Tag Archive for Relishing Pickleball

Relishing Pickleball: The Return of Serve

David Zapatka Continuing our study of Pickleball Fundamentals: Master the basics and compete with confidence by Mary Littlewood, “the player returning the serve stands deep in or behind the service court, ready to return the ball. The returner should be alert and ready for the next play. As the serve travels over the net, the returner…

Relishing Pickleball: The Serve

Relishing Pickleball David Zapatka The Serve Quoting from Pickleball Fundamentals: Master the basics and compete with confidence, by Mary Littlewood, when hitting a serve, “contact must be made below the waist, which is defined as level with the navel. Further, IFP Official Tournament Rulebook rule 4.A1 states the arm ‘must be moving in an upward…

Relishing Pickleball: Arizona Pickleball Players League News—White Mountain Region to Be Added as the Fifth APPL Region

David Zapatka The Arizona Pickleball Players league (APPL) has now expanded its popular team-based pickleball league into its fifth region. After founding the first team-based pickleball league, East Valley Interclub League in 2012 (which has grown ever since), the Arizona Pickleball Players League was formally organized as a nonprofit in 2019 by a group of…

Relishing Pickleball: Forehand Groundstroke

David Zapatka Forehand Groundstroke Quoting from Pickleball Fundamentals: Master the basics and compete with confidence, by Mary Littlewood, when hitting a forehand groundstroke, “from the moment the ball leaves the opponent’s paddle, you should be tracking its flight with your eyes to aid you in judging the speed and direction of the ball. Move to the…

Relishing Pickleball

David Zapatka Are you looking for an enriching retirement activity? Are you interested in quality exercise while having a good time? Are you interested in a social environment where you can meet friendly, fun people? Are you interested in making new friends in your community? Consider giving the fastest-growing sport in the world, pickleball, a…

Relishing Pickleball: Is Pickleball a Good Bet?

David Zapatka The Pickleball Players Association (PPA) and Genius Sports, a publicly-traded sports data and tech company, recently announced a “long-term” deal that sets the stage for sports betting in pickleball. Can you imagine walking into one of our local casinos, hearing raucous cheers, and seeing a pickleball match on the big screens in the…

Relishing Pickleball

David Zapatka Reader Liz Houser writes, “I just moved to SaddleBrooke in April and learned to play pickleball in early May, thanks to my enthusiastic neighbor Shawne. I just read your article about Common Mistakes 11 and 12. I found them to be very helpful. Would you be so kind as to send me the…

2020 Pickleball Rocks Players of the Year

David Zapatka 2020 was a crazy year. Many pickleball tournaments were canceled. Public pickleball courts were closed and padlocked. That being said, Arizona pickleball players found ways to safely play, and even through the pandemic, new players found pickleball in record numbers. For 2020, Pickleball Rocks Clothing and Equipment Company recognized a mixed doubles pair…