Picture this: You have a nice high juicy popup heading your way. Your team is up 10-8 and this is it. Game point.

You slide over toward the ball, ready to hit the winner and close out the game. The shot feels good coming off your paddle. But wait … oh no. It looks like your shot may be heading out of bounds. Yep. The ball lands clearly out. You lose the point. Side out and who knows what will happen now.

Is there anything you could you have done differently to not miss the putaway volley and win the game? The answer: Probably. We explain below.

Also in this issue:

• New singles-only even will test players physically 💪

• Women’s doubles continues to amaze us 🤯

• A collection of the craziest pickleball CRASH OUTS 😮

• We’re giving away 10 brand new adidas paddles! 🙌

• TKO Atlanta is next week — REGISTER NOW! 📆

Let’s get cookin’. 🧑‍🍳

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Women’s doubles just keeps getting better and better

A couple years ago, we remember saying to ourselves, “Women’s doubles can’t possibly get better than this.”

We were wrong. Now it seems like every week we are treated to new levels of defense, faster firefights, higher intensity and more entertaining points.

Just look at this point. Can it possibly get better than this? Check back in a couple years.

🔗 Check out these incredible gets on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok

ADIDAS GIVEAWAY

We’re giving away 10 brand new Adipower paddles!

We are excited to partner with adidas to give away the 10 of their BRAND NEW Adipower pickleball paddles! ⚡️

FOLLOW STEPS 1 & 2 TO ENTER

1. ENTER your email here & RECEIVE up to 500 additional bonus entries 👊

2. LIKE this post in our Facebook Group & COMMENT “ADIDAS” once you've SIGNED UP 🙌

*** You MUST complete steps 1 & 2 to be eligible. ***

BONUS MULTIPLIER: INVITE 5 friends to this community and ALL of your entries are DOUBLED! ✅

We will choose 5 random winners on Oct. 27 🥳

🔗 Check out our in-depth review of the Adipower paddles here

THE KITCHEN OPEN ATLANTA

LAST CHANCE to sign up for our tournament

WE’RE ONLY ONE WEEK from The Kitchen Open Atlanta! The tournament will be held on Oct. 24-26, 2025 at the awesome ITP Training Academy, where the best amateurs in the country will compete for a winner-take-all prize of $25,000! 💰

• There are divisions based on age (open age and 40+), skill level (3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, and OPEN), and gender & mixed doubles.

• All teams in EVERY division will play a MINIMUM of 5 games to 15 (side-out scoring). This is the equivalent of 7 games to 11!

• Every division winner will win a custom JOOLA paddle & TKO medal. We will be giving out the best prizes that pickleball has ever seen.

👉 REGISTER HERE

THE PROS

Inaugural LT Open will test top singles players physically and mentally

This weekend’s LT Open, hosted at Life Time Peachtree Corners in Atlanta, will bring together the world’s best singles players – whether they be from the PPA Tour, APP Tour or elsewhere – with $250,000 in prize money on the line across the men’s and women’s divisions.

The winners will each receive $50,000, with the remaining $150,000 distributed among other top finishers:

Round of 32 winners: $1,000
Round of 16 winners: $2,000
Quarterfinal winners: $3,000
4th place: $6,000
3rd place: $10,000
2nd place: $15,000

Several top players from both tours are in the field at the event, which starts Thursday with men’s singles qualifying. The main draw for both the men’s and women’s divisions will start Friday, with the schedule as follows:

Friday: Round of 64 and Round of 32 for both divisions
Saturday: Round of 16 and quarterfinals
Sunday: Semifinals, finals and bronze medal matches

The LT Open will be the first U.S. tournament to implement on-site professional paddle testing using a GNG machine: A portable device developed by Pickle Pro Labs (PPL) and certified by the United Pickleball Association of America (UPA-A). This machine ensures paddles meet strict deflection and power standards, helping maintain fair play. Only paddles with full UPA-A certification will be tested and allowed for play.

TOURNAMENT MARKS RETURN OF BEST-OF-5 FORMAT

The tournament is expected to be more physically (and mentally) demanding than what most pro players are used to, because each round will be a best-of-5 format starting in the Round of 64.

For a stretch in 2022, all PPA Tour gold-medal matches were decided using a best-of-5 format, including singles. But the tour reverted back to the best-of-3 format for singles later that year due to concerns regarding player longevity – especially considering that many of the same players who were making the finals in singles were also often playing best-of-5 doubles matches on the same day.

With no doubles this week, it will be a true survival of the fittest challenge to see who can sustain a high level over the course of three days of grueling singles play.

🔗 More info and TV schedule for the LT Open

PICKLEBALL CRASH OUTS

Fights, paddle breaks and more — you have to see these videos

Over the years we have seen some crazy pickleball meltdowns — from paddle breaks and throws to all-out fights on the court. For your convenience, we recently put them all in one place, and you can find the full collection on our YouTube page.

🔗 Watch some of the wildest moments in pickleball

INSTRUCTION

Reduce mental errors in pickleball by understanding the odds

First things first: There is nothing you can do to completely avoid missing an “easy” shot. Or any shot for that matter. All you can do is reduce the chances of missing. Let’s look at two types of mental errors that could have led to the miss we described in the intro:

1. You did not select a specific target for your shot. When you do not pick a target for your shot, you surrender control over it. In this case, the mental error is a lack of intention.

2. You selected a target that was too risky. If you are aiming right at (or near) the line, you should not be surprised when the ball lands outside of it. That result is well within the expected outcomes given the target you selected. The mental error is selecting a target with a too-tight (or no) margin for error.

So, what could you have done to minimize the chances of your volley landing out of bounds? More specifically, is there a decision that would make it more likely to hit your volley in the court? Fortunately, the answer is yes – and it’s not terribly complicated. The easiest way to control errors is to give yourself more space on your shots.

So the next time you’re at your local courts, play with these concepts in mind:

1. Have a clear target in mind.

2. Set a target that gives you a sufficient cushion around your shot. This is how you give yourself the best chance to succeed with the shot you are hitting.

🔗 Learn more about how to avoid mental errors

QUICK HITS

• Total dominance: Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright were on another level

• Manchild: This kid is going to be a problem someday

• LOL: He blew the ball over the net!

• Throwback: We still think about this point a lot