🔥 Tesla × Selkirk — the collab that sold out instantly
🏓 Boomstick Break-In — I played with it, and now I get the hype
🌪️ The Tornado Shot — the move I wish I had four points ago
⚡ Faster Hands = Better Geometry — why “forehand has middle” is a lie
🎄 Ugly Pickleball Sweaters — holiday drip for the courts

Let’s get to it!

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Tesla released a pickleball paddle.

Yes — that Tesla.

And not as merch.
Not as a logo slap.
But as a fully co-created, engineered-from-the-ground-up paddle built with Selkirk.

The Tesla Plaid Pickleball Paddle by Selkirk sold out almost immediately — which tells you everything you need to know.

This wasn’t hype.
This was demand.

What caught my attention isn’t the $350 price tag — it’s what this signals for the sport:

Pickleball has officially crossed into serious design + performance culture.

Tesla brought its obsession with aerodynamics, materials, and optimization.
Selkirk brought world-class pickleball R&D and manufacturing.

The result?
An edgeless, foam-core, weight-tuned paddle designed for swing speed, stability, and feel — not novelty.

I want one so bad, but the best I can do right now is sign up to get notified when they are back in stock (which I already did, and you can do now by clicking here).

I did see one you can snag on eBay for only $1200 if you don’t want to wait.

If you want to geek out on why this collaboration was a genius marketing and brand strategy move, I did a full breakdown on LinkedIn (and yes — Tom Barnes, co-owner and head of R&D at Selkirk, jumped into the comments). You can check it out here:

Speaking of Selkirk…

I totally manifested a Boomstick.

After I wrote about the Tesla × Selkirk collab on LinkedIn, Tom Barnes (co-owner and director of R&D at Selkirk Sports) commented on my post, and I casually mentioned the Boomstick had been on my wishlist. . .

Next thing I know… FedEx shows up at my door.

Boomstick. Slick red bag. Honestly? Super sexy.

I took it straight to the courts last night, and I’ll say this plainly:
I freaking love it!

Now I understand the name — it absolutely goes boom.
The sound alone is borderline ASMR, and the putaways are fire.

What surprised me most wasn’t raw power, though — it was the balance. I felt like it excelled in my soft game and my fast game.

And Selkirk’s proprietary InfiniGrit surface? Let’s just say my spin was stellar.

My partner and I owned King’s Court all night (I’m fine giving my paddle the credit).

If you’ve been Boomstick-curious, consider this your nudge.

And if you’re a business owner or someone who cares about branding and marketing, you may want to read my full post about Selkirk’s brand domination over on LinkedIn.

Steal the principles from their playbook, apply them to your business, and thank me later 😉

Shoutout to Selkirk for hooking me up. I’m now manifesting an autographed Tesla × Selkirk paddle next.

Yes, Tom — I want you to sign my Plaid paddle. And no, it will never see eBay. It’ll be framed on my wall… because that thing is legit art, baby.

I found a tornado-shot tutorial that immediately made me think, ohhhh… that would’ve saved me at least four points this week.

The beauty of the tornado is how versatile it is:

Same footwork. Same setup. Multiple options.

That’s what makes this shot dangerous.

And yes — I’m absolutely drilling this one.

While we’re talking about shots worth drilling…

I did drill the backhand overhead smash this week with Lance — the badminton-inspired one from last week’s edition (link here if you missed it).

Full honesty:
It still feels awkward.
I still need reps.
And I am nowhere near the speed or snap from the tutorial.

But…

I pulled it out twice in games this week — and that alone was a win.

I kept lobs in play that normally would’ve pushed us straight into defense.
Instead, we stayed on offense.

That’s progress.

This one’s staying in the drill rotation.

Watch the tornado tutorial.
Revisit the backhand smash.

Your future self will thank you.

I loved this tutorial. Watch it, apply it, and your PB game will improve.

First, let’s kill the biggest myth:
“Forehand has middle.”
Nope. Not a rule. Not reliable. Not how high-level pickleball actually works.

What actually determines coverage is geometry — specifically:

👉 When the attacker is near their line in front of you, your priorities shift.

In that situation:

Why?
Because from that position, it’s a low-percentage shot for the attacker to speed it up sharply crosscourt. If they try it:

So if I’m protecting my line and my body — even if that puts the middle on my forehand side — I am not responsible for middle in that moment.

This is exactly where things break down with partners.

This week, I had multiple points where:

And then I get:

Nope.
Not when I’m pulled wide protecting the line.
Not when the geometry says middle belongs to you.

WARNING: Watching this tutorial will make you painfully aware of how often your partner doesn’t:

And once you see it… you can’t unsee it.

When both partners understand this:

It’s calmer.
It’s cleaner.
And your “fast hands” magically get faster — without improving your reflexes—simply because you are stationed where the shot is most likely coming.

The video is about 32 minutes — throw it on 2× speed, and it’s 16 minutes well spent.

But if that’s still too much, I made us a handy little cheat sheet.

This tutorial has definitely elevated my game — not because my hands got faster, but because my decisions got earlier.

Watch it.
Send it to your partner.
And then enjoy feeling like you're psychic.

Everyone knows about ugly Christmas sweater contests.
But what about the Ugly Pickleball Christmas Sweater Contest?

Exactly.

And honestly?
These aren’t even that ugly — and some are downright awesome.

If you’ve got a Christmas Eve party, holiday open play, league night, or an all-day pickleball marathon coming up, you might as well show up properly dressed.

So here it is:
My Top 5 Pickleball Christmas Sweaters — guaranteed to spark conversations, laughs, and at least one “where did you get that?”

I’ve linked each one so you can quickly add to cart if something speaks to your soul and still have it in time for your holiday pickleball festivities.

Hit reply and tell me which one you bought and where you plan to wear it. 🎅🏓 OR, show me what else you found.

If this got you thinking about paddle tech, drilling tornado shots, or finally having that geometry conversation with your partner, forward this to someone who loves leveling up their game.

If this was forwarded to you, hit subscribe so you don’t miss next week’s drop.

Until next week…
May your putaways go boom, your middle be covered, and your holiday sweaters be loud.

—Janelle 🎄🏓

P.S. If your holiday calendar isn’t full of pickleball yet, what are you even doing?
There’s still time to fix that.