Pro pickleball players are getting hit with fines, second time in the past year with Andrei Daescu receiving a similar fine last year. The PPA is really cracking down on those players contracts. We think the dink is starting to evolve, and hope you can adopt it to your game to have Tracy and John running around the kitchen on your Tuesday night’s. This week, we’ll be going over:

• MLP Phoenix: The Best Keep Getting Better

• Pickleball Prodigy Quang Duong Fined $50K for Playing in Vietnam—And the Mad Drops Feel the Heat

• I'll Dink To That

• Exercise of the Week: Shoulder I, Y, and T Raises for Pickleball Performance
  

Let’s get right into it.

MLP Phoenix: The Best Keep Getting Better

In case you missed it, seven Premier Level MLP teams took the court in Mesa, Arizona, over the weekend.

The Dallas Flash remain undefeated, winning all six of their matches. Led by MVP-worthy play of Jorja Johnson, they’re now sitting squarely atop the league leaderboard along with the St. Louis Shock. Could they complete a perfect season?

The Brooklyn Pickleball Team had a solid showing at 5-1. Unfortunately, that came at a cost, with one of their top men, Riley Newman, coming up lame with a groin injury. They’ll need him to make a deep run in the playoffs.

The Phoenix Flames continue to struggle. Despite some spirited play from Tyson McGuffin and Jack Sock, they look to be the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention.

Pickleball Prodigy Quang Duong Fined $50K for Playing in Vietnam—And the Mad Drops Feel the Heat

The pickleball world got a serious jolt last week when 18-year-old phenom Quang Duong was slapped with a jaw-dropping $50,000 fine by the United Pickleball Association (UPA)—all for doing what he loves most: playing pickleball. Duong made the spontaneous (and now very costly) decision to compete in a local charity tournament in Vietnam without getting the green light from the UPA. That move violated his exclusivity agreement, triggering not only the massive fine but also a suspension from one PPA Tour event and four Major League Pickleball (MLP) matches. Oof.

But the real twist? His absence hit hard. Duong’s MLP team, the Los Angeles Mad Drops, dropped two matches over the weekend without their young star on the court. Fans were quick to notice the lack of firepower, with many wondering if the punishment might’ve hurt more than helped. Still, the saga highlights a growing tension in pro pickleball: balancing the sport’s explosive global growth with the fine print of player contracts. One thing’s for sure—Quang Duong's spin shots might be deadly, but his unexpected detour to Vietnam has stirred up a whole new kind of drama.

I'll Dink To That

In the fast-evolving world of pickleball, the humble dink has undergone a transformation. What was once a largely passive tool for extending rallies has now become a strategic weapon. Today’s savvy players know that not all dinks are created equal. Neutral or "dead" dinks are still essential for setting up the point and keeping opponents honest, but aggressive dinks—those with more pace, angle, or spin—are now critical for disrupting rhythm and creating openings.

Knowing when to deploy an aggressive dink versus a neutral one is all about timing and intent. Use a neutral dink when you’re resetting a fast exchange or trying to maintain control from a defensive position. It’s about patience and placement. But when you see your opponent slightly off balance, creeping back behind the kitchen line, or leaving a ball a little too high, it’s your green light. An aggressive dink can push them wide, force a pop-up, or give you the opportunity to step in and take control. It's not just about avoiding errors—it's about applying pressure.

Over the last few years, as paddle technology and athleticism have advanced, so has the art of the dink. The modern game favors those who can turn defense into offense with a flick of the wrist. Top players now blend neutral dinks with sudden aggressive ones to catch opponents off guard and break up the stalemate at the net. The dink rally isn’t dead—it’s just gotten a lot more dynamic. To win in today’s game, you need more than soft hands; you need the savvy to switch gears and keep your opponents guessing.

Exercise of the Week: Shoulder I, Y, and T Raises for Pickleball Performance

Strong, stable shoulders are key to both power and injury prevention in pickleball, especially with the fast-paced dinking, overheads, and rapid resets at the kitchen line. That’s where the I, Y, and T shoulder raises come in. These simple bodyweight or light-resistance exercises target the smaller stabilizing muscles of the rotator cuff and upper back—often neglected in traditional workouts. By reinforcing these muscles, you improve posture, control, and endurance, helping you maintain solid mechanics through long rallies and aggressive plays.

To perform these movements, lie face down on a bench or stability ball and raise your arms in three distinct patterns: straight overhead for the "I," out at a 45-degree angle for the "Y," and directly to the sides for the "T." Focus on slow, controlled motions with light weights (or no weight at all), emphasizing muscle engagement over momentum. Incorporating I, Y, and T exercises just a few times per week can reduce shoulder fatigue, improve paddle speed, and keep you pain-free on the court—so you can focus on winning those dinking battles!