Venice Beach got a little less casual this week when Andy Roddick and Terrell Owens showed up swinging—and not for selfies. The former tennis world No. 1 and the six-time Pro Bowl receiver teamed up for a promo event and proceeded to dismantle unsuspecting civilians on the pickleball court. Roddick’s laser serves and Owens’ freakish athleticism made it clear: even when they’re off-duty, these guys aren’t in the mood to “go easy.” Call it a friendly match if you want, but from the scoreboard’s point of view, it was target practice.

The transition zone isn’t a sprint to the kitchen—it’s a battlefield, and rushing through it guarantees you’ll lose the skirmish. Success in this middle ground comes down to four critical habits: stopping your feet before your opponent strikes, adopting a wide, catcher-like stance, lowering your paddle to expect foot attacks, and keeping that paddle in front like a shield. Most players blow through this area like it’s lava. But the real secret to smoother points and fewer errors is learning to control the chaos right there in the middle

A paddle is only as good as the hand that holds it—and most hands are getting it wrong. Grip choice might be the most overlooked aspect of the average player’s game, but it has an outsized effect on every shot you take. From backhands to serves, volleys to smashes, how you hold the paddle determines your mechanics, control, and ceiling as a player. Fixing your grip now saves you from a mountain of frustration later—and opens the door to cleaner technique and stronger results.

Burger King Japan has teamed up with the Pickleball Japan Federation to debut the Pickleball Burger—an eyebrow-raising concoction of three beef patties, 11 pickles, and rice-patty buns. Designed to ride the wave of pickleball’s global boom, the burger’s over-the-top build is equal parts fast food marketing gimmick and protein-packed spectacle. While it’s unclear how much actual “pickleball” inspiration went into the design beyond the pickles, it’s definitely catching attention—and a few sideways glances

Pickleball isn’t just a sport anymore—it’s now officially a muse. In an unexpected but entirely delightful turn, a Minnesota writer has published Pickles and Paradise, a collection of 80 poems devoted solely to the joys, quirks, and calamities of pickleball life. With everything from haikus to limericks, the book taps into the absurdity and beauty of the court, proving that paddle play can inspire just as much reflection as it does sweat. Complete with illustrations and observations drawn from real court time, it’s quickly becoming a must-have for anyone who’s ever shouted “nice shot!” and then immediately said “sorry.”

Performance meets personality in a bold collaboration that’s turning heads on and off the court. Diadem Sports has teamed up with Los Angeles-based art duo Shelby and Sandy to release a limited-edition pickleball paddle collection that blends tournament-grade engineering with playful, pop-inspired design. Dropping during National Pickleball Month, the three-paddle lineup celebrates individuality, craftsmanship, and the rising cultural tide of the sport. From vibrant visuals to collector-level packaging, these paddles were made to rally—both in spirit and in gameplay.

The Picklr, a Utah-born indoor pickleball franchise, is going international—kicking off its Asian expansion with a bold plan to open 20 locations across Japan. Known for transforming underused real estate into vibrant pickleball hubs, The Picklr has rapidly grown from a single facility in Uintah to 44 U.S. locations, with 500 more sold globally. The Japanese launch isn’t just a business move; it marks a new chapter in the global rise of the sport, driven by Japan’s growing player base and real estate that perfectly suits multi-court indoor facilities.

In a Kowloon Bay gym where badminton once reigned, the unmistakable thwack of a wiffle ball now signals something new: pickleball is catching fire among Hong Kong’s youth. With minimal equipment, fast-paced action, and a social vibe, the sport is drawing in teenagers who might otherwise dread traditional PE. Former gym teacher Kennedy Lai, now head of the Newly Emerged Sports Association, has found in pickleball what many educators seek—a sport kids can learn in a day and love for a lifetime. And with initiatives like the Fly High Charity Sports Programme offering first-time lessons, even skeptics are finding themselves hooked.

Everyone knows the basics of pickleball: keep it low, get to the kitchen, don’t pop it up. But if you're finding your progress has stalled or you're stuck between rec-level rallies and wanting to play smarter, there’s a layer of strategy in doubles that no one is talking about—but should be. From strategic placement on putaways to deliberately ball-hogging the middle, there’s a chess game happening under the surface of every point. Learning how and when to execute these nuanced plays could be the difference between surviving and dominating on the court.

This Memorial Day, we pause to honor the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to this country. Their sacrifice allows us the freedoms we enjoy every day—on and off the court. Whether we spend this weekend with family, friends, or playing a few games of pickleball, may we do so with gratitude in our hearts and a deep respect for those who made it possible.

Atlanta is turning up the heat—not just in the kitchen but across 30+ indoor courts at what will soon be the largest indoor pickleball facility in the country. The Pickleball Club of Georgia (PCoG), set to rise from a warehouse in Blandtown, will combine sport, leisure, and social life into one massive paddle-powered destination. Once completed, it’ll offer a full-service gym, a kitchen and bar, indoor golf simulators, a pro shop, and event spaces, all designed by Terminus Design Group. Forget a quick match—members might spend the whole day living the pickleball dream.

Tucked under the Selkirk Mountains, a humble family business is quietly revolutionizing the way pickleball gear is designed, tested, and imagined. Selkirk Sport—founded in 2014 by the Barnes family—has grown nearly 2,000% in revenue since 2019, all without a dime of outside investment. While other brands chase trends, Selkirk doubled down on one sport and one sport only. The result? A million-dollar, in-house R&D lab outfitted with 3-D printers, a robot arm, a CT scanner, and even a cannon that fires balls at paddles until they break. And yes, it’s every bit as fun as it sounds.

If you’ve ever wondered how the other half serves, look no further than the floating pickleball court on Jeff Bezos’ $75 million superyacht support vessel, Abeona. While the Amazon founder’s fiancée Lauren Sánchez lived it up in Paris, the yacht’s crew took full advantage of the empty helipad—transforming the 57-foot rotary-wing landing zone into the slickest sea-level pickleball court imaginable. With the tech billionaire’s $500 million sailing yacht Koru in the backdrop, this game had more ocean views than your last ten vacations combined.

You don’t need new gear, a flashy spin serve, or another five-hour YouTube binge. You need fundamentals. That’s the brutal truth behind a high-level breakdown of 4.5-rated play—where simple choices (or the lack of them) dictate the point. Whether it’s driving the third shot into a retreating opponent’s chest or avoiding dead drops that beg to be punished, these matches show that most players aren’t losing because they lack skills—they’re losing because they can’t make the right call under pressure.

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a global tennis bad boy, an adult film legend, and a crew of reality TV stars collide on a pickleball court—you’re about to find out. OnlyFans is launching a new series called Smash City, and yes, it’s all about pickleball. The show premieres June 13 on OFTV, the platform’s PG-rated streaming service, and it brings together a cast of OnlyFans creators for a four-episode tournament that trades serious play for spicy chaos. Oversized paddles, “Pickleball Pong,” and a $20,000 prize ensure the show is equal parts competition and spectacle.

There’s a new sound echoing across Europe’s sports complexes—and increasingly, over here, too. No, it’s not the familiar pop of a pickleball or the high-pitched whine of a tennis serve. It’s the cagey thump of padel. This glass-box version of doubles tennis, where walls are in play and power is punished, is quietly building an empire. With tens of thousands of courts springing up across Spain, Sweden, and now cities like Miami and Las Vegas, padel is vying not only for tennis’s turf—but eyeing any racket sport with a court and a cult following. Like, you know, pickleball.

The sports scene in North America is changing fast. In major cities, demand for recreational facilities has exploded—especially in pickleball hotspots like New York and Los Angeles. Courts that were once half-empty are now booked out like exclusive restaurants. With urban space limited and weekend slots scarce, the question becomes: how do we get more people on the court without building more of them? That’s where sports tech steps in. Platforms like CatchCorner are turning booking chaos into a smooth tap-and-play experience, cutting through the friction of phone calls and long waitlists.

Effective counterattacking in pickleball starts with understanding three key zones. The dominant side (zone one), the body (zone two), and the non-dominant side (zone three) each demand a unique approach. Most players struggle in zone two—where getting jammed is all too common. The fix? A one-handed counter, timed close to the body, with a short punch powered by the shoulder. Less is more when the pace picks up, and letting the ball come in a little can make all the difference.

In the emoji-obsessed world we live in, it seems almost everything has its own icon—except pickleball. That’s the spark behind a San Diego-based movement, spearheaded by startup TeachMe.To, to get Apple to finally add a pickleball emoji to the iOS keyboard. Led by company president Nick O’Brien, the effort is backed by a Change.org petition aimed at reaching 25,000 signatures. The emoji? A clean, community-approved design featuring a square paddle and iconic yellow ball. After all, if curling and archery get to be emoji-official, why not the sport that millions of us are actually playing?

Pickleball isn’t just a sport—it’s becoming a love language. The new series How I Met My Partner is making waves both on Pickleballtv and at the Denver Film Festival, where it was nominated in the Unscripted Category at the 11th annual SeriesFest. Blending romance and recreation, the show dives into real-life stories of couples who met mid-rally, paddle in hand. Whether it’s the charm of spontaneous chemistry or the shared joy of sport, the series taps into something a lot of us believe but rarely say out loud: maybe the person we’re meant to meet isn’t on an app—they’re on the other side of the net.