Eighteen-year-old pickleball phenom Anna Leigh Waters is already a living legend with 148 titles to her name, but for the U.S. Open Pickleball Championships, she’s adding a wildcard to her resume—partnering with tennis legend Andre Agassi. The unlikely duo will compete in mixed doubles, with their debut match set for April 30, airing live on CBS Sports Network. Waters says she’s motivated by growing the sport. Agassi jokes she’s simply tired of winning and wanted a challenge. Whether it’s savvy marketing or genuine chemistry, this team-up is the latest power move in the sport’s rapid evolution.

Once considered the sidekick role in doubles pickleball, the right-side player is officially having a main-character moment in 2025. Where once they were the safe and steady setup artist, new-era right-siders are taking control—aggressively. Thanks to pros like Gabe Tardio, Christian Alshon, and even Matt Wright’s late-career pivot, the right side is no longer the beta position. These players aren’t waiting for left-side partners to finish points. Instead, they’re stepping into the middle, taking balls out of the air, and dictating pace and placement. It’s a role reversal that requires precision, court vision, and a paddle built for attacking.

There’s a serve in pickleball that gets more dirty looks than a lob at a tournament, and yet—it’s completely legal. Meet the screwball serve, a curving sidespin shot that baffles opponents and ignites comment sections. When executed correctly, it bends across the court in a way that disrupts timing, footwork, and decision-making. While it might look questionable to the untrained eye, the serve follows every rule in the book—upward swing, paddle below the wrist, ball below the waist. And once you see the ball veer into your opponent’s body or float deceptively wide, you’ll understand why it feels like cheating—without actually being cheating.

Speed-ups might feel like sneak attacks, but in truth, they rarely come out of nowhere. Most players give off subtle cues—dead dinks, paddle position, even eye contact—before launching that blazing forehand. The trick is knowing what to look for and where. Reading a speed-up isn’t about having lightning reflexes; it’s about anticipating the shot based on patterns and posture. If your opponent looks too comfortable, steps back, or subtly shifts their weight, it’s not time to relax—it’s time to sit on your backhand and brace for the heat.

If playing pickleball against Rob Gronkowski sounds like a fever dream, wake up—it’s real. The former Patriots tight end is bringing his signature energy to the courts in Natick for “Pickleball for a Purpose,” a charity event benefiting The Jimmy Fund and the Gronk Nation Youth Foundation. Set for May 28 from 5–8 p.m. at Bosse Sports in Natick, this event blends dinks with donations, and yes, fundraising can earn you the chance to face off with Gronk himself. Because nothing says “charity” like a 6’6” athlete smashing a wiffle ball at your paddle.

The secret to winning hands battles at the kitchen line isn’t lightning-fast genetics—it’s smart, trainable technique. Reflexes can be sharpened just like a serve or backhand, and it starts from the ground up. The split step, a simple hop into a balanced stance, is a game-changer that stops momentum and keeps you ready. From there, keep your head still and your eyes on the ball, using subtle footwork and paddle adjustments to control the chaos. The goal isn’t just to block—it’s to be poised, stable, and one move ahead of your opponent.

Pickleball has officially returned to Central Park for its third straight season, as Wollman Rink transforms once again into one of New York’s most picturesque—and priciest—places to play. Fourteen courts now fill the iconic rink, welcoming players daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The season kicked off with $5 community play and an opening ceremony Thursday afternoon, drawing crowds eager to rally under the Manhattan skyline. With 130,000 visits to the courts in just two years, this isn’t just a recreational fad—it’s a Central Park summer staple.

Laguna Beach has officially joined the growing list of cities regulating the sound of pickleball. In response to escalating complaints from residents at a neighboring senior living facility, the city enacted a new ordinance this week requiring players at Lang Park to use certified “quiet paddles” or face a fine. The move is part of an ongoing effort to reduce noise from the courts, which some Vista Aliso residents say causes significant anxiety and stress. With paddle upgrades running players around $100 each, this isn’t just a soft ask—it’s a literal price for peace.

If you’re not prioritizing your return of serve in pickleball, you’re missing one of the game’s most critical shots. The main goal? Hit it deep. The deeper your return lands, the farther back your opponent is forced to hit their third shot, buying you time and increasing their difficulty. But while that sounds easy in theory, poor footwork, mistimed contact, and trying to rush to the kitchen too soon are what derail most returns. A great return isn’t about power—it’s about placement, spin control, and staying grounded through the shot.

It may look gentle, even laughably simple—but according to ex-tennis pro Jack Sock, the dink is the hardest part of adjusting to pickleball. And he’s not wrong. Despite being a slow, soft shot, the dink demands incredible precision, timing, and consistency. Why? Because your margin for error is microscopic. With opponents ready to pounce on anything remotely high or loose, a bad dink doesn’t just give away a point—it invites annihilation.

Pickleball has officially crossed the cultural threshold. What started as a backyard game with modest buzz is now a full-blown pop culture phenomenon. It’s in Super Bowl commercials, late-night TV specials, reality shows, and movie scripts—and if you haven’t seen it yet, just wait for your next commercial break. From Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara punking pro athletes in a Michelob Ultra ad to E-Trade babies taunting adults on the court, pickleball is no longer playing on the sidelines. It’s the main event.

Major League Pickleball just served up its biggest move yet—rebranding as “MLP Presented by DoorDash” in a blockbuster sponsorship deal that marks the league’s largest financial partnership to date. DoorDash, already a heavy hitter across the NBA, WNBA, and MLS, has signed on as MLP’s title sponsor in a three-year agreement. This collaboration not only swaps out Margaritaville’s name from the marquee but also positions MLP alongside some of the biggest sports leagues in North America, all while giving fans discounts on pickles. Yes, pickles.

At Hermon Park in northeast Los Angeles, a local recreation space has become the newest flashpoint in the ongoing turf war between tennis and pickleball players. A proposal by the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks to convert one of the park’s eleven free tennis courts into four pickleball courts has ignited passionate responses on both sides. With a community meeting scheduled to air grievances and seek compromise, this battle underscores a larger issue plaguing public spaces in L.A.: too many players, not enough courts.

Pickleball finally has its documentary moment, and it’s not the heartwarming community story you were expecting. Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story lands April 11 on truTV and Max, taking viewers on a wild ride through the sport’s sudden explosion from backyard hobby to billion-dollar battlefield. Directed by Ashley Underwood and written by Craig Coyne, the film exposes the behind-the-scenes brawls between rival Texas moguls who launched competing pro leagues, with top players caught in the economic and emotional crossfire. Yes, it’s about pickleball—but with boardroom feuds, celebrity cameos, and the occasional nude neighbor, it’s less a puff piece and more a sports docu-thriller.

Most of the time, people make pickleball harder than it needs to be. That’s where the beauty of a good hack comes in—small tweaks that make a big difference. Want fewer errors and more wins? Start with these: aim for the middle (yes, it’s underrated), make your third shot drop peak on your side of the net, and master the art of the split-step. From consistent shot placement to paddle positioning, these habits streamline your game and set the table for smarter, more controlled play. They aren’t gimmicks—they’re proven tools used by advanced players to level up.

There’s a shot in pickleball that hits like a plot twist: the forehand topspin speed-up. It disguises itself as a dink—calm, composed, polite even—until it explodes off the bounce and takes your opponent’s paddle (and pride) by surprise. This shot isn’t just about flash; it’s about strategy. Because you’re letting the ball bounce, you buy yourself milliseconds of balance. Add compact wrist-driven topspin, and you’ve got a shot that stays inbounds, kicks low, and rarely gives your opponent a clean counter. The best part? They often don’t see it coming until it’s already at their chest.

Somewhere along the line, pickleball players started treating opponents’ transition zones like a courtesy lane. If you’re letting people stroll up to the kitchen line with nothing but soft resets and gentle encouragement, it’s time for an intervention. The truth is, the transition zone should be a war zone — not a welcome mat. And the smartest players know exactly how to turn it into a pressure cooker with every fourth, sixth, and eighth shot.

When Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf step onto a pickleball court, it’s never as opponents. The legendary tennis couple, who collectively own 30 Grand Slam titles, have swapped backhands for dinks in their post-tennis lives — but only as a team. As Graf puts it, “We don’t play pickleball against each other. We prefer to be on the same side of the court.” Since picking up paddles during the pandemic, the two have embraced pickleball with passion, playing together three times a week, competing in events like the Pickleball Slam, and even promoting the sport globally.

While the NCAA’s basketball tournament hits the national stage, another kind of March Madness is unfolding in Cape Coral—and it’s all about pickleball. This weekend, the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) is hosting its second U.S. Collegiate Championships at the Lake Kennedy Racquet Center. With 32 college teams, 32 courts, and scholarship cash on the line, it’s a full-court press of youthful energy, fierce competition, and growing legitimacy for the collegiate side of the sport.

Even the sharpest players miss a shot now and then, but there’s a difference between a mechanical error and a mental one. This breakdown of three mental mistakes shows how even players with crisp technique can hand over points like they’re gift-wrapping them. Whether it’s trying to out-angle your opponent in a dink battle, launching an attack from a hopeless position, or treating every third shot drop like it’s a delicate surgery, these mental traps are quietly bleeding away your potential. Recognizing them is the first step—fixing them will save you points you didn’t even realize you were losing.