The ultimate pickleball warmup routine

These are the best pickleball shoes for women

August 05, 2025

 

The Major League Pickleball regular season has come and gone, and now it’s playoff time. The matches this weekend at MLP Salt Lake City finalized the seeding, but we still don’t know who teams will be playing because the top teams get to pick their opponent in the MLP postseason.

We’ll know those matchups next week, but for now we are taking a look back at what we learned the past 10 weeks with our final MLP Power Rankings.

And if you missed it last week, our latest episode of the Pickleballers Podcast with Hunter Johnson and Yates Johnson has been one of the most well-received episodes yet. The brothers always keep it real, and we appreciate that about them.

Also in this issue:

  • This pickleball warmup will help you play your best 💪

  • It pays to be gritty in points like these 😤

  • Introducing the newest MLP team: The Palm Beach Royals 🌴

  • We rank the best pickleball shoes for women 👟

Let’s get cookin’. 🧑‍🍳

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

This is how you turn defense into offense

Is there anything more rewarding than winning a pickleball point where you’re fighting for your life the entire time?

The New Jersey 5s duo of Noe Khlif and Meghan Dizon did just that over the weekend in this MLP point against the Atlanta Bouncers.

After some amazing resets by both players, Dizon finally said enough is enough and ended the rally with a nasty combination of dinks that had the Bouncers on skates.

PICKLEBALLERS PODCAST

Hunter Johnson opens up about breakup with Parris Todd

In case you missed it last week, Hunter and Yates Johnson, twin brothers who compete in Major League Pickleball and on the PPA Tour, joined the Pickleballers Podcast for a must-listen episode. It’s packed with real stories, honest conversations and plenty of laughs, offering an inside look at two of the sport’s most fascinating personalities.

Hunter also opens up about his recent public breakup with Parris Todd in one of the most candid moments of the show.

 🔗 Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen on Spotify

THE PROS

Playoff seeding set as MLP regular season wraps up

The Major League Pickleball regular season wrapped up this weekend in Utah with MLP Salt Lake City.

The event featured several high-stakes matches that determined who got the last spot in the playoffs and who will get a first-round bye.

The Utah Black Diamonds (4-1), Texas Ranchers (4-1) and New Jersey 5s (3-1) all finished strong, and the Miami Pickleball Club narrowly clinched the 10th and final playoff spot, thanks to a crucial win over the Chicago Slice in a Dreambreaker.

The Slice, who finished one point behind Miami in the standings, were 0-5 on the week and lost three Dreambreakers -- dropping their Dreambreaker record to 3-10 on the season. If they had won just one more Dreambreaker at any point in the season, they would have finished in a tie for 10th.

Here's how the seeding shook out, with the top 6 teams getting a first-round bye.

1. St. Louis Shock
2. Dallas Flash
3. New Jersey 5s
4. Brooklyn Pickleball Team
5. Columbus Sliders
6. Los Angeles Mad Drops
7. Texas Ranchers
8. Orlando Squeeze
9. Utah Black Diamonds
10. Miami Pickleball Club

At the Challenger Level, the Las Vegas Night Owls ran away with the No. 1 seed, followed by the Nashville Chefs -- The Kitchen's MLP team -- at No. 2.

All six Challenger Level teams qualified for the playoffs, seeded 1–6 based on regular season standings points.

1. Las Vegas Night Owls
2. Nashville Chefs
3. California Black Bears
4. D.C. Pickleball Team
5. Bay Area Breakers
6. Florida Smash

TRENDING

Major League Pickleball on Friday announced the formation of the Palm Beach Royals, an expansion franchise that will begin play in 2026. The team was purchased at a record-high valuation by Zach Hunter and Taylor Meyer of Hyperspace Ventures, according to a news release from the league.

Former UNC tennis players and accomplished tech entrepreneurs, Hunter and Meyer bring a unique combination of competitive sports experience, a focus on technology and operational expertise to the organization. Additional celebrity, professional athlete and business tycoon investors are expected to be announced in the coming weeks and months, according to MLP.

League operations around the Royals, including the player acquisition process, will be announced during the upcoming MLP offseason.

Who will win the Major League Pickleball championship later this month?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

INSTRUCTIONAL

The ultimate 5-10 minute pickleball warmup routine

Stop us if this sounds familiar: You're in a rush after work and battling traffic on your way to play pickleball. You're running a little late, so as soon as you get there you throw your shoes on, grab a paddle and walk out onto the court.

We get it, you just want to get as much play in as possible. But if you're serious about your game, you should be serious about your warmup routine.

We're here to help, with an easy 5-10 minute routine that is guaranteed to have you ready to play your best from the first serve while also helping to prevent those pesky pickleball injuries.

Here are a couple of the most crucial exercises ⬇️

LATERAL SIDE-TO-SIDE WALK

With a warmup band over knees, half squat and slide one leg out for 10 steps, then repeat with the other. This is to get the big muscle groups ready -- glutes, quads and hamstrings. Max time: 45 seconds.

REVERSE FLY

Holding a fitness band straight out in front of your chest, open arms out sideways, hold for 2 seconds, then return to neutral. This activates the back and shoulder muscle groups. Repeat for 30 seconds.

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

The best pickleball shoes for women

We've come a long way in the world of pickleball equipment in just a few short years.

Prior to about 2022, there was no such thing as a pickleball shoe. Now there are several companies making shoes designed specifically for the unique movements of pickleball, and making them in men's and women's sizes with a focus on fit, support, style and comfort.

We recently put together a list of the best pickleball shoes for women.

OUR TOP PICK

DAPS Desi Low women's pickleball shoe: The DAPS pickleball shoes were released to the public this spring, and already several pro players have switched to them. 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
-More energy efficiency

LOL

We might not be the strongest but we’re definitely having the most fun 💪🏼

QUICK HITS

What did you think of this week's newsletter?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.