Troy Akin lost a tough singles match at PPA Mesa. Rumor has it he's still looking for his paddle...
Play pickleball long enough and you'll be tempted to throw your paddle in frustration.
Love it or hate it, good or bad for the sport, one thing is for certain: paddle-throwing is a part of pickleball culture as much as body-bags, shady paddle stacking at open play, and that one guy Gary who's always offering unsolicited (and very bad) advice.
Typically, they're pretty harmless. Spiking your paddle into the court after a bad miss. Maybe firing it against a back fence.
But every so often, one crosses over into infamy.
Such was the case yesterday when Troy Akin lost to Jaxson Madsen in the qualifying rounds at PPA Mesa.
Akin had a handful of match points. And just couldn't seal the deal.
What he could do was full-send launch his paddle into orbit.
Props to Akin for promptly telling Madsen, "Nothing against you, bro."
He also fully owned the meltdown in a post-match video posted to his IG channel. Respect
Pro pickleball is a journey. And qualies is an absolute grind, especially in that Arizona heat.
Also, shoutout to Madsen, who went on to beat a very tough opponent in Matthew Barlow. He now faces Zane Ford in the Round of 64.
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Video and screenshot via Memes of Pickleball.
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