Tony Roig is a senior pro pickleball player and well-known coach. In recent years he has dedicated thousands of hours to helping players understand the game at a deeper level instead of just collecting tips. He discusses strategy, the mental game and the decisions that decide pickleball rallies in his teaching. In this video he […]
By now you may have heard about VAIR, the performance-based rating platform designed to bring greater accuracy, transparency and structure to amateur and competitive play. VAIR uses skill assessment by trained experts alongside AI to combine “data science, probability theory and adaptive modeling to accurately account for age, gender, mixed play and wheelchair classifications.” Players […]
If you look closely on most pickleball paddle websites, you’ll see a range for a paddle’s weight under specs – such as 8.0-8.2 ounces or sometimes even a wider range, like 7.8-8.2 ounces. For Thrive owner Scott Phillips, that’s unacceptable. If somebody is going to pay $200 or more for a product, they should know […]
After a week off, the PPA Tour is back in action this week from Las Vegas. The 2026 Las Vegas Open started Monday with pro qualifying, and main-draw matches will start on Tuesday, with one round in every division to be played each day through Championship Sunday. As an “Open” event, there are 1,000 ranking […]
Katie Neils competes at the Pickle Money Ball event in Daytona Beach. Courtesy photo, Bull Stock Media/Pickle Money Ball The Kitchen Team was on-site at this week’s Pickle Money Ball Super Series event in Daytona Beach, Florida, where a total of $250,000 was up for grabs across all amateur divisions. It was the fourth Pickle […]
Championship Court is normally reserved for the pro players. So is having matches live streamed with expert commentators. Pickle Money Ball is changing that status quo by giving amateur players a chance to play under the spotlight at the tour’s events nationwide. This weekend at the Super Series event in Daytona Beach, Florida, Pickle Money […]
The Kitchen Team is on site this week at the Pickle Money Ball Super Series event in Daytona Beach, Florida. It’s the first Pickle Money Ball event we’ve been to in person, so we were excited to find out what these tournaments are really like. Pickle Money Ball has made waves in the pickleball industry […]
We recently asked members of The Kitchen Facebook Group one simple question: “What’s your favorite pickleball paddle right now?” The response was massive. Across two community polls and hundreds of comments from rec players, 5.0 tournament grinders, coaches and gear junkies, a clear group of paddles separated themselves from the pack. Our biggest takeaway: The […]
Major League Pickleball this week announced the rosters and captains for the inaugural Nations Cup, which will be held Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at Brookhaven Country Club in the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch, Texas. Eight teams will represent key regions from around the world in the high-stakes, high-energy international team event. Looking to attend the […]
One of the biggest trends in the pickleball paddle industry over the past year has been the increasing number of all-court paddles that have hit the market. Companies are intentionally dialing back the overall power that their paddles produce in favor of a more balanced performance profile. Many players feel that paddles with slightly lower […]
