New Paddle Startup, Why Pickleball Keeps Growing, & Pro Tips

Today's edition is brought to you by Tifosi Optics — offering a wide selection of eyewear designed for clarity and comfort on pickleball courts.

When to Speed Up the Ball— From James Ignatowich

Hey guys, it’s James, and today I wanted to cover when to speed the ball up and when not to.

Point number one: if you can make contact with the ball out of the air, you should speed it up.

Point number two: if the contact is at or above the height of the net, you should definitely speed it up.

When you can make contact with the ball out of the air and above the height of the net, you should speed it up every time. This allows you to impart a downward trajectory on the ball. While you might not win 100% of those exchanges, you will win more than you will lose.

So if you can hit down on your speed-up, you should do it. This will bait your opponent into reacting quickly from a lower position, likely causing them to overswing and miss deep, as shown below.

For more tips.

Why Pickleball Keeps Growing— Kyle Koszuta

Hey guys, it’s Kyle from ThatPickleballGuy. Take a look at the crowd in the picture above—everyone is beaming with happiness, and that’s nice, but it barely hints at the obsession that is taking over the world right now. So, why are we so hooked?

You’re not alone. In the past 12 months, nearly 50 million people, or 19% of Americans, have experienced the same joyful feeling you did. It goes a little something like this: you heard about the game, and then you heard about it again. Or a friend said, “Come play Pickleball,” and you replied, “Pickle what?” Either way, you found yourself on a court, something that had never crossed your mind just a few weeks prior.

But then it happened—you had fun, and you didn’t completely suck. After playing, you walked to the car, got in the driver’s seat, and thought, “Maybe I could actually be good at this.” Something you never say after playing most other sports for the first time. A few days later, you found yourself back at the courts, maybe with someone you knew, or maybe you felt bold enough to go alone. In fact, you can’t quite recall how you even got there, as if some kind of addiction gnawed away at you until you got your fix.

You Can’t Stop Talking About It

Two weeks later, you were with a friend, and the only thing you could talk about was this pickleball thing. They were annoyed, but you didn’t care. They continued on, and suddenly your friend used one of two words to describe this newfound love for the game: addicted or obsessed. You brushed it off and maybe even said, “So what if I am?” Then you got back to talking about how Linda, age 77, really gave you the business last time you were on the courts.

It’s a beautiful thing, pickleball, and it feels like it’s completely taking over the world. Well, I’ve got news for you—it is. There are three reasons why: Keep reading here.

New A11N Zenith C7— From Kip Lacey

Hey guys, it’s Kip. I’ve got a brand new paddle to review: the new A11N Zenith C7. This is a startup company, and this is one of their first paddles. I always get excited about new startup companies and what they’re going to do.

A lot of this paddle’s structure is the same as we’ve seen before. It has a 16mm polypropylene core and a Cory T700 carbon fiber face, but with a 3K woven surface that has some texture to it. It’s a Gen 2 thermor unibody edge foam. The paddle is 16 1/2 inches long, 7 1/4 inches wide, with a 5 1/2 inch long grip and a 4 1/4 inch circumference. It comes in at 8.4 ounces. What makes this paddle really cool is its new technology and the unique 3K woven face, all for $99.99 USD.

It’s great that they’re combining state-of-the-art components and offering it at that price point.

So, new startups sometimes get a bad rap, but this one looks promising. Trying out this paddle, I can tell it’s not bad. It’s a little floppy out of the gate, but good ball control.

It’s got good straight-line accuracy.

Adding some spin, it’s not the greatest amount, but it’s still nice and controllable.

Back to the structural qualities: this paddle is just a touch head-heavy at 8.4 ounces. You could easily change that by adding a little more weight. This paddle is very accurate, consistent, and has nice power—not exceptional, but good. It has nice controllable spin, which is great for singles or tennis players looking to drive the ball. It has nice feedback, a very large sweet spot, and is good for both offense and defense.

For me, it’s a bit head-heavy, and I prefer a lighter weight for flick shots. It feels a little bulky at the net and the non-volley zone, but it’s something you can get used to. Compared to some of the carbon paddles, this one feels similar in terms of head-heaviness.

At $99.99, this is a very good paddle. You can’t go wrong at that price. I’m impressed with this company and hope they get more recognition. This is not a crap paddle; it’s a very good one. I’ll be anxious to see if any of you have heard or played with it.

A11N also makes a decent portable net system, Dan has some thoughts on it here.

Check here for other paddles I have reviewed. See you next time!