Cover2 min read
The court is the city
Dink Digest maps the people, places, matches, and ideas making U.S. pickleball feel bigger than a scoreline.
Read storyThe reporting archive
Stories from around the court.
Places to play, people to know, and a closer look at the game. Search the field desk, browse by city, or follow a beat into its full story.
Showing 1-12 of 410 stories across all desks
National Desk2 min read
The week in 60 seconds
Arizona is the national stage. Long Beach is the Southern California heartbeat. LA keeps inventing new ways to stay after the match.
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LA Field Desk2 min read
A city of courts is an architecture story.
LA’s pickleball map is really a fight over which tennis courts get repainted — and the city’s own language is now “standalone, not shared.”
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Calendar2 min read
The next two weeks have a pulse
A practical desk for players who want to turn a magazine read into a court plan.
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Pro Tour2 min read
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.
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Pro Tour2 min read
When the top seed has to introduce itself again
Ben Johns and Federico Staksrud’s first partnership met Nico Acevedo and Yuta Funemizu — and the new duo went home early.
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Pro Tour2 min read
Christian Alshon was still alive in three lanes
On semifinal Saturday, the PPA newsroom identified Alshon as the only player alive in singles, mixed doubles, and gender doubles.
Read storySoCal Tournament2 min read
Long Beach brings the weekend to El Dorado.
El Dorado Park’s tennis-and-pickleball center lists a men’s doubles and a master’s 50-and-over bracket on its public schedule — that’s the story before any results page exists.
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Club Life2 min read
Pickle Match Club turns a weeknight into a season.
A real Los Angeles competitive league reports its own attendance numbers — self-reported club metrics, not an audited market figure.
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Player of the Week2 min read
Christian Alshon earns the triple-duty watch
Dink Digest’s editorial player of the week is a time-stamped recognition based on the PPA semifinal watchlist, not an official award.
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Player of the Month2 min read
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.
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Women’s Game2 min read
Anna Bright’s all-court electricity.
A former UC Berkeley varsity tennis player turned pro pickleball’s reigning defensive standard — without needing an invented sponsorship number to prove it.
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