was never touched by the opponent — as clean as it gets.
🔗 Check out this week’s highlight on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok
THE PROS
New Jersey 5s win 2026 Major League Pickleball title with 2-0 sweep over St. Louis Shock
After finishing runner-up two years in a row, the New Jersey 5s got over the hump to win their first Major League Pickleball championship on Sunday in Central Park in New York City.
The 5s won both Finals matches over the St. Louis Shock in a Dreambreaker (22-20 on Saturday and 21-9 on Sunday), as each of the doubles lineups played to a 1-1 split in the two matches.
Waters said after Sunday’s match that past playoff defeats (the 5s lost to the Dallas Flash in 2024 and Columbus Sliders in 2025) and a few bumps throughout the 2026 season helped prepare the team for the big moments they were in this weekend.
“I think it just shows in the tight moments we stick together as a unit,” Waters said. “That’s what we kept telling each other is, ‘Be a unit,’ and I think throughout the years we’ve been doing this in MLP and getting to the Finals, we’ve always been a unit and always come back and always given it our all.”
FEDERICO STAKSRUD NAMED MLP FINALS MVP
Major League Pickleball added a Finals MVP award this season, which was voted on by several pickleball media members. Federico Staksrud was the overwhelming pick, as his passion and energy seemed to push the 5s forward throughout the weekend. His win with Will Howells on Sunday over Hayden Patriquin/Gabe Tardio put New Jersey firmly in control of the match, and he was 2-1 with Jorja Johnson in mixed on the weekend.
Staksrud was traded to the 5s from the Orlando Squeeze at the trade deadline in mid-July and wasted no time making an impact on his new team. He finished the year 7-4 with Howells in men’s doubles and 9-2 with Johnson in mixed.
PPA TOUR RETURNS WITH HUGE EVENT
The PPA Tour is back in action this week in Cary, North Carolina, for the Veolia Pickleball National Championships. It’s the first event of the tour’s 2026-27 season, and it’s a big one — as a slam, it is worth 2,000 ranking points for the winners in each division.
Pro qualifying took place Monday and main-draw matches started on Tuesday, with one round in every division to be played each day through Championship Sunday.
PADDLE CORNER
The best paddles for drives and serves
One of the first things our paddle reviewers ask themselves when they’re trying a new paddle is, “What is this paddle good at?”
In general, most new releases these days will be good at something — sometimes multiple things.
Today, we’re focusing on paddles that excel on drives and serves — specifically when it comes to power and spin. So if you’re somebody who might classify yourself as a “Banger” or just want to put more of an emphasis on drives and serves in your game, this list is for you.
You can also use code “KITCHEN” at checkout for a discount on any of these paddles.
BEST IN CLASS
RPM Q2: The RPM Q2 was designed in collaboration with popular paddle reviewer John Kew. It delivers big power, excellent spin and a firm feel on contact. Check out our full breakdown of the RPM paddle lineup here.
ELITE
INSTRUCTION
Your guide to reaching 5.0
So you want to be a 5.0, huh?
At the 5.0 level, players have the ability to hit a wide array of shots from all areas on the court, waste almost no extra movement in getting to their spots, and can execute advanced strategies effectively — think 2 and 3 shot combos at the kitchen line.
Here are a few areas where 5.0 players excel compared to the vast majority of players:
💪 Both the forehand and backhand are strong: Lower level players usually have a weaker side that opponents can recognize within a game or two. Not so at the higher levels. 5.0 players can utilize both the backhand and forehand to generate offense while also having a high level of consistency in a defensive position.
😤 Aggressive dinks: 5.0 players dink with intent. This aspect of their game is not just used to keep the point alive, but used to create opportunities. They are able to move opponents around, hit balls with varying degrees of pace and spin, and work to get their opponent out of position.
♟️ Strategy: This is arguably the most defining factor of a 5.0 level player. The strategy in pickleball can be overlooked at most levels, but this is what higher level players use to their advantage. They are able to strategically place the ball around the court and work to find an edge over their opponents. And they adapt quickly to other play styles and adjust strategies based on both the opponent and their partner's strengths/weaknesses.
GEAR
New RPM Jade is the talk of the paddle industry
The latest paddle from RPM Pickleball is now available for pre-order, and even though it’s only been available for a few days, it’s already turning heads in the paddle industry.
RPM founder and pro player James Ignatowich said the new model was engineered to generate elite spin that lasts. Here’s what’s new about the Jade:
New core construction: This is the first RPM paddle that uses MPP foam, which is becoming more popular in the industry. It produces big power and a more springy feel than other types of foam.
New surface: Using a new “SICmatrix” silicon carbide surface, the Jade produces elite levels of spin, and RPM claims the grit lasts far longer than most paddles.
Pre-orders will ship Sept. 30.
🔗 Shop all RPM paddles here — use code “KITCHEN” at checkout for 15% off!
NEXT LEVEL
VAIR doesn’t just tell you what your rating is — it tells you HOW to be a better player
VAIR — a performance-based rating platform that uses visual assessment as its primary starting point — does more than just assign players a number indicating their skill level.
It doubles as a coaching tool that is helping thousands of players learn more about their game and what they need to work on.
HOW IT WORKS
Players can simply record games with their friends, upload them to the VAIR platform and get a detailed report on how they did in terms of court positioning and shot selection, what rally patterns resulted in success or failure, as well as insights on specific shots for all four players — serves, drives, dinks, resets, etc.
VAIR also uses adaptive modeling to accurately account for age, gender, mixed play and wheelchair classifications, which gives players even more data on their strengths and weaknesses.
QUICK HITS
PPA is BACK: That means more points like this
Nailed it: He really stuck the landing on this
Rules are rules: But this is a tough way to end a game
Mind blowing: High level pickleball in Asia
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