The whole staff from The Kitchen was on-site this weekend in Austin for the third event of the 2025 Major League Pickleball season.

We saw some epic matches, cheered on our Challenger Level team -- the Nashville Chefs -- and caught up with several players who were in town for the event.

A few of them even took some time to record some upcoming PICKLEBALLERS Podcast episodes. Stay tuned in the coming weeks to find out who hopped on the mic with us this weekend and find a full recap from MLP Austin below.

Also in this issue:

• Pickleball helping people with Parkinson's disease 🙌

• More U.S. churches tap power of pickleball 🙏

• Insane points from the Chefs debut 🍳

Let’s cook. 🧑‍🍳

PRO HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

The Nashville Chefs were COOKING this weekend

We’ll talk more about how the Nashville Chefs fared this weekend below, but let’s just say this for now: There was no shortage of great points in our team’s matches this week.

In this mixed point in a very close match against the California Black Bears, Marshall Brown and Michelle Esquivel had to scramble to switch sides after a desperation lob from their opponents.

In the end this point didn’t go our team’s way, but it showcased just how high the level of play is at the MLP Challenger Level.

🔗 Check out the court coverage

PICKLEBALLERS PODCAST

EP1: We Left Everything for Pickleball

In case you missed it last week, we have FINALLY released the first full episode of our brand new podcast called PICKLEBALLERS. Hosted by Jared Paul (The Kitchen’s founder) and Roscoe Bellamy (top pickleball pro), the first episode focuses on the crazy origin story of The Kitchen during the pandemic, a pickleball royal rumble, celebrities in pickleball (hi Dua Lipa) and a lot more.

Please let us know how you like the first episode in the YouTube comments. Episode 2 coming later this week!

🔗 Check out the first episode on YouTube or Spotify

THE PROS

Chefs start strong in Austin, Dallas Flash continue to impress

Major League Pickleball returned to its roots in Austin, Texas, this weekend, with 5 Premier Level teams and all 6 Challenger Level teams competing at the Austin Pickle Ranch.

The whole staff from The Kitchen was on the scene throughout the weekend, and we saw some great pickleball. We also cheered on our squad, the Nashville Chefs, who finished the week 3-2 and are sitting in second place in the Challenger Level standings.

After starting the week 0-2 with a couple tough losses in Dreambreakers to the Las Vegas Night Owls and California Black Bears, the Chefs called an audible and switched up the mixed doubles partnerships to pair up Marshall Brown/Ewa Radzikowska and Anderson Scarpa/Michelle Esquivel. That change paid off, as the team got a Dreambreaker win against the D.C. Pickleball Team on Sunday and then two regulation wins against the Bay Area Breakers and Florida Smash on Monday.

At the Premier Level, the Dallas Flash remained undefeated on the season (8-0), despite being pushed to Dreambreakers by the Texas Ranchers and the New Jersey 5s. They won both of those close matches, which means they stay at No. 1 in our weekly MLP Power Rankings.

MLP AUSTIN PREMIER LEVEL RESULTS

⚡️ Dallas Flash: 4-0
🖐️ New Jersey 5s: 3-1
🤠 Texas Ranchers: 2-2
🍊 Orlando Squeeze: 1-3
🌴 Miami Pickleball Club: 0-4

MLP AUSTIN CHALLENGER LEVEL RESULTS

🦉 Las Vegas Night Owls: 5-0
🧑‍🍳 Nashville Chefs: 3-2
🏛️ D.C. Pickleball Team: 2-3
🌊 Bay Area Breakers: 2-3
🐻 California Black Bears: 2-3
💥 Florida Smash: 1-4

🔗 MLP Austin takeaways and Week 3 Power Rankings

POLL

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

Early look at The Kitchen’s new DAPS pickleball shoes

You might have seen the Nashville Chefs players and staff outfitted in some new kicks this weekend. They’re DAPS pickleball shoes, and we helped develop them for more than 2 years. Everybody we’ve talked to who has worn them has had nothing but good things to say.

We have more exciting news about this shoe that we can’t officially share yet, but be on the lookout for a full review and the story behind the brand in a future newsletter.

If you’re in the market for a shoe right now, you can learn more here.

🔗 Shop DAPS pickleball shoes and use code ALLRISE for 25% off

TRENDING

A recent story by the Religion News Service — a national faith news outlet — highlights how more and more churches in the U.S. are beginning to offer pickleball as part of their programming.

Multiple sources in the article pointed out how the game's health and social benefits are tailor-made for church communities, and the story outlines the steps many churches have taken to make pickleball available to their congregations.

“There was an era where people went to Starbucks to hang out," one pastor said. “Now, people drive through and grab a Starbucks and go play pickleball.”

🔗 Learn more about how churches across the country are using the power of pickleball

ONE NET. FOUR BALLS.

Four balls were cracked on this pickleball court 😂

FEATURED STORY

How pickleball can help slow Parkinson’s disease

Roughly 10 million people globally have Parkinson’s disease, a neurological malady that slows movement, tightens muscles, can cause tremors, affects speech, gait and balance.

Intense exercise is really the only activity known to slow disease progression, and now for some, so is pickleball. People with the disease who play pickleball report feeling better and inspired when on the court and programs are beginning to emerge that use pickleball as therapy for Parkinson’s.

In New York City, pickleball chain City Pickle donates multiple courts for four hours each week to a 10-month-old group, Pickleball for Parkinson’s, the brainchild of former Brooklyn real estate agent Terence Degnan. He was diagnosed in 2022 and preaches what is for him the gospel of bringing pickleball to Parkinson’s sufferers.

“When I started to play and realized the benefits, the immediate benefits, that pickleball had on my symptoms, I wanted to spread the word to as many people with Parkinson’s as possible,” said Degnan, sitting in a courtside cabana after completing a two hour Pickleball for Parkinson’s session on City Pickle’s Central Park courts.

The first hour of a Pickleball for Parkinson's session is consumed by clinics taught by Degnan and guest instructors, and the second match play. In the non-summer months, play is at City Pickle’s Long Island City location for two hours each week. Currently the play is in Central Park, but last week the program added a second day, in the LIC location. All sessions are free.

The group is notable for its mix of volunteers and those with Parkinson’s. Some days volunteers outnumber the Parkinson’s players, but that is by design: it's a place for those with the disease to blend in and need not worry about people staring because they walk funny or are fighting tremors.

🔗 Learn more about how pickleball can help people with Parkinson's disease

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