This week in Five Dink Friday:

🪵 Maybe It’s Not the Paddle — kids with wood paddles proving it’s skill > gear
🏆 Back to the Future — pros go retro at the Sacramento Vintage Open
⏱️ The Longest Game Ever Played — 20–18 marathon + Guinness + 97-shot rally
✨ The Magic Corner — the paddle secret that’ll make your shots drop
🎅 All I Want for Christmas — meme, Prime Day, and pickleball wishlists

Let’s get to it!

This clip has been making the rounds —
a group of kids in Africa (or maybe Jamaica?)
absolutely balling out on a lopsided, cracked court
with nothing but wooden paddles and pure joy.

👉 Watch here on Reddit

And the consensus from the comments?
It’s never really been about the paddle.

Sure, a $300 thermoformed carbon face will give you more spin and pop.
But skill is always the difference-maker.

A 4.5 with a cutting board will still torch a 3.5 wielding the latest Boomstick.

Favorite comment from the thread:

💀 Facts.

Athleticism + hand-eye coordination + enthusiasm beats brand-new paddle technology.

This video is such a great reminder that pickleball’s magic is in its accessibility.

Any flat surface.
Any paddle (or plank of wood).
And you’ve got a game.

So next time your partner blames the paddle for that missed dink…
just send them this link.

Poll Time:

Speaking of wooden paddles…
remember how in Section 1 we mused, “maybe it’s not the paddle”?

Well — surprise — sometimes it’s definitely the paddle.

The Pickleball Central Sacramento Vintage Open forced pros to shelve their carbon-fiber firepower and go full lumber.

No JOOLAs.
No CRBNs.
No Boomstiks.
Just wood.

And the vibes changed overnight.
➔ Power hitters looked… human.
➔ Dinkers and lobbers suddenly had the cheat codes.
➔ With less spin and less pop, rallies lasted longer, and placement was key.

This wasn’t just nostalgia — it was a paddle experiment.

Pros were handed wood paddles by the sponsor.
The event fell between a Slam and a Cup, so many big names (Ben Johns, Zane Navratil, Anna Leigh Waters) skipped it.

Which meant the stage was wide open.

The Highlights:

➤ Federico Staksrud took singles gold — and his semifinal vs. Connor Garnett is a fun watch. The very first 20 seconds deliver an ATP winner 🤯.
👉Watch here
➤ Jessie Irvine & Lea Jansen pulled doubles hardware.
➤ Collin Johns & James Ignatowich clawed back onto the medal stage.

Fan and player reactions were split:
some celebrated the return to pure technique,
while others cursed the heavy, spin-deprived woodies.

And here’s where I’m jealous:
some of you actually did start with wood paddles.

Gym class in the 80s?
Backyard courts in the 70s?
You’ve lived the full arc.

So here’s the question:
should this be a one-off retro throwback,
or do we deserve a full-on Wood Paddle Classic every year?

Hit Reply and let me know what you think.

This week, I played a women’s doubles match with three of my girlfriends that turned into the longest single game I’ve ever played.

Normally, games go to 11. But thanks to the win by 2 rule, this one stretched to 20–18 and lasted over an hour.

I’ve never had a single game go that long.
Ever.

It was so intense — back and forth with incredible rallies, side-outs, and epic saves. Four extremely competitive players who all wanted the win so badly.

Now, I know what you’re wondering:
Did I win?

I lost.
And you already know how much I hate losing.

But dang — what an epic battle.

After playing that marathon, it got me wondering:
Is this the longest pickleball game anyone’s ever played?
Did I just set some kind of record?

Here’s what I found:

➤ Guinness World Record (not really a game): In April 2025, a group in Texas (“The Pickle Breakers”) played for 36 straight hours to raise $18K for charity.

Incredible feat, but not what I was looking for. It wasn’t a single game — just continuous play for a world record. 🎥 Watch here (not very exciting, trust me).

➤ Longest pro-level game: One of the best examples is the Johns brothers’ 2023 gold medal match. They won 14–12 and unleashed a jaw-dropping 97-shot rally — the longest ever recorded in a PPA final [I couldn’t find any footage (dang it), but you can read the play by play here].

That’s how the “win by 2” rule can stretch a single game into legend.

So maybe my 20–18 marathon actually could be Guinness-worthy if they tracked longest single games.

Either way, I’ve never had anything like it — a one-hour game where we were all mentally fried by the end.

Now I need to know… 👉 Have you ever had a game that lasted longer than mine?
Am I the world record holder for the longest single game ever played?

Hit reply and tell me. I read every response, and I’m dying to know!

I’m not usually one for “hacks.”
I’m a strategy-and-fundamentals kind of gal.

But when I saw this Instagram tutorial…

“The Magic Corner” stopped me in my tracks.

Tell me you haven’t been here:
The ball is sitting above the net (between your waist and shoulders).
You want to drive it down, but instead… You hit it flat.
Or, worse, even a little up.

SUPER frustrating!

Turns out the reason is simple:
most of us naturally lead with the bottom corners of our paddle.
(Seriously, watch the tutorial here to see his explanation)

If you do that, the ball goes up.

The fix?
Lead with the top corner of your paddle — the Magic Corner.

Not hit with it.
Not aim for it.
Just lead with it.

And suddenly… your ball goes down.

I was like: wait, what? That’s it?

Now I need to drill it.
Probably in front of a mirror.
Or I’ll make Lance watch this video so we can train it together.

Because let’s be real —
if I stop hitting all the balls down that I used to hit flat…

Unstoppable.

And if it works for me, it’s gonna work for you too.

This is our little Five Dink Friday secret.

Next time we play, nobody’s safe.
Everything’s going down.

P.S. If it doesn’t work… Igor owes us $48,000. 😜

It’s that time of year.
The leaves are turning.
Pumpkin spice is everywhere.
And yes… I’m already thinking about my Christmas list.

Which is why this meme killed me:

Because honestly, who doesn’t need a bigger chimney so Santa can drop off an entire pickleball court?

But here’s the real pro tip:
you don’t have to wait until December 25th.

👉 Prime Day is October 7–8.

So if you’ve been eyeing that new paddle, bag, shoes, or ball machine…
this is your chance.

Treat yourself now.
Because if you leave it up to Santa?
You might just be getting socks.

💥 That’s it for this week’s Five Dink Friday.

Forward this to your partner (they need to see the wooden paddle drama).
And if you’re not already subscribed, what are you even doing?

Until next week — dink smarter, laugh louder, and maybe start measuring your chimney.

—Janelle

P.S. Seriously though…
what’s the #1 pickleball gift on your wishlist this year?

Hit reply and let me know — I’ll round up the best answers for a holiday edition.
Or… shamelessly steal the inspiration for my own list. 😉