Dinkville Making Moves
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71 Teams Playing in the Wishful Dinking Tournament on April 29th in Gallatin, TN
Talk about amazing support from our members for our first charity pickleball tournament Wishful Dinking benefitting Make-A-Wish Middle Tennessee! 71 teams are signed up and ready to compete and have fun in Gallatin, TN at Municipal Park. If you didn't sign up to play, still stop by and say hi as we will be out there all day long! 160 Municipal Park Drive, Gallatin, TN, 37066
Limited Tickets Left For Pro-Celebrity Event!!
Wishful Dinking Pro-Celebrity Charity Pickleball event coming up on Tuesday May 9th at Belmont Tennis Rooftop Facility in Nashville, TN! Join us at this private event for a fun night with Pickleball, Food/Drinks, and Prizes. Limited spots left, click here for tickets!
Dinkville Exclusive- Pro Clinic May 9th-10th
DINKVILLE MEMBERS ONLY- Pickleball Pros Lee Whitwell, Bobbi Oshiro, Tyra Black, Rob Nunnery, Andre Mick, Joey Farias, and Greg Dow are putting on a PRIVATE clinic just for Dinkville Members on May 9th-10th from 9am-12pm at C2 Pickleball in Hendersonville, TN. These clinics will touch on all aspects of pickleball to take your game to the next level! Sign up today here!
Dinkville Takes Over Nashville Sounds Field
Nashville Sounds had a fun Pickleball Night on Wednesday April 26th and invited Dinkville to help put on a show and interact with the fans! Thank you to all the Dinkville volunteers and Adam Richards with High Five Pickleball for a wonderful night of Pickleball with a hint of Baseball! See pictures below from the event.
Up Your Game Brought To You By The Dink:
The Fatal Mistake
It’s a bad habit in intermediate pickleball. When players get uncomfortable they resort to the all-or-nothing option.
- A little off-balanced? Try to smack a winner down the middle.
- Get pulled off the side of the court? Why not snipe the back corner.
- Lob fly over your head and land in? Time to break out the tweener.
In all of these scenarios, a reset is the better option. The key is not to panic when you get a little uncomfortable. It’s the hardest thing to do in pickleball, and sports generally.
Employ composure when it matters most.
Embrace the long drawn-out points. Use the reset to your advantage. It’s what makes the game of pickleball beautiful.
The 7ft NVZ on the other side of the net provides a safe place to land any ball. It’s a port in the storm. The great equalizer that makes pickleball a game where power and athleticism can be neutralized with finesse and precision.
In higher-level pickleball, players are comfortable resetting the ball in all types of scenarios. They’re used to stretched out rallies and the advantage shifting back and forth in a single point.
Next time you hit the court, don’t be a hero. Embrace being uncomfortable. Be patient with your points.
Instead of ripping a high-risk winner, get reps in on the reset. It will pay off in the long run.
Today In Pickleball Brought To You By The Dink:
Minto US Open Results
Congratulations to Simone, Bobbi, and Joey on medaling at the US Open!!!! See you all in a couple weeks!!
The First Onsite Paddle Disqualification
While many viewers will remember this weekend’s PPA Tour stop for its top-tier athleticism, it will hold a place in history as the first onsite DQ for paddle delamination.
Jill Braverman and Sarah Ansboury were disqualified after Sarah's Gamma Obsidian Raw Carbon 16mm paddle failed on-site testing following their quarterfinal against Lina Padegimaite & Lacy Schneemann, who issued a post-match paddle challenge.
Braverman posted about the issue:
The obvious question these players and fans have raised on social media following the tournament: how can a paddle pass an initial test only to fail a secondary one during the same tournament?
After all, other players’ paddles reportedly failed the initial test, but only Sarah & Jill were ultimately disqualified.
PPA response
According to the PPA's official statement, Sarah was given a warning before the semifinal match that her paddle had a high likelihood of crossing the legal threshold.
The PPA says it is true that other players' paddles failed the initial mandatory testing process, but in those cases, everyone else chose to retire their paddles before playing with them.
"...this incident was the first time testing had been conducted directly following a match after a player challenge. For this reason, this was the only occasion on which additional steps were taken, per PPA Tour standard protocols – all of which had been communicated to players prior to the tournament."
We want to know what you think. Read our blog featuring full statements from the players, the PPA, & even the paddle manufacturer, then let us know your thoughts in the comments here.
PPA Newport Beach Open Results
The delamination DQ was enough to fill an episode of The O.C., but it was not the only drama coming out of Newport Beach. Despite only doubles being played, there were plenty of headlines over the weekend.
Lacy Schneemann and Tyson McGuffin shocked the mixed doubles field. The 12th seeds toppled seeds 4, 5 and even the top seeded Ben Johns and Andrea Koop on their way to a second place finish.
McGuffin was also involved in the heated men’s semifinal match that resulted in Pablo Tellez flipping the bird to a heckler in the crowd. Tellez and Federico Staksrud overcame an unfriendly environment to defeat McGuffin and James Ignatowich in the second round.
This morning it was announced that the PPA will fine Pablo Tellez for the gesture. This isn’t his first offense. At MLP Daytona, Tellez was issued the first ever Blue Card (technical warning) for his contentious interaction with an intoxicated fan.
Also in men’s doubles, the Johns bros win streak was ended by (16) Ben Newell and Phillip Locklear. Newell and Locklear were then ousted by (24) Garrett Whitehead and Gabriel Tardio.
This opened the door for the young guns JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier, who won 11-1, 11-3 in the semis. The clean path to the finals boosted their confidence for Championship Sunday where Johnson and Frazier pulled out a W over Riley Newman and Matt Wright.
This was only one piece of Johnson’s historic weekend. JW won mixed doubles gold with his sister Jorja Johnson during the nationally televised CBS broadcast.
Lucy Kovalova and Callie Smith returned to the top of the women’s doubles podium they defeated Anna Bright and Andrea Koop in four games yesterday.
If that wasn’t enough, YouTuber David Dobrik entered into the pro mixed doubles bracket. Hollywood’s Fred Savage snagged himself a little PPA hardware. He left with a silver in 3.0 singles.
Charlotte is the next stop on the PPA Tour. The NC Open begins May 4th.
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