5 Bullet Weekly- Glow Up The Night with Pickleball!
1. Lipscomb Ladders on Tuesdays & Thursdays
Join us every Tuesday and Thursday at Lipscomb for the ladder challenge! All skill levels are welcome to play from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for just $10. With only 16 spots, you’ll be playing for three solid hours, moving up or down the ladder based on your wins and losses. Secure your spot and experience competitive play against a variety of skill levels in this fun, organized event!
2. Free Beginner Clinics at Hendersonville Veterans Park
Know someone new to pickleball? Invite your friends and family to our free beginner clinics every Tuesday at Hendersonville Veterans Park. Sessions run from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Let’s introduce more people to the game we love with guidance from our Dinkville captains.
3. Book a Private Lesson
Ready to take your skills to the next level? Request a private lesson with one of our certified instructors for focused, one-on-one coaching tailored to your game. A great way to build confidence and improve quickly!
4. Join the Community WhatsApp Group
Stay connected and get more playtime! Our community WhatsApp group is the place to coordinate games, share tips, and connect with other Dinkville members. Start playing with new people in the community today!
5. Do Your Homework
Want to keep leveling up? Watch pickleball videos online, check out high-level matches on TV, and learn from the pros. Studying technique and strategy will help you bring a new edge to your own game.
Dinkville is proud to be sponsored by Selkirk, and we highly recommend their exceptional products and strong commitment to the future of pickleball. Please check out their site HERE and use code ADV-LHALLAM at Checkout to receive a FREE GIFT from Selkirk!
Thanks for an Epic “Glow In The Dark” Night at Lipscomb Racquet Club!
Friday night’s “Glow In The Dark” event was a blast! Over 40 of you joined us to play under the black lights, rocking neon colors, good vibes, and awesome jams. The energy was incredible, and Lipscomb Racquet Club was glowing!
A huge thank you to everyone who signed up and came out for this fun evening in Nashville. We’re looking forward to many more unique events like this one! Check out some of the pics below!
Today In Pickleball Brought To You By The Dink
Up Your Game
Missing Out on Erne Opportunities
We all know the most common erne scenario for left-side players. The opponent straight ahead has their head down as is trying to dink a ball down the line.
Dekel Bar hits more ernes than any other player and shares another opportunity he looks for when trying to line up and erne.
The Cross-court Erne
If your opponent is dinking or even dropping cross-court, you should be looking for an erne opportunity. They’re trying to land a ball near your left foot to force you into hitting a difficult backhand dink.
You can turn that corner into a no-fly zone by presenting the threat of an erne. As Dekel explains in Raise the Bar, timing is everything. You want to wait until your opponent is hitting their shot to prevent tipping your hand.
The timing is hard to learn and you might look like a fool on the first couple. But don’t worry, even the failed attempts show that the erne is a threat and will limit where your opponent can hit the ball.
This adds pressure to your opponent’s shots and could pay off in the form of dink or drop errors throughout a match. It could lead to you winning a point without even having to execute the shot to perfection.
98% of Matches Won Had This in Common
Are you a slow starter? Does it take you a couple of points to get into the rhythm of a game? Those first couple of points might seem insignificant but could be hurting you in the long run.
A brief look at data from the PPA Rate Championship matches (82 matches) showed that an early lead results in a game win an overwhelming majority of the time.
This research aimed to answer a key question: Is there a tipping point in a pickleball game where the trailing team has little chance of winning, effectively assuring victory for the leading team?
Scenario 1: The First Team to Nine
As you would expect, the first team to nine ended up winning a major of games. In this data set, they won a combined 98% of them. So, let’s take a look a little bit lower of a tipping point.
Scenario 2: The First Team to Six
The winning percentage of the first team to six decreases as expected. It falls from 98% down to 88% which still makes the race to six points, a significant number. Let’s drop the tipping point again.
Scenario 3: The First Team to Four
The most surprising result from this data set was that the team that reached four points first, went on to win 89% of games. The team that took control of the game early, ended up winning the game almost every time.
While this data set is small, it does indicate the importance of not wasting any points early. Take that extra 5 minutes to warm-up before a match and hit the ground running at 0-0-2.
Sweep Sunday at the World Championships
The PPA World Championships came to a close yesterday in Dallas. All five Championship Sunday matches ended in a sweep and one player made his triumphant return to the top of the podium.
The return of Riley
It’s been over a year since Riley Newman found himself in the winner’s circle at a PPA event. Newman’s been doing the partner shuffle for the majority of 2024 and appears to have struck gold with Hayden Patriquin.
Newman and Patriquin defeated JW Johnson/Dylan Frazier in a massive quarterfinal win. In the finals, their fast hands smothered the Dekel Bar/Pablo Tellez duo who also had their best result to date.
The Girlies do it again
The battle at the top of the women’s game has reached full rivalry status. After losing an incredible five-game match at the Rate Championships, Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher came back to sweep Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau yesterday.
“The Girlies” now have three wins over the top seed. We will likely see one more matchup between the top two teams at the PPA Finals in December.
The top seeds take the rest
ALW beat Kate Fahey for the third time this year to bring home another gold in women’s singles. Ben Johns and ALW locked up title number 42 together in mixed doubles.
Michael Loyd reached his first Championship Sunday in men’s singles. His Cinderella run was cut short by Federico Staksrud who brought home another PPA slam victory.
PPA World Championships Results
A New Look for Nationals
The 2024 Biofreeze USA Pickleball Nationals will have a new look again this year. The 10-day pickleball celebration will be held at the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, AZ for the first time ever.
For those newcomers to the game, Nationals is not your average pickleball tournament. You can’t just sign up to play.
Players have to earn their way into the event by winning a Golden Ticket at one of the qualifying events leading up to the tournament. It attracts elite competition from across the country all vying for the title of National Champion.
Another change this year is that matches will be broadcast on QVC+ after a partnership was formed early this year. Pro-qualifying matches start tomorrow leading to championship matches on Sunday.
The prize for a first-place finish is $8,000 in pro singles and $18,000 per team in pro doubles. Find the full competition schedule here.
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Thank you,
Landon Hallam
Dinkville Founder/CEO