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Want to improve? Keep it simple.
Major League Pickleball's Nashville Chefs are up for sale
Bruce Lee famously said “I fear not the fighter who has practiced 10,000 kicks one time. I fear the fighter who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
The theory behind that quote is that you can become good at most things by gaining mastery over only a few parts of the thing. Pickleball is no exception.
Most amateur pickleball players believe they need a plethora of shots to be successful -- roll volley, topspin drop, drive, twoey backhand, etc. But what if you just spent more time developing greater mastery of a few core shots? We bet it would help. More details below.
Also in this issue:
Upsets and dominant performances at Cincinnati Showcase 🏆
He’s the Michael Jordan of pickleball 🐐
The Nashville Chefs are up for sale 🏷️
Register for The Kitchen Open Austin TODAY! 📋
The Proton Flamingo pushes the limits 👀
Let’s get cookin’. 🧑🍳
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
Ben Johns is the Michael Jordan of pickleball
Just like there will never be another Michael Jordan in hoops, there will never be another Ben Johns in pickleball. If you needed a reminder of that, his dominance was on full display this weekend at the PPA Tour Cincinnati Showcase, where he won two gold medals. The last time he lost a match in men’s or mixed doubles was in May — more than three months ago.
It’s shots like this that make him stand out in a crowded pack of extremely good men’s players.
🔗 Check out this point on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok
THE KITCHEN OPEN AUSTIN
Last week to register for the best amateur tournament in the country!
WE’RE ONLY ONE WEEK AWAY before registration closes for The Kitchen Open Austin amateur pickleball tournament. Spots are filling up fast and MOST DIVISIONS ARE ALREADY 80% FULL. (See below for remaining spots)
USE CODE “LASTCHANCE” FOR $50 OFF YOUR REGISTRATION. 🤯
REMAINING SPOTS:
Open Division - 30 spots left. Men's Doubles 3.0 - 5 spots left. Men's Doubles 3.5 - 5 spots left. Men's Doubles 4.0 - 2 spots left. Men's Doubles 4.5 - 3 spots left. Mixed Doubles 3.0 - 6 spots left. Mixed Doubles 3.0 50+ - 7 spots left. Mixed Doubles 3.5 - 1 spot left. Mixed Doubles 3.5 50+ - 9 spots left. Mixed Doubles 4.0 - 11 spots left. Mixed Doubles 4.5 - 5 spots left. Women's Doubles 3.0 - 10 spots left. Women's Doubles 3.5 - 9 spots left. Women's Doubles 4.0 - 3 spots left. Women's Doubles 4.5 - 4 spots left.
NASHVILLE CHEFS FOR SALE
Ever wanted to own a pro sports franchise? Now is your chance!
After making a deep run in the Major League Pickleball Challenger Level playoffs and ultimately finishing runner-up this season, the Nashville Chefs franchise is up for sale.
The Kitchen took over in a management role for the team in the fall of 2024 and has been overseeing marketing, operations and sponsorship sales since.
The franchise was originally formed in 2023 by Dude Perfect in Frisco, Texas, and the ownership group also includes Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and former professional tennis player Amer Delic.
THE PROS
Kawamoto sisters earn first PPA Tour title at Cincinnati Showcase
Jackie Kawamoto and Jade Kawamoto entered last week's PPA Tour Cincinnati Showcase with a less than 1% chance of winning the women's doubles title, according to futures markets on Kalshi, which the tour recently introduced as a legal way to bet on tournament outcomes in the U.S.
Even on Friday, when the field had been whittled down to eight quarterfinalists, the live odds still only gave the No. 6 seeds a 3% chance to win it all.
That all changed starting on Saturday, when they took down the top seeds and overwhelming favorites -- Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright -- 7-11, 11-6, 11-9 in the semifinals.
They backed it up on Sunday, claiming gold with another impressive win (8-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7) over Jorja Johnson and Tyra Black, who were the No. 3 seed and coming off a gold medal of their own at the last PPA Tour event in Las Vegas.
It's the first gold medal on tour for both sisters, and it was made even more special by the fact that this was a slam, with 2,000 ranking points on the line, and also somewhat of a home game for the sisters. They both played college tennis at the University of Dayton, which is less than an hour outside of Cincinnati, and they currently live and train in Indianapolis, which is a less than 2 hour drive away.
“We’re just so happy that we could do this in front of this crowd,” Jackie Kawamoto said. “Our parents and a lot of our friends from Indiana and Ohio are here, and it just means so much.”
INSTRUCTION
Focus on the core shots — not trick shots
You might have noticed this already, but we’re currently living in an age of seemingly endless pickleball instruction.
Whether it’s a YouTube video or Instagram reel offering tips or advice from a well-meaning player at the local courts, they’re all encourage the audience to keep adding new shots to their repertoire.
The reality is that, more often than not, these “helpful” suggestions end up being counterproductive, as they pull the player in too many directions at once.
It’s an issue of bandwidth. Every moment that a player spends working on a new serve variation or tricky speed up off the bounce could be a moment applied to an area of the game that would – with almost absolute certainty – have a greater impact on the quality of their play.
The players who end up chasing increasing shot variety are not to blame here. This thinking is endemic to pickleball. But every player can break out from the “10,000 shot” trap.
With the right information and guidance, a player can identify the area of the game that will give them the biggest “bang for the buck” and focus their attention there.
Once that skill is mastered, the player can move to the next highest-value area, continuing to master core areas of the game that will allow them maximum forward progress. Advancing in this manner is how a player moves away from being a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none.
So if you want actual improvement along the shortest path, follow these steps ⬇️
Move away from the artificial group think: “I need 10,000 shots in my game."
Lean into developing greater mastery of the few core shots that matter — third-shot drops, dinks, resets from the transition zone, etc.
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
Proton Series Three - Project Flamingo is back on the UPA-A list of approved paddles
Last week we told you about some paddle drama resulting from the UPA-A moving to a new equipment testing and approval process.
The Proton Series Three - Project Flamingo was one of the paddles that hadn’t gotten approved in time for the PPA Tour Cincinnati Showcase, but it is now back on the list of approved paddles.
When Proton initially submitted the paddle for testing, they submitted what they believed to be their highest performing units, according to founder and president Charles Darling. They wanted to push the limits — and found out in the process that they were slightly over what was allowed. They then resubmitted slightly toned down units and passed without issue.
That’s actually great news for those who play with the Flamingo or are interested in making the switch — it means it’s right up against the legal limits, giving players confidence that they are using the highest performing equipment out there.
QUICK HITS
Hell yeah: Now that’s how you stop the lobbers
Pickleball perfection: They straight-up outplayed the top team
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