At TCB we want to embrace many racquet sports and introduce you to the games and the forces that drive them. ​​As always let us know here if you want to get connected to any of the people featured below. State your name and what you do, please. Thank you.
POP Tennis News
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We asked Mitch Kutner, President of the U.S. POP Tennis Association about the state of the sport.
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"The biggest news is that The International POP Tennis Association recently finalized a global partnership with Tennis Australia(TA). TA has been following and watching POP for a while now, has seen the growth, and has full belief in Pop's short & long-term potential. We started discussions a while back with TA about them getting involved in helping us continue to grow the game worldwide. That led to this exciting partnership where TA will help and support us long-term to grow the game not just internationally but in the US as well. We will have a formal press release in the next 60 days with more details."
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"As part of this, there will be a continued collaboration between TA, The Int’l POP association & European Sports Group(ESG), who currently owns the exclusive POP Tennis name/logo licensing rights in 11 European countries. Former ATP #2 Magnus Norman is a major partner in that group. Magnus and his team recently added a POP court at his Good To Great Tennis Academy in Sweden. In addition, ESG continues to work on developing new venues & locations across Europe, building POP courts, landing sponsors, and developing POP partnerships with court builders and others looking to get involved."
Stockholm”s first POPtennis court was installed at Good to Great Tennis Academy and Collector Bank Arena! The sport floor is Bergo Ultimate, which provides the correct bounce, is draining, and basically maintenance-free.
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Magnus Norman is a partner in the Academy together with Nicklas Kulti and Mikael Tillström. We found his short video clip about POP Tennis on LinkedIn.
Steve Pratt wrote a very good article for RacquetWire.com: POP Tennis Growth Gets Boost from Former ATP Star Magnus Norman.
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Steve writes:
The POP Tennis non-profit is based in Los Angeles and has more than 100 ambassadors nationwide. Kutner is active running the POP Tennis social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram with more than 25,000 followers on both platforms.
Kutner said there are currently nearly 300 different facilities in 24 states that have done some type of POP programming over the past two years.
Lynn Cherry, Owner
Pickleball Fire
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I wasn't around Pickleball very long before I knew I wanted to start a website about the game. That's because I became addicted to the sport in 2018 shortly after finding it when I moved to Connecticut from North Texas. When I saw the local recreation center had Pickleball, I looked up the sport on Youtube and thought I'm going to love this game! I hadn't played a racket sport in quite a few years because of my bad knees but I realized on the small court I could probably handle the movement. So, using my skills from when I played open-level racquetball and a couple years of tennis, I started playing and writing about the game. Contact Lynn Cherry
The latest Pickleball Fire Podcasts
161: Three Keys to Winning Singles Matches in Pickleball with Senior Pro Axel Irestedt
160: Pickleball Behind Prison Walls with Roger BelAir
159: How to Level Up Your Pickleball Game with Pro Jordan Briones
158: Finding Your Opponent’s Weaknesses with Pro Neil Mediratta
156: Mastering the Spin Shot in Pickleball with Senior Pro Mark Napartovich
155: How to Overcome 3 Frustrations on the Pickleball Court with Pro Christina Bolton
153: How to Know Your Rating with the Pickleball Pirates Joey Gmuer
152: 3 Pickleball Tips for Players Without a Sports Background from Certified Instructor Andrea Ingvalson
151: How to Improve Your Backhand Flip in Pickleball with Senior Pro Rich Lively
​150: Shooting Professional Pickleball Videos and Photos with Steve Taylor
OnCourt OffCourt & USA Pickleball Announce Co-Branding Partnership
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USA Pickleball and OnCourt OffCourt have launched an exclusive co-branding relationship for all of OnCourt OffCourt’s patented pickleball net systems. The co-branded patented PickleNet Deluxe and PickleNet are now in stock! These nets are the official nets of USA Pickleball.
For the last 20 years, OnCourt OffCourt has manufactured and private labeled custom net systems for USA Pickleball, and this agreement represents an expansion of this enduring cooperation.
For information on these nets and more, visit www.USApickleball.org or www.OnCourtOffCourt.com.
Kalindi Dinoffer writes:
We are super excited to announce that we have signed an exclusive co-branding relationship with USA Pickleball for all of our patented pickleball net systems! The co-branded stock of our popular, patented PickleNet and PickleNet Deluxe are now here with their beautiful new logos.
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Plus, the PickleNet Deluxe got a major upgrade in another way as well and is now made with more than 50% high-quality aluminum components allowing for easier handling and assembly due to the noticeably lighter weight.
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In addition, we have added two outside pockets to our popular PickleNet Bag that comes with the PickleNet. These pockets are a great spot to store pickleballs (will fit about 6 pickleballs per pocket) or other items.
Click on any of the above images to learn more and check out these fabulous, best-selling portable pickleball net systems!!
If you ever wanted a complete guide to everything there is to know about Pickleball, look no further!
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You'll see a ton of information like
All the terms in Pickleball
Equipment
Rules
Finding your first game
Singles & Doubles Strategy
Training tools
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Go for it!
Nate Gross writes...
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Full Overview of Spec Tennis (Video) (Vimeo Link): https://vimeo.com/713291151
(YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/D38sy4g3tpU
Spec Tennis, a "tennis-lite" paddle game, has already proven to be an accelerator to the process of learning tennis, offering a less-intimidating on-ramp into the game of tennis and a great game to be enjoyed on its own (and without the noise, kitchen, and complicated scoring of Pickleball). It's formally played on a Pickleball-sized court, but can equally be enjoyed playing in the tennis service boxes, in the driveway, a parking lot, or against any wall. Especially for those to whom the tennis court looks large and intimidating - kids, older or injury-restricted, and less-than-confident players (particularly those whose boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands or wives, children or parents are very confident) - Spec also stands on its own as a terrific game. It's a great equalizer for pulling together a group of people of varying skill levels, without it being boring for better players or intimidating for novice players. The smaller distance between players lends to a very social, friendly feeling, with quick points, and much less time to be self-conscious! Spec Tennis uses underhand serve and simple no-ad scoring to reduce the two biggest "intimidators" for beginning players (serving and scoring), by first introducing players to the real "candy" of tennis, the actual rallying that comes after the serve. It's an ideal activity that a family can enjoy playing together anywhere!
Do you like our content? If you do so, please consider supporting us. For as little as $1 a month, you can help ensure the long-term future of TENNIS CLUB BUSINESS.
Click here to support and please share this with all the tennis lovers you know.
(Joe Dinoffer is a master professional in the USPTA and PTR, has written 9 books, produced 22 DVDs, and has appeared on the Tennis Channel. His company www.OnCourtOffCourt.com manufactures training aids for pickleball and tennis, and Joe brings that experience and passion in this regular column for Pickleball Magazine.)
How Does Spin Affect Ball Flight and Bounce?
By Joe Dinoffer
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Pickleballs are holey. Full of holes. Compared to tennis, this fact changes the impact of topspin, backspin, and sidespin on a pickleball’s flight path and bounce. Let’s share the primary ways you can use each of these 3 spins in pickleball to your advantage.
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TOPSPIN – the forward rotation of topspin helps keep the pickleball in the court. How? See the graphic that shows high air pressure above the ball hit with topspin and lower air pressure under the ball. This is what brings the ball downward faster than a ball without topspin. In addition, after the bounce, topspin travels further and faster before it will bounce again compared to flat or other spins. Hit topspin on angled shots and your opponents will have more trouble retrieving them!
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BACKSPIN – the backward rotation of backspin (also known as underspin or slice) is used for efficiency and control. First, every pickleball has a little topspin after it bounces. So, hitting with backspin means you will not have to change the direction of the ball’s rotation. This requires less swing speed (power or force), making it easier to control your shots.
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SIDESPIN – hitting a pickleball with sidespin may take some trial and error, but it has arguably the most impact on the balls flight and bounce. Many players also find it easier to create more ball rotation with sidespin as compared to topspin or backspin. One of the reasons is that when the ball rotates sideways, the high pressure and low-pressure relationship increases the ball's rotation as compared to topspin where it makes the ball drop into the court. Sidespin does require a faster swing speed than backspin but the impact on the ball’s flight and bounce can be very effective.
Three spins and three different considerations. Experiment with each of them. Have fun. You will see how each spin affects each one of your opponents by the look on their faces!
