Pickleball grew by 52% in the USA last year!

According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), 13.6 million Americans tried pickleball in 2023, similar numbers to baseball (16.7 million) and soccer (14.1 million)!

This statistic is made even more incredible by the fact the sport also grew by 86% in 2022. These numbers are huge considering how many players are now playing.

In addition, there was a 111% increase in what the SFIA called “core participants”, those people that play 8 or more times a year.

Pickleball continues to see rapid growth all over the world which is great news for everyone involved in the sport we love. ❤️

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Interested in more pickleball discussion? Join the Pickleball Addiction Facebook group and Instagram page for the addicted.

Mesa Arizona Cup offers up few surprises

Last weekend was the PPA Mesa Arizona Cup held at the magnificent Legacy Sports Complex, the largest sports and entertainment facility in north America.

As we reported previously, the PPA Mesa Arizona Cup tournament adopted the new progressive draw format and whilst the format was different, the results didn’t change too much.

Men’s Doubles

The only ‘surprise’ if you can call it that, came in the men’s doubles when the John’s brothers were beaten in the round of 16 by new pairing Gabe Tardio and Andrei Daescu (16 seed).

Tardio and Daescu went on to the finals where they were beaten by 2nd seeded J.W. Johnson and Dylan Frazier, 11-3, 11-8, 11-9.

James Igrnatowich was injured and had to withdraw from the bronze medal match gifting it to Riley Newman and Thomas Wilson.

Women’s Doubles

Probably the most predictable result on the tour, Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau won the womens doubles extending their unbeaten run to 64 matches.

They beat the 4th-seeded team of Meghan Dizon and Etta Wright in the final, 11-3, 12-10, 12-10.

Mixed Doubles

Another unbeaten run for Ben John’s and Anna Leigh Waters in the mixed doubles beating 3rd-seeded Thomas Wilson and Vivienne David in the final, 11-4, 11-1, 11-9.

Their last loss was in this same event last year so now they have completed a calendar year undefeated.

Jorja Johnson and J.W. Johnson won the bronze as James Ignatowich and Anna Bright had to withdraw due to Ignaowich’s injury.

Women’s Singles

Again no surprises here as Anna Leigh Waters beat Mary Brascia in the final, 11-0, 11-8. That’s also eight tournament wins in a row now for Anna Leigh.

Salome Devidze had to withdraw from the bronze medal match through injury, gifting the medal to Lea Jansen in the process.

Men’s Doubles

Finally, Ben John’s beat 2nd-seeded Federico Staksrud convincingly, 11-8, 11-4 in the men’s final.

Johns has not been on form in singles so far this year, having not won a medal in his first 2 tournaments of the year, so by his own high standards, the pressure was on. But it was business as usual for him again this time around.

Connor Garnett beat Jack Sock in the bronze medal match, 11-2, 11-3

Discount at the Pickleball Addiction Store

For a wide range of paddles, nets, and accessories at great prices, visit the Pickleball Addiction store.

Readers of the Pickleball Addiction newsletter can also claim a 10% discount. Visit now to pick up your new paddle.

Use code NEWS10 for a 10% discount.

Upcoming Tournaments & Festivals

10 NEW EVENTS ADDED THIS WEEK!

Interested in participating in or promoting a pickleball event?

Lots of new events have been added to the pickleball calendar. Check them out at Pickled Events. The number 1 source for all pickleball events in the UK.

• Get notifications when new events are added

• Search Events by location

• Search Events by date

• Filter Events by Tournament or Festival

• Get directions and distances to events

• See which events are coming up next

• And promote your own events for free!

Visit the Pickled Events website here.

MLP Australia: Northern Crocs beat Pei’s South East Asia Surge in dream breaker final

We reported last week that the first MLP Australia would take place in Sydney this past weekend.

It turned out to be a thrilling event as always seems to be the case with the MLP format. The Northern Crocs and the South East Asia Surge (captained by UK resident Pei Chun Kao) battled their way to the final before drawing 2-2 and taking the match to a dreambreaker.

In the end, the Crocs with a strong singles team were too good for the surge winning the dreambreaker 21-14.

There were some fantastic matches in this competition. To watch some of the games from the first MLP Australia, click here.

Does the LTA want to control pickleball in the UK?

In this episode, I was delighted to speak with Karen Mitchell, co-founder of and chair of Pickleball England. We spoke about:

• The LTA's interest in governing pickleball in the UK

• Gaining recognition with Sport England

• The World Pickleball Federation

• The Pickleball England AGM and growth of the game in the last 12 months

• The upcoming English Open in Telford

• The future of pickleball

This is an insightful episode discussing all that's going on with pickleball in the UK right now! Enjoy.

Watch on YouTube here or listen on your favourite podcast app.

Paddle Spotlight

Joola Collin Johns Scorpeus

The paddle I am using at the moment and I love it! The Joola 16mm Collin Johns Scorpeus is one of a new range of paddles from Joola. These are premium carbon paddles that come in a wide-bodied shape allowing for a bigger sweet spot when compared to its sister paddle the Ben John’s Perseus. In fact, the sweet spot seems to be huge on this paddle, one of the best you can buy.

This paddle excels at the soft game when hitting dinks, blocks and resets and a huge selling point is the swing weight of the paddle which allows for fast hand speed at the net.

So, if you’re in the market for a paddle with a large sweet spot that will help your game at the net, then you might want to give the Scorpeus a try.

Use coupon NEWS10 for a 10% discount on everything Pickleball Addiction Shop.

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