Looking back to the weekend, looking ahead to 2024

The end of the 2023 PPA season finished like it started. Without a surprise. What did we learn from this past weekend’s Tour Championship? And what should we expect in 2024? Women’s singles What we saw: Total domination. Anna Leigh Waters won again. OK, not a...

Newman beats Wright in last matchup between the two of 2023

In a season of drama on the PPA Tour, both on and off the court, the Matt Wright-Riley Newman soap opera is still going on. A day after Wright and partner Lucy Kovalova knocked out Newman and Vivienne David and the courtside music blared Taylor Swift’s, “We Are Never...

First round not kind to Johns again

Kind of a weird pattern Ben Johns is slipping into here at the PPA Championships. It’s the same thing two days in a row now. Another early round loss for Johns, Friday’s a much more rare situation, and another comeback, albeit not a surprise at this point. Johns lost...

Johns rallies, earns spot in finals

After losing his first match of the day, Ben Johns was in a situation he wasn’t quite used to. Well, for one, any time Johns has lost in previous tournaments, he hasn’t had any more commitments that day. It’s the way the PPA works. Lose and you’re done. Come back next...

After Starting Out with Wooden Paddles, Arizona Father and Son’s Love For Pickleball Now Includes Winning National Titles

By Stephen Hunt Red Line Editorial Before first picking up a paddle two years ago, Andre Mercado honestly didn’t know what to think when a family friend who is also a tennis pro suggested he give pickleball a shot. “I was like OK, fine,” Mercado recalled. His father,...

“It’s the Sport of Today and the Future”: How The Hype Guys Entered the Political Sphere 

When you imagine things ‘not going to plan’ in Las Vegas, you’re usually not thinking of anything good. It’s a good thing, then, that The Hype Guys aren’t your usual duo. After a summer spent creating their brand by exciting pickleball crowds around the country,...