This week in Five Dink Friday😀

🏆 Pickleball Slam Recap — Agassi wins, ALW steals the show
🎯 Weaponize Your Serve — 3 serves to pressure returns
🤝 Doubles IQ Check — 10 basics you still need
⚡ Faster Hands Fast — why wall drills still work
🎸 Nashville Pickleball Tour — brands built, balls blasted

Let’s get to it!

You work on your third shot drops.
Your resets.
Your kitchen confidence.

But when’s the last time you worked on your roof? 😏

Spring is here, and after a long winter, now’s the perfect time to inspect the one thing protecting everything underneath it.

Because just like pickleball…

Small mistakes become expensive ones fast.

A tiny leak today can become a five-figure headache tomorrow.

That’s where Lance — the local legend comes in.

He’s not just good on the roof… rumor has it he’s got a DUPR in the 4s and knows how to finish points at the kitchen too.

He’ll get up there so you don’t have to, and check for:

• Missing shingles
• Pipe sealing issues
• Flashing repairs
• Ventilation problems
• Winter damage
• Sneaky leaks before they attack your wallet

If everything looks good? Peace of mind.
If something needs attention? You’ll know before it gets ugly.

No ladders.
No guesswork.
No YouTube roofing disasters.

👉 Utah readers: Schedule your FREE roof inspection at eagleridgepros.com

Last edition, we talked about the upcoming Pickleball Slam 4.

Well…

it happened.

And Andre Agassi + James Blake walked away with the $1 million prize after beating Anna Leigh Waters + Genie Bouchard.

But the real story wasn’t the paycheck.

It was what the match revealed.

First: Anna Leigh Waters is the real deal.

Yes, we knew that already.

But seeing her on a court with elite former tennis players made it hit differently.

In singles, she beat Blake in a legit, entertaining match.

And in doubles?

Once she realized they were targeting Genie, she started poaching, taking over points, and basically turning rallies into:

Anna Leigh vs. Agassi + Blake

And she won plenty of those exchanges.

That was the clearest reminder of the night:
She’s dominant, period.

Second: the doubles matchup could’ve been better.

I don’t blame Agassi and Blake one bit for targeting Bouchard.

That’s smart doubles.
That’s what winning teams do.

But from a viewer standpoint?

It made parts of the match feel less like a showdown and more like:

avoid Anna Leigh at all costs.

A more compelling version of this would’ve been Agassi + Blake vs. two elite pickleball women like Anna Leigh + Anna Bright.

Now that would’ve been legit.

Third: the comments were fascinating.

A lot of people said:

“Okay, now put Anna Leigh on a tennis court and see what happens.”

Fair enough — she’d most likely get clobbered, but I’d tune in to see how she fares.

So… was this good for pickleball?

Absolutely.

Was it perfect? No.

Was it entertaining? Yep.

Did it put fresh eyeballs on the sport? Definitely.

And every time a new audience tunes in…

pickleball wins.

👉 you can watch the battle here:

One thing I notice all the time in pickleball:

Most players have one serve.

Same toss.
Same pace.
Same spot.
Every single time.

And after about three returns…

your opponent is settled in like they’re reading bedtime stories.

That’s why I liked this tutorial on three serves to add to your arsenal.

Not because it taught me brand-new serves—I already rotate several:

• topspin serve
• slice serve
• lob serve
• backhand slice serve
• short serve

(Yes, I believe in options 😏)

What I liked was hearing how CJ Klinger thinks about serving.

Not just how to hit it…
but why to hit each one.

The big reminder:

Your serve sets the tone of the point.

If it’s short, lazy, and predictable…

you’re basically rolling out a welcome mat to the kitchen line.

If it’s deep, varied, and intentional…

now the returner has problems.

A few nuggets I’m stealing:

• Using an open stance for faster hip rotation and more whip
• Prioritizing depth over raw pace
• Serving wide when players are unwinding stacks
• Mixing speeds and bounce profiles to disrupt rhythm
• Using spin as pressure, not decoration

That’s the stuff.

Not flashy.
Just effective.

My take:

Think like a pitcher.

Fastball.
Curveball.
Changeup.

If you’ve only got one pitch, good players adjust fast.

But if they don’t know what’s coming?

Now you’re in their head before the rally even starts.

And that, my friends, is a lovely place to be.

👉 you can watch the tutorial here:

I watched a video this week on 10 doubles strategies every beginner gets wrong, and honestly?

None of these were groundbreaking.

But all of them were good reminders.

And the truth is, these “basic” fundamentals are exactly what win games — especially when you’re playing with a new partner.

So here’s the cheat sheet:

The 10 Doubles Basics
1. Get to the kitchen together
2. Stop giving away the middle
3. Communicate before the point
4. Crosscourt is your best friend
5. Don’t speed up everything
6. Target feet, not faces
7. Resets are not a bailout
8. Stack to maximize strengths
9. Move with your partner
10. Win the boring points

⸻

The ones I think matter most:

That said… I also can’t stand when someone gets to the kitchen and then acts like they are superglued there forever.

No.

There are times to move off the line if the ball calls for it.

The best partners know how to move with you and read the court, not just hold one spot like a statue.

And man, when you play with someone who gets that?
The rallies get GOOD.

⸻

So many people still think:

“Forehand always takes middle.”

Not true.

This is where the X principle matters (I went in depth on this principle in this edition here).

If the ball is diagonal from you, you’re often the one responsible for the middle. Knowing this keeps people from reaching, popping balls up, colliding with their partner, or taking balls that were never theirs in the first place.

Yes, I’ll occasionally violate this on purpose if someone is targeting my partner and I need to step in and save the day 😏

But that’s strategic.

That’s different from just not knowing whose ball it is.

⸻

Marriage. Business. Romance. Pickleball.

Same rules apply.

Talk before the serve:
• who has lobs
• who’s covering middle
• whether you’re stacking
• who you’re targeting
• whether someone’s crashing

Good teams aren’t surprised by each other.

⸻

A speed-up is strategic.
It should happen when you’re clearly on offense and have an advantage.

Not because you’re impatient.
Not because you’re panicked.
And definitely not because you’re bored.

Nothing is more fun than playing with someone who understands this.

Nothing is more dangerous than playing with someone who doesn’t.

Because when they speed up garbage?

It usually comes screaming back at their partner.

Me. I’m the partner.

⸻

Probably too much.

But truly — I think resetting is one of the most underrated skills in pickleball.

Softening the ball is not weakness.
It’s control.

It’s survival.
It’s patience.
It’s often the smartest play available.

I’ve even been telling Lance “soft, soft, soft” in games lately when I can see he’s about to try to pummel something that absolutely does not need pummeling 😅

To his credit, his game has rounded out so much, and now that he mixes in resets with his pace, he’s become a real problem.

⸻

I use stacking all the time now, including fake switching, and it absolutely gets in people’s heads.

Sometimes it’s about maximizing your strengths.
Sometimes it’s about hiding a weakness.
Sometimes it’s just about changing the look when things feel stale.

Used strategically, stacking can totally shift a match.

⸻

And finally…

Yes.
A thousand times, yes.

I love a true game of pickleball where both teams are patient, strategic, and forcing errors instead of just trying to blast their way out of every rally.

That kind of pickleball is delicious.

⸻

If you want a really solid review of all 10, this one’s worth the watch.

Because the basics may be boring…

but they win a shocking number of games.

I saw this wall drill routine this week and immediately thought:

Yep. This works.

Because wall drills were a huge part of how I got decent fast.

Why?
• Hand speed
• Reaction time
• Compact swings
• Confidence at the kitchen
• Reps, reps, reps

Wall drills helped me feel confident at the net.

They made fast exchanges feel normal.

Here’s his recommended routine:
• x15 Backhand compact volleys
• x15 Forehand compact volleys
• x15 Criss-cross volleys
• x15 Controlled criss-cross volleys

Simple. Fast. Effective.

He’s using a foam ball indoors so he doesn’t destroy his pantry wall 😅

But a regular pickleball and any solid wall works just fine.

⸻

Why I’m Such a Believer in Practice

Because I’ve learned something that applies to basically everything:

You can get good at almost anything if you’re willing to practice.

Not “born with talent.”

Not “naturally gifted.”

Practice.

I’m literally testing this right now with singing.

I’m not a singer.

Never have been.

No dreams of becoming a pro singer.
No plans for Broadway.
No album dropping this fall.

But I hired a coach who helped Bradley Cooper learn to sing for A Star Is Born, and I’m doing the training.

Four months from now?

Am I winning a Grammy?

Absolutely not.

Will I be dangerously competent at karaoke?

Without question.

And that’s how pickleball works, too.

You may not become Ben Johns.

But if you do the right reps consistently?

You can become damn good.

⸻

My Honest Opinion:

If you’re newer to pickleball…
or you feel slow in hand battles…
or you tense up at the kitchen…

Go hit the wall.

There may not be a faster way to improve in a short amount of time.

I still do it now whenever I can’t get games in.

Not because I have to.

Because I want to.

Because apparently, the sound of a ball hitting a wall is now part of my emotional support system.

⸻

Sharpen the knife.

A few minutes a day adds up fast.

I was in Nashville this week for a work conference where I was speaking on how to build a brand.

Important note:

I absolutely did that.

But I also skipped out on large portions of the conference every day to play pickleball.

Balance 😌

⸻

We were staying at the Grand Hyatt on Broadway, right in the middle of everything.

The first night, I walked to Whole Foods to secure dinner and heard a sound every pickleball addict recognizes instantly:

ping… ping… ping…

You know the sound.

It’s like echolocation for people with a paddle problem.

I stopped in my tracks, followed the noise, looked down under the viaduct…

and there it was.

Five pickleball courts tucked underneath the street.

Like a secret underground society.

Turns out it was Nashville Yards Dinkville, built into the old train station area.

I was irrationally excited.

⸻

The next day at lunch, my friend introduced me to some people and said:

“Oh, she loves pickleball.”

Correct.

A guy at the table said he played too.

So naturally, my first question was:

Are you good?

He said he was a 3.8.

Which told me nothing 😏

So I said:

“No… like are you actually good?”

He laughed, said yes, and we immediately skipped lunch and went to play skinny singles.

Normal networking behavior.

⸻

He was good.

Then two more guys showed up.

I asked if they were any good, too.

Also yes.

And just like that, we had ourselves a proper little crew.

We played for hours that day, then every day after that, I basically made it my mission to recruit more players from the conference.

By the weekend, Nashville Yards was packed.

So we tested other spots too:
• outdoor courts that were slammed with open play
• then Pickleball Kingdom, where we paid to reserve a court and got uninterrupted games

Which, as you know, is my love language.

⸻

What I Learned in Nashville

Playing with Julian, Travis, and John was a great reminder of how much there is to learn from different styles.

Julian and John played BIG at the net.
AMAZING poachers.

The constant pressure creates errors as people start forcing shots to avoid you.

I have always been on the lookout for a proper poach, but I came home and started poaching more.

Very fun and very effective.

⸻

Travis and Julian both have tennis backgrounds, so we didn’t have many dink battles.

It was drives, counters, blocks, speed, chaos.

And honestly?

That was good for me too.

Different players expose different parts of your game.

This trip sharpened my hands, my blocking, and my ability to handle pace.

⸻

Final Verdict:

Nashville delivered.

Good people.
Good food.
Good music.
Good pickleball.

Thanks for the games, guys.

And Tennessee people…

next time I’m in town, let’s play! 😏

If this week’s edition made you:

• want to mix up your serves and steal a few free points
• realize the “basic” doubles rules are still doing heavy lifting
• or want to hit the wall until your hands become dangerous

…then my work here is done.

If this landed in your inbox via a friend, hit subscribe so you don’t miss the next drop:

Until next time…

Stay ready.
Move together.

And if you hear the ping… follow it 😏

See you on the courts.

— Janelle 🏓✨

🥒 P.S. Whew… we survived Tax Day.

I don’t know if you actually did your taxes or embraced the elite athlete strategy of filing an extension like me 😏

Either way, it’s been a week…
which feels like a great excuse to go play some good pickleball this weekend.

However, I won’t be out on the courts tonight — it’s my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, and we’ve got a big celebration to pull off.

Fifty years married.

Honestly? More impressive than a 5.0 DUPR.

See you next week. 🏓✨