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New rules coming to pro pickleball
Honolulu just UPGRADED their best paddle
The United Pickleball Association of America this week released a new rulebook that will govern PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball matches. We’ve heard for months that this was in the works, and late last week the UPA-A made the 71-page document public.
The rulebook is separate from the USA Pickleball rulebook that has governed the sport for decades, and it has a few notable differences. We get into it below.
Also in this issue:
When Ben Johns & Andre Agassi play together 🤯
Send us your best highlights 🎥
PPA Atlanta Pickleball Championships storylines 🍑
Q&A with rising young pro Cailyn Campbell 📈
Honolulu just UPGRADED their best paddle 👀
Let’s get cookin’. 🧑🍳
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
Ben Johns & Andre Agassi on the same side of the net!?
Now this is a combo we can get behind. Ben Johns & Andre Agassi recently teamed up for an exhibition match during the JOOLA Titans Tour in Asia.
It went about as well as you would expect, with Johns controlling points and Agassi showing that he’s more than just a famous athlete with an interest in pickleball — he’s a very good player. This point from the exhibition had it all, from lobs to tweeners to feathery drop shots.
🔗 Check out the replay on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok
SUBMIT YOUR HIGHLIGHT
Get featured on our Top 10 Amateur Highlights of the Month!
Got a highlight clip worth sharing? We’re looking for the best amateur pickleball moments to feature in The Kitchen’s Top 10 Amateur Pickleball Highlights of the Month on YouTube.
First place will receive a prize from a selection that includes:
A $500 DoorDash gift card
The Kitchen merch
Pickleball gear
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR CLIPS
✍️ Fill out this google form. Make sure to include your email, name, location, Instagram handle, and WeTransfer video link.
🎥 Videos must be filmed horizontally.
🎬 Please limit submissions to two clips per person.
Whether it’s a clutch point, a wild rally, an insane trick shot or pure pickleball chaos, we want to see it!
GEAR
Honolulu just UPGRADED their best paddle
The Honolulu CR Series was already one of our favorite paddles on the market ... and now it just got a major upgrade.
In this video, we break down everything you need to know about the Honolulu J6CR and J2CR, including how they play, who they’re for, and why Honolulu’s new Crystal Blue Endurance Grit could actually matter more than you think. Because this isn’t just about spin, it’s about how long your paddle performs at a high level.
WHAT WE COVER
▪️ J6CR vs. J2CR (which shape is right for you).
▪️ Full performance breakdown (power, pop, feel, control).
▪️ Updated foam core design.
▪️ Real on-court impressions.
▪️ What the new endurance grit means for durability.
🔗 Watch the full video review here or shop all Honolulu paddles here — use code “KITCHEN” for 10% off
AMATEUR LEAGUES
Join a local pickleball league. Make friends. Build your community.
We’ve partnered with Honcho Pickleball to bring social amateur pickleball leagues to 70+ cities nationwide (see locations below). Registration ends in 10 days! If you’re looking to make friends and build your pickleball community, these leagues are perfect.
Use code KITCHEN for a big discount. 👨🏻🍳
THE PROS
PPA Tour heads to Atlanta for one of the biggest tournaments of the year
The second "Slam" of the year in pro pickleball is upon us.
The Atlanta Pickleball Championships is annually one of the biggest events on the PPA Tour calendar, and the action is already underway.
Main-draw matches started Tuesday, with one round in every division to be played each day through Championship Sunday. As a "Slam," this week's tournament is worth 2,000 ranking points for the winners in each division.
That's important to keep in mind this week because it is the last event before the PPA Tour's season-ending Finals next month in San Clemente, California.
In our Atlanta preview you will find an updated look at where things stand in each division, and who is on the bubble to make it to the Finals -- the Top 8 in singles and mixed doubles and the Top 16 in men's and women's doubles will get an invite.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Arguably the most interesting division to watch this week will be men’s singles. Chris Haworth is still the No. 1 seed by a slim margin, but Federico Staksrud is coming off of a win at the Sacramento Open. If they meet in the final, the No. 1 world ranking will be on the line.
The Top 8 in this division have a decent cushion for the Finals, but there are two potential important matchups this week. John Lucian Goins (No. 8 in the standings) and Gabe Joseph (No. 9) could meet in the Round of 16, while Zane Ford (No. 10) and Jack Sock (No. 7) could also meet in the Round of 16 on the opposite side of the bracket.
With so many points on the line this week, a good run by Joseph or Ford could get them into the Top 8 for the Finals.
TRENDING
We've known for a while that the United Pickleball Association of America -- the governing body for the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball -- was working on a new rulebook that will be separate from the existing USA Pickleball rulebook.
That rulebook is finally here, and late last week the UPA-A made the 71-page document public. It features a few important changes that will go into effect on May 22 -- ahead of the first MLP event of the season in Dallas. There are also different sections that apply to amateur play and pro play at PPA Tour events.
The UPA-A also announced two key leadership appointments last week: Referee Onisha Smith is now the Director of Competitive Governance and Compliance, and Howard Hepworth is now the Director of Referee Training and Development. Hepworth will oversee the new UPA-A Referee Program, an initiative launched to "educate, train, and evaluate referees at the highest levels of competitive pickleball, including PPA and MLP."
“This rulebook is about more than rules, it’s about trust, consistency and the integrity of competition,” Smith said. “Our goal was to create a standard that can be applied uniformly while still respecting the realities of match play.”
Q&A
Rising young pro Cailyn Campbell discusses recent success, MLP experience
Cailyn Campbell has been on the pro pickleball scene for more than a year, but she's still only 15 years old and is rapidly climbing the PPA Tour rankings.
She's coming off of her best result to date -- a bronze medal in women's doubles alongside Tina Pisnik at the Sacramento Open. To put the accomplishment in perspective: There are only two other players who have won a PPA Tour medal at the age of 15 ... Anna Leigh Waters and Jorja Johnson.
That's pretty good company.
Last week we caught up with Campbell to talk about her recent success and development as a player over the past year+. Below is a snippet of our conversation — you can find the full Q&A here.
Q: What was your reaction to learning that you're on a list with Anna Leigh as one of the youngest players to win a medal on the PPA Tour?
Campbell: That was really exciting to hear. I didn't really expect to get a medal this early in my career, so first of all I was just excited to get the medal. And yeah, my name being next to Anna Leigh, that’s kind of crazy. Hopefully I can get some more this year and in the future.
Q: Looking back to when you first started playing at the pro level, was there a specific match or tournament that made you realize that you could compete with the best players in the game?
Campbell: It took me a while to make it out of qualies, but when I finally did that was a big confidence boost. And then at Red Rock last year, I beat Mary Brascia in singles and made the quarterfinals, and I also had my first main draw win in mixed doubles that same tournament. So that’s when I started to feel confident in myself, and my singles game especially. Then I had another good tournament in San Clemente a couple months later – those two tournaments gave me a lot of confidence that I could do this.
QUICK HITS
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