Pickleball mirrors Bitcoin. Here’s how.

Rule changes. Nationals revenge. KD callout.

Did Santa hook you up with a new paddle this year? We know you're dying to break it in, so we'll make this one quick.

We're taking a brief break between now and New Year's. Expect the next issue of The Dink Newsletter in your inbox a week from today. In the meantime, set some resolutions for your game in 2023.

Things like "I WON'T drive every third shot" and "I WON'T dump any more overheads into the net" come to mind.

Enough talk. Let's pickle!

Head Down? Power Up!

At an intersection, there are always signs to know when the light will change. Catching a green light at the right time can feel like a cheat code.

When you're trying to advance from the baseline to the kitchen, there are also early indicators that it is safe to move forward.

One easy thing to look for is the opponent dropping their head to track at the ball. If you see their head tilt down to watch the ball bounce, you know the light is green. If their eyes are down, they obviously can't be focused on you.

Anna Leigh Waters sees Jay Devilliers drop his head and she stomps on the gas. Watch it here.

His head goes down and she sprints from the baseline to halfway through the transition zone setting herself up for an easy putaway. Devilliers turns back shaking his head like he's seen a ghost, muttering the French version of "How did she get there so fast?"

When you're trying to get back into a point, you can get a head start by watching for the opponent to look down.

This will usually happen only a spilt second before the ball bounces, but it provides the necessary window to gain ground on a questionable drop.

Pickleball Wear that Lasts

Think of the last time you found an article of clothing that felt tailor-made for you. Was it made in the USA? Did it last very long?

American Giant wants to help pickleball enthusiasts connect on the court in style by creating a durable and polished collection that’s as inclusive as the sport it’s named for.

Each durable cotton piece is designed to breathe, stretch, and hold up to your hardest-hitting moments on the court. These hoodies, jackets, sweatshirts, sweatpants, shorts & tees make excellent gifts, too!

Pickleball & Bitcoin: Made for Each Other

Are pickleball & bitcoin secretly in love? Because they have a lot in common (less: bitcoin's recent plummet).

Bitcoin Magazine recently broke it down for us, and we have to agree: the two communities converge quite easily. Consider that both of them were founded on principles of accessibility, combining the best aspects of similar concepts/sports.

Bitcoin traders also constantly rely on patience as they navigate uncertain financial investments, criticism from outside the community, and the value of trading decisions made for the future over immediate gratification. Sound familiar?

"Success in pickleball is not about how many winners you can hit, but rather about how many points you don’t lose by making mistakes," the article says, succinctly.

Even the lexicon from both communities is similar:

And let’s not forget, both communities have seen massive investment as they continue to gain permanence in popular culture.

A great thinkpiece. We’d say, “to the moon,” but that’s the wrong cryptocurrency. So we’ll just leave it at, “well said.”

KD, Meet ALW

Look who's talking up Anna Leigh?! And for good reason...ALW was the number 1 draft pick in the recent 2023 MLP lottery.

Six gold medals is impressive, but that's light work for Waters. She racked up over 30 gold medals on the year, including eight triple crown weekends.

Everything You Need For Pickleball Under One Roof

Rhino Pickleball has paddles, balls and portable nets perfect for players at all levels. It's the best selection of training aids to support player development. Up your game with court markers, cones, and other fitness accessories that take drill work to the next level.

2023 Rule Changes You Should Know

The official USA Pickleball Rulebook will see changes in 2023. Prepare to make a few adjustments to your game if any of the following are relevant to you:

No More Spin Serve: The one-handed spin serve previously allowed in 2022 is now illegal, as is any serve where the player adds spin prior to contact with the paddle. Ace victims rejoice.

Illegal Serves: Fault or Replay: Refs will have the option to call for a replay or fault in 2023. If they are unsure if a serve was illegal, they can call for a re-serve. If they are certain a serve was illegal, they have the option to call a fault.

More Time for Score Clarification: USA Pickleball is rolling this rule back to the 2021 version where players will have until the return of serve to stop the point for a score correction. If they stop the point but the correct score was called, it will result in a fault.

Fashion Adjustments: Your lucky neon green or highlighter yellow shirt might be out of commission for tournaments. Tournament directors can request a change in apparel if a player matches too closely with the ball color. This is to mitigate a potentially unfair advantage of the ball being camouflaged.

Equipment Time Outs: Previously, players needed to use up their regular gameplay timeouts before they could use an equipment timeout. This means that if there was an equipment issue, a regular timeout would be charged if it was still available. In 2023 the equipment timeouts are accessible even if regular timeouts remain.

For a full explanation of all of these rule changes, check out our guide here.

Nationals Revenge

One of the most fascinating matches of 2022 was the mixed doubles final at the USAP National Championships. Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns have been partners for all of the 2022 PPA Tour. At Nationals, however, Waters was paired up with Riley Newman and Johns with Catherine Parenteau.

The dynamic duo who had dominated the 2022 season would face off against each other in the finals. Waters and Newman won the match in shocking fashion, 11-3, 11-0, 11-3.

At the bubly Team Championships, Johns found a chance for a little revenge. He paired up with Jessie Irvine for a rematch against Waters/Newman.

The made-for-TV match was broadcast on NBC on Christmas Eve. Waters/Newman came out of the gate hot again, winning the first game 11-7. But Johns and Irvine rallied back to win games two and three to take the match.

Rumors started swirling after Nationals that Newman had passed Johns in doubles. In Vegas, Johns said hold the phone, hold my beer, and hold that take. Looks like a Waters/Johns vs Irvine/Newman is needed in 2023.