Pickleball Obsession

Art & Artist #55

May 29, 2026

The end of this month marks 11 months of playing pickleball. Some months I’ve played more than others, and I’ve definitely had to take a week or two off here and there due to injury or illness. All in all, I’ve put a lot of time into playing, conditioning (including PT), drilling, attending clinics, and taking lessons.

Last week I played in three tournaments, going 2-5 in singles and 2-2 in doubles. Someone joked that you can pay money to lose in a tournament, or you can lose for free at your local pickleball park.

I finally have an official, tournament-based DUPR for both doubles and singles. I’m rated 3.575 for Doubles and 3.24 for Singles. I even have an age-based (50+) DUPR for doubles: 3.821. Not. Too. Shabby.

Some people complain about their DUPR rating, but it is the only quantifiable way to see where you are and how much you can improve over time. I don’t have any lofty goals for my DUPR. I just want to be able to compete at the 3.5 level and hang with players closer to 4.0 without getting totally destroyed.

Talk about a great way to meet new people—that’s probably the best part of pickleball: the community. What other sport can you play with people 20 years older, 20 years younger, and every age in-between? It’s hard to meet people when you’re older, but pickleball provides a low-stakes way to meet people and build relationships over time as you play with and against the regulars week after week.

I’ve seen pickleball communities rally around a member who survived cancer, have a send off for members who were moving out of state, and hold a memorial for a member who recently passed away. I got an invite to play in a 16-player pickleball session the other day in honor of mental health awareness month. I wasn’t able to make it, so I sent the organizer a message saying I wished I could be there and how I appreciated they were acknowledging mental health awareness. I barely know this guy, but he replied and ended his message with, “I can’t wait to share the court with you another time.”

It’s nice to meet people who are as obsessed with pickleball as you are. Believe me, most of the community totally understands my obsession while most of the other people in my life really don’t get it.

The pickleball community at my local park is my favorite community, and it’s fun to play outside. But since there’s no temperature control and there seems to be wind most days, it’s difficult some days to gauge how well you play. Was I hitting too long or too short, or was it the wind? Right now I’ve been reserving Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays for outside play, but the majority of the week I play indoors.

I’m a club member at The Picklr. What’s nice about playing there is that they offer lessons, Open Play, clinics, and 2-hour round robin sessions you can sign up for in advance where you know, for example, 16 people at a similar level will be there to play with and against. There’s no wondering how many people will show up or how long people will be there.

Lessons are great for getting one-on-one coaching, but I think clinics (often free if you’re an indoor club member) are better since you get to meet more people and play with them during the clinic.

But you can absolutely improve at pickleball just by watching videos and drilling. My TikTok feed is about 50% pickleball highlights and instruction since I’ve watched hundreds of videos about pickleball. My favorite pickleball influencers are Randy Pickleball, Nico the Lefty, Tanner Pickleball, and Pickleball with Tyler.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite pickleball gear:

Hat - Since I’m pretty bald, I wear a hat as a sweatband so the sweat doesn’t get in my eyes. This hat is my favorite. Unlike most ball caps, the back doesn’t have an opening so I don’t end up with a barcode sunburn patch on the back of my head.
Safety glasses - I don’t think enough picklers protect their eyes. I’ve seen and heard horror stories. Even your partner can accidentally rebound a speedup into your face. I feel like the blue tint helps me see the ball better and reduces glare from indoor lighting. The blue tint works pretty well as shades outdoors, too.
Shoes - I’ve worn K-Swiss and Head pickleball shoes, but I like these Asics the best. If you need wide sizes, you can find more options by ordering directly from the Asics website.
Balls - these Franklin Sports X-40 outdoor pickleballs are perfectly fine, but elitists prefer the Lifetime ball which some say lasts longer. Apparently, the Lifetime ball is the ball used on the pro tour. But for the four tournaments I’ve participated in, they’ve only supplied the Franklin X-40.
Ball Bag - I remember as a kid scrounging around for a couple good tennis balls before heading to the courts. Having 100+ balls obviously allows you to spend much more time getting hits in instead of chasing a couple balls.
Paddle - I cycled through four different paddles before researching and buying the Friday Aura then the Friday Aura Pro paddles. I use the Aura Pro for Singles, since it has more pop and power. But I absolutely love the regular Aura for its buttery-soft touch. I’m genuinely in love with these paddles.
Lobster - it’s so much funner to drill with others, but having access to a ball machine allows you to train all by yourself. This ball machine has been great to drill with since I can chase down forehands and backhand shots, just like in real-life singles matches.

I’m looking forward to finishing off my first year of pickleball. And I can’t wait to see what year two looks like including all the new skills, tournaments, updated DUPR scores, and, of course, the coolest part of pickleball: all the new friends.

Quotable

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow! What a Ride!”
—Hunter S. Thompson

Guilty Pleasure

Sex Education as a TV series? Yes, please. Putting our heads in the sand or looking away and pretending that sex doesn’t exist never helped anyone. This series should be mandatory viewing for all high school students. It would have helped me overcome the fears and phobias and irrational taboos about sex.