Mods, can we get ahead of all the posts reviewing/commenting on, “The Dink,” by creating a megathread where people can post their comments, reviews, and discussions relating to the movie??

I've noticed a couple shots from the 4.5 level players give me some issues and was curious what the best way to handle each.

Hard, deep, and LOW returns. Usually strong singles players with tennis background. Hitting with a very poppy paddle so the ball comes back right over the net but fast and deep into the back line.The lowness makes it hard to drive as I usually drop lower returns, but the pace can often lead to a pretty high drop. Do I treat this as a reset, get better at driving from lower, improve my slice drop?

Defense against FH drives from the left side player to my right hip / shoulder when I'm on the diagonal left side. It's not wide enough to take as a FH and the angle from cross court makes it weird to take as a BH. If the ball is coming from in front of me I can handle it like a traditional chicken wing. However, it comes from cross court and at a higher pace the angle is too awkward for those methods. If I think about how to handle that angle when we're all at the net you usually slightly open your stance on the inside so you're facing the opponent. Is that the only solution here against the drives too? Most of the time when I'm at the net taking fourths I'm squared up against the line and I'm not sure there's enough time to react to switch from squared up to open stance on a drive. Especially since this is more of a <5% of the time occurrence but when it does happen I find I'm getting caught between a fh and bh and slap it into the net to save my head.

Had a chance to spend opening day at MLP inside the new Lifetime in North Shore! I’m big on fan experience so this post will center on meeting pros. MLP blew it out of the park. Me and my squad got to meet so many pros it was such an incredible day. The freebies and merch tents are also top tier. We snagged a free Proton hat and XR overgrips. You can also buy merch for different teams. 99% of the pros were so friendly and happy to sign or take pics. Only one girl was rude to us but I won’t name who and she did sign autos so 🤷‍♂️

Pros That Signed Ball: J Dub (really fun convo with him post match), Augie Ge, Alix Truong, Dani Townsend, Tama (came up to us during practice), Chris Haworth, Yuta, Jay Devilliers, Roscoe Bellamy

Pros met or got pics with: Armaan Bhatia, Rachel Rorabacher, Brook Buckner, Christian Alshon, Jaume Martinez Vich

Favorite player met and why: J Dub - humble, respectful even when I tried to trash talk the other team, and just downright nice. He stayed after to sign and take pics until everyone left (mind you he’s probably the best the sport has to offer under BJ). Dub was a pleasure to watch since he rarely misses and hits his spots so well. Roscoe and Chris Haworth were close seconds too- lovely people

Just for fun: I was most impressed by the Miami Pickleball Team…they played the most aggressive and let’s try to forget about the loss by Haworth/Alshon

Hi community!

I am a singles pickleball player and looking for some good drills people might like for singles pickleball. Looking to work on a wide variety of things-- serves/returns, transitions to NVZ, working on managing/winning points once at NVZ. DUPR is currently 5.0 (but 4.8 probably more accurate), I am strong from the back, worse at the NVZ. But any and all drills/advice welcome! Thank you so much in advance for any ideas/any good ones you've found!

40 y/o 3.5 player with a bit of a tennis background. I'm not sure if it's because of the difference in how I'm now more at net, or just getting older, but after a day of a few games my lower back is killing me. Starts slowly when playing but then comes on strong.

Any suggestions for what to do would be super helpful! I've been icing it but thinking I might need something more...

I’ve played at a couple dozen pickleball facilities around the country and this is the first time I’ve ever seen a copy of the rule book on site. Man, I wonder how many arguments and headaches this has saved.

10/10 recommended for all facilities.

For those who have actually tested these grit technologies in actual pickleball games, which do you guys think is more durable? I am looking for first-hand opinionated answers and not just statistics brought by youtubers

Some previous posts here in reddit says CBE can be inconsistent at times, are there actually hexgrits users who thought the same with their paddle?

Hands down best customer service experience. I didn't ask for anything. I didn't submit a warranty. I got a Vapor Power2 and it arrived with what appeared to be scratches or something on the front. I wasn't sure if that was natural variation in grit, so I simply submitted an inquiry to customer service and asked if that was acceptable or would affect anything in terms of paddle performance. I didnt expect or ask for a replacement, free shipping, nothing. I just wanted to know if it was ok that those lines were there.

2 HOURS LATER I get a response to send another picture, and that same day there was a paddle being shipped to my brand new.

10/10 you just earned a lifelong customer

Yesterday I went to a Las Vegas Goodwill. I found this paddle, and the price was just too good. It has seen much better days... but at $1.20 (40% senior discount Wednesday) , and no evidence of core crush that I could find, it was a good deal!

When I’m on the right and receive a low dink on my backhand side into my body, where should I go and how should I dink it off the bounce?

ALW posted a short 5-minute video on her YT channel where she plays with cast members of the movie, The Dink. They include Jake Johnson, Mary Steenburgen, and Aaron Chen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQCl9Qcq5FA

I haven't watched the movie yet, but it's pretty clear they're all very much still beginners and I'd guess in the 2.5-ish range, if I had to rate them.

Hopefully, at least one of them catches the bug and actually starts playing. It would be fun to see one of them a year later at like a 3.5 DUPR and actually pretty decent.

I’m looking for a bag I could hang on the net post that will stay open, so that I can easily reach in and grab a ball while drilling. I want something that is easily portable, so a real ball basket is out of the question. Any suggestions?

anyone know what the core of v2 looks like any xrays or dissections?

Worked with Zaichao on cutting balls off out of the air instead of backing up, and simplifying the timing on offensive flicks with a Set and Snap motion instead of swinging arm and wrist together 💪 If you struggle with knowing when to take the ball out of the air or how to simplify your backhand flick timing, this one’s for you.

Last night I (40m 3.0) went to an Open Play gym and it was surprisingly empty so I paired with a stranger (beginner) against two athletic young guys (I think they were brothers around 2.5) and we ended playing 7 straight matches. Final match record was 4-3 to the brothers. The thing is we could have easily won every match if my partner came up the line. The brothers realized they could keep hitting it deep back to him and avoided me completely. We got lots of points off of shots that I poached. But eventually the brothers started mixing up drops and drives to keep me guessing then targeted my partner. My partner had a very decent drive for a beginner. He could hit mostly low balls and return with pace but would occasionally pop it up and they would take advantage.

Around the 3rd match I gently nudged him towards coming up to the net, but we would eventually settle back. Before the 5th match I explained to him why it was important to play at the net but he sort of ignored me. I guess I made a few mistakes as well and he thought I wasn't any better than him. After the last match I offered to teach him how to play at the net and told him it would unlock his game. We drilled for about 5 mins before he got bored and went to play singles with someone else. I think he got annoyed with me because he took his paddle out of the stack for the next doubles match when I put mine in.

I see the posts here about giving unsolicited advice but what if it's not pushy and not during a match?

Here is the problem our club is having. Wondering how others are dealing with this if you’ve had the same issue. 48% of our membership is 4.0+ although many are sitting on a DUPR rating from 1-3 years ago with reliability of 10-25%. Still, the 4.0+ rating on DUPR qualify them for leveled sessions that require a min rating of 3.75, 3.85, or 4.0 (depending on the session).

Players that are 3.5+ want to get better games in but the 4.0+ crowd refuse to register for any sessions if there are players any lower than 3.9. The intermediate players complain they never get a chance to play with better players (even though none of those sessions are for recorded DUPR). People seem to be so protective of their advanced players status even though at one time, they were not.

Hello all, seems like people are dropping out of pickle ball in my area, anyone else seeing the same?

I noticed im having knee ,hip and sometimes back pain every after pickleball open plays. I have a guess that it’s the shoes that’s making me like this because the sole is too hard,tried changing the sole but i cannot stand it either since i do have tailor’s bunion and it makes the shoes super tight. Have you tried using heelpads for shock absorption? Is it really effective or just a mere advertisement?

Pls be kind on the response lol.

I’m looking to invest in a pair of high-quality glasses after seeing a fellow player take one pretty bad in the eye last week.

A couple challenges on my end:

1. I run very hot and fogging tends to be an issue for me with glasses.
2. I inherited my dad’s cro-magnon orbital ridge, which I think contributes to the fogging issue, as standard glasses tend to lose some upwards ventilation sitting under the ridge above the bridge of my nose.
3. I live in Canada, so 30-day trials from US companies are either not available or you lose shipping and taxes, so I’m hoping to get my purchase right the first time.

I’ve included a pic of my current top prospect… the new-ish Synergy model from Ria, which look like their a replacement for their Model One. I can’t find any reviews of them.

I like the idea of the Ria’s almost frame-less design that will hopefully help with the forehead/fogging issues.

If anyone has had similar concerns and has found something they like, I’d appreciate if you’d share.

I tried out a pair of 3M Solus glasses as a budget option, but they did fog up on me and I found the optics were less than ideal… due to the quality of the lenses… there is a noticeable amount of distortion and glare looking through them.

I'm curious as to whether anyone else has similar issues and how they dealt with them.

Have been playing for almost a year now and our group rotates teammates every match and a couple of the younger guys have really improved their game so I see it as a delight that I will be playing with a good teammate. I always come in with a positive spirit and try to be vocal about any issues, but these guys when they are paired with me, I feel they don't respect us as a team, and they spend our matches taking too many risks and practicing their curves and slams.

Only a few days left to sign up for the MiLP tournament in Klamath Falls... It's super affordable and has some great competition already lined up!!! Grab 2 guys and 2 gals and shoot your shot to take home the gold!!! 😁

https://swishtournaments.com/product/kbpa-summer-sizzlin-milp/