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- The app that will change how you book courts
The app that will change how you book courts
Matt Wright joins Pickleballers to talk rivalries, breakups & the future of pickleball
A new app that is on its way to becoming the Expedia of court booking is now live in the northeast with plans to expand nationwide in 2026.
The CourtsApp platform simplifies the court booking process and helps facilities market availability. It's a win-win for players and clubs, and we got the inside scoop this week on how it works & what’s coming next year. Learn more below.
Also in this issue:
Matt Wright on rivalries, breakups & the future of pickleball 🎧
When lobs go wrong 🫣
Missed the Black Friday sales? Don’t sweat it, we got you 🎁
The best ATPs in pickleball history 🤯
Several top pros competing in China this week 🌏
Let’s get cookin’. 🧑🍳
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
Some lobs work … some get you killed
Before we get to what went wrong in this point, let’s acknowledge this: How cool is it that we now have high-level wheelchair hybrid doubles being played in tournaments? Very cool, we think.
Unfortunately for our guy in the blue in the wheelchair, he just threw up a very ill-advised lob and is about to pay the price. The good news is while he took one to the shoulder on this point, he immediately started talking trash to his non-disabled opponent.
This sport rules.
🔗 Check out this highlight on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok
PICKLEBALLERS
Matt Wright: Rivalries, breakups & the future of pickleball
Matt Wright is one of the most polarizing, respected and mysterious players in pickleball — and somehow, he had never done a real pickleball podcast … until now.
At 48 years old, he’s still making PPA finals, still out-thinking kids half his age and still one of the most entertaining players on tour. In this week’s episode of Pickleballers, Matt sits down with Roscoe and Jared to finally tell his full story: From obsessed tennis kid in Wichita, to No. 1 at Michigan with Tom Brady in his dorm, to discovering pickleball through a made-up “mini tennis” game with a wooden mallet.
HOLIDAY SHOPPING
Get the best deals on pickleball gear through The Kitchen
Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales might be over, but you can still get great deals on pickleball gear through The Kitchen.
We've partnered with the top brands in the game to offer exclusive discounts on paddles, bags, shoes & more.
💵 Click here to find the full list of companies we offer a discount code with.
We’ve also put together a few of our top picks for the best paddles, shoes, bags, apparel and more this holiday season.
TOP PADDLES
🎁 JOOLA Perseus Pro IV: An added section of high-density foam inside the bottom corners/throat area of the Pro IV models allows the paddle to flex more than prior paddles, which adds forgiveness and enhances feel, power and dwell time. Paddle ships in a premium box with extra grips and edge tape. Order now and JOOLA will add a FREE cover and balls, too! Shop now, $279.95.
🎁 RPM Friction Pro: This paddle -- designed by pro player James Ignatowich -- has everything a player could want: Top-tier spin, great power and effortless control. Shop now, $249.99 -- use code "KITCHEN" at checkout for 15% off.
BEST SHOES
🎁 DAPS Desi Low: The DAPS out-perform the big brands in several key metrics, and you don’t just have to take our word for it — they have the data to back it up. They sent the shoe to the Heeluxe Performance Lab, which compared the DAPS to several other well-known shoes in the pickleball space.
The results favored the DAPS in several areas: Faster starts, quicker stops, better energy return and more energy efficiency. You can find our in-depth review of the shoes here, and read our breakdown of what the shoe experts at Heeluxe had to say about them here.
Shop the DAPS now, $159.99 -- Use code "KITCHEN" for 15% off.
THE KITCHEN APPAREL & HATS
🎁 The Kitchen hoodie: This is one of our most popular items -- perfect for staying warm around the house this winter and great for those chilly mornings on the court. Shop now, $55.
🎁 The Kitchen performance hat: All black 6-panel performance rope hat with our classic white puffed logo. This one is clean, extremely comfortable, and can handle some sweat. Perfect for the pickleball court or golf course. Shop now, $32.
FEATURED STORY
Introducing CourtsApp, the modern booking platform built for a booming pickleball industry
A new app launching this week aims to simplify the court booking process for pickleball players – and other racket sports enthusiasts – and help facilities get the word out about their available court times.
CourtsApp, which has been in the building phase for most of 2025, has officially launched on the Apple App Store and will have an Android app available soon. The app is currently live in the northeast and will be expanding across the east coast and nationwide in 2026.
The AI-powered marketing and booking platform currently features 150 facilities and 1,500 courts across pickleball, tennis, padel, racquetball, squash and ping pong, with the goal of eventually having more than 50,000 courts on the app.
The app and website was started by Daren Hornig, who has a background in real estate and owns the Port Washington Tennis Academy in Long Island, New York. Hornig said he noticed a “significant technological lapse” between supply and demand and the ability to let players know at a glance what court times were available at facilities in their area.
He compared it to booking sites in other industries like Expedia or GolfNow, which facilitates tee-time bookings at over 9,000 golf courses globally.
“When I started looking at how the racket sports and paddle sports industries worked and operated, I saw that there was no software out there – similar to an Expedia or OpenTable – where a player could easily see what court times are available at various facilities near them and book it,” Hornig said. “Right now it's either six phone calls or six different apps to find a location and the time we want. This integrates it and it makes it easier.”
TRENDING
Several pickleball pros who are based in the U.S. and play on the PPA Tour are competing in the Vibrant Linping Hangzhou Open this week in Hangzhou, China.
The PPA Tour Asia event runs from Wednesday through Saturday at Linping Sports Center, which has a capacity of more than 4,000. If it’s anything like the PPA Tour Asia event in Vietnam earlier this year, the stands will be packed.
The notable group of U.S.-based players who are playing includes:
Men: Federico Staksrud, Connor Garnett, Blaine Hovenier, Tama Shimabukuro, Luc Pham, Armaan Bhatia, Wil Shaffer, Len Yang.
Women: Chao Yi Wang, Alix Truong.
VIRAL VIDEOS
The best ATPs in pickleball history
We recently put together a collection of the best around-the-post (ATP) shots we could find on the internet. From pros executing the play with precision to amateurs getting a little lucky, these are definitely highlight worthy — we only wish we were good enough to pull this shot off more often.
QUICK HITS
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