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CityPickle courts and pickleball players at Wollman Rink, Central Park, New York City

Now reading · September 2026New York + Los AngelesVol. 01 / No. 01

Dink Digest

The court is the city.

A monthly magazine about the people, places and matches that make U.S. pickleball bigger than a scoreline. This month: 103 stories from two coasts, in eight chapters.

Read the September issue Browse all 410 stories

Wollman Rink, Central Park. Jim.henderson · CC BY-SA 4.0

From the editor · September 2026

This magazine is for the people between games: the ones who book the courts, run the ladder, teach the first ten minutes, and stay for the table after.

September starts in two cities. In New York, a Wednesday 50+ ladder, a Harlem tournament and a council budget line. In Los Angeles, new courts at Balboa, a warehouse club and a standing Friday night. Then the tour, the gear, the clubs and the culture that connect them.

Every story carries its source date. Rankings are timestamps, not verdicts.

— The Dink Digest desk

01

The edit

Five stories to start with this month.

PPA Tour · rights review pending

Tournament Deskp.07Sep 20

Arizona opens the new season with 1,000 points.

The Veolia Arizona Open in Mesa is the first open of the new PPA season, with the top four in each draw receiving round-of-16 byes through the new World Pickleball Rankings system.

NY Data Deskp.94Sep 20

Eight listed league lanes make a crowded fall map.

The NYC league page is not one ladder; it is a weekly grid across level, age, and borough.

NYC Pickleball · rights review pending

LA Ritualsp.57Sep 20

Friday night is a standing appointment.

Griffin Club keeps recurring drop-in on the calendar, turning a venue into a weekly habit.

Griffin Club · rights review pending

Player of the Monthp.13Sep 20

Anna Leigh Waters remains the month’s north star.

The current PPA World Pickleball Rankings list Waters first among women, while the September story arc tracks her pursuit of another title milestone.

PPA Tour · rights review pending

Youth Deskp.28Sep 20

Build the next player, not the next headline.

USA Pickleball’s junior structure uses 12U, 13–14, and 15–16 divisions, with singles and doubles lanes.

PPA Tour · rights review pending

02

Six chapters, one city

Jump straight into the part of the game you play.

03

Two coasts, two desks

Local reporting you can act on this week.

New YorkAll 10

Los AngelesAll 15

04

Off the court

Mahjong, dinner, the trip after, and what everyone wears.

Trend Labp.30Sep 20

Pickleball in the morning. Mahjong in the afternoon.

North Charleston · CC BY-SA 2.0

Food Deskp.86Sep 20

The post-match table is a real desk.

CityPickle · rights review pending

Destinationsp.87Sep 20

The next pickleball trip might be Da Nang, Antalya, or Aldershot.

Rico Shen · CC BY-SA 4.0

Style Deskp.90Sep 20

Court clothes are now part of the club architecture.

CityPickle · rights review pending

05

Find your home court

Six more city editions, fifty stories each.