Your pickleball crystal ball

The pickleball MVPs of 2024

December 12, 2024

We looked into our crystal ball this week and saw the future. Spoiler alert: It's bright.

…There's no denying pickleball had a huge year in 2024, but we were curious about what will change in 2025. After speaking with a few personalities in the sport, we think we have a clear picture.

Read on for our predictions.

Also in this issue:

  • It doesn’t matter where you place it - ALW’s there

  • Better footwork for better dinks

  • The edgeless Ruby is here

  • The most dangerous court in the world?

  • MLP’s M-V-Ps

Let’s cook. 🧑‍🍳

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Shark in the Waters

When Anna Leigh Waters decides to crash the net, she’s like a great white shark: just when you think you’ve gotten away, she rips your head off.

  • Former tennis players think they can hit away from her — but she’s always there.

  • Pickleball-native players think they can hit directly at her — but she always sends it back.

You’ll be dizzy watching her scrambling ability in this impressive singles point.

POLL

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INSTRUCTION

A subtle move that unlocks better dinks

Whether you’ve played pickleball for 6 months or 6 years, odds are you need to refine your footwork.

In this clip, Sammy Lee — the head teaching pro at Lucky Shots Pickleball — shows us the proper technique when dinking cross court.

Lee does three things really well once his team is established at the kitchen line:

  1. He’s looking to take every ball out of the air, either to attack it or send a dink volley back over the net.

  2. When he realizes he’s not going to be able to take the ball out of the air, his first move is with his right (inside) foot, shuffling it slightly forward and to his left.

  3. This allows him to push off with that right foot, explode back and to the left and get into a low, balanced position to send a perfect dink back cross court.

That shuffle step might not look like much, but it’s a key part of what makes Lee an extremely consistent dinker.

Fix your footwork and be like Sammy Lee — efficient and on balance.

FEATURED STORY

Your pickleball crystal ball

The future of pickleball is electric, and 2025 promises to redefine the sport. Here’s what’s in store for the fastest-growing sport:

🏆️ The Pro Scene Soars: Record-setting tours, young phenoms & international athletes are intensifying competition. But can anyone dethrone Anna Leigh Waters?

🔬 Tech Innovation: Paddle manufacturers are pushing boundaries with materials that enhance spin and durability, while stricter regulations are expected to keep power in check & redefine what “finesse” looks like.

🌏️ Global Explosion: Asia is emerging as pickleball’s next frontier. PPA Asia and the Pickleball World Series promise to blend local talent with global stars, making international leagues a reality.

👟 Market Shakeups: While the paddle market skyrockets, so too does one other huge category: pickleball-specific footwear, which achieved record sales in 2024.

🔥 Game Evolution: Faster, more athletic players are pushing the limits of what’s possible on the court, which is also reshaping defense. Expect new strategies to emerge on the defensive side in 2025.

What do these trends mean for the future of the game? 🔗 Full article here.

PADDLE OF THE WEEK

Just dropped: the limited edition EDGELESS Ruby

We know many of you loved the Six Zero Ruby. Now, there’s an edgeless version: The Six Zero Ruby Infinity.

It’s the same Kevlar paddle face as the original Ruby, but the edgeless design feels faster in the hand and optimized weight distribution creates a larger sweet spot. Customization enthusiasts will love the slick look.

ACT FAST because this is a LIMITED RELEASE so once they are gone, they are gone!

The 2024 Major League Pickleball season award winners were announced this week:

→ 🏆️ Premier Most Valuable Player: Anna Leigh Waters (she went 43-3 & won 58.26% of points).
→ 📈 Premier Most Improved Player: Rachel Rohrabacher (she went 32-14 & won 52.72% of points).

DON’T MISS THIS

Wrapping the most intense PPA event

If you tuned in for the CIBC PPA Tour Finals last weekend, you witnessed the best players on the PPA Tour capping off 2024's most exciting storylines.

To nobody's surprise, the GOAT Anna Leigh Waters played a starring role in the action, winning her 30th triple crown on the PPA Tour and once again proving why she’s the biggest name in the sport.

Waters and Catherine Parenteau secured the women’s doubles title over the fierce Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher in a gritty four-game showdown.

Meanwhile in mixed, Waters and Ben Johns added yet another championship to their 2024 haul. But in men’s doubles, the Johns Bros. couldn’t get by JW Johnson and Gabe Tardio, who sent the brothers packing early.

Men’s singles was one of the most anticipated events of the year … but the favorite Federico Staksrud wasn’t in the finals.

Instead, Hunter Johnson captured his fourth gold medal in just three months.

WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?

Pickleball next to Guantanamo?

A pickleballer found four dedicated courts not far from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp — making it the fastest-growing sport at the CIA, I’m sure.

You do have to wonder: what is open play like here? 🤔

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