The Pickle Talk
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Murder. Suicide. Divorce. Pickleball.

Murder. Suicide. Divorce. Pickleball.

PLUS: Taylor Swift makes pickleball headlines + NYC makes pickleball a permanent attraction

Welcome back, picklers

Read time: ~5 min

Taylor Swift’s rule isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

And this week, she takes over the pickleball world with just one simple picture: her in a lilac skirt while holding a KC pickleball paddle. The NFL got there moment. It’s about time we got ours.

Ben Johns…slide into her DMs, will ya?

Now, on to the newsletter.

How to read The Pickle Talk:

First, don’t click any links just yet. Read it all the way through, and then send it to a friend you think might benefit too.
Next, come back and dive into the links that caught your eye.
Last, go play some pickleball and stir up conversations with your newfound knowledge.

Enjoy :)

TODAY’S BANGERS:

Pickle Talk: Murder. Suicide. Divorce. Pickleball
Bite-Size Pickle: Pickleball stays in NYC. Taylor Swift makes pickleball headlines. Teachme.to & Pickleheads partner.
Golden Pickle: Want to TWIN with Taylor Swift? Here’s the exact skort that has the Swiftie Nation going cray cray…

Let’s get into some... PICKLE TALK 🎙️

1/ Murder. Suicide. Divorce. Pickleball

I had a very alluring conversation with a good buddy of mine post-pickleball game today. He admitted to me that just a few months ago, before he and his wife started playing pickleball together, the two of them were on the verge of divorce…

A huge, nasty divorce that’d result in spending thousands on divorce lawyers and creating a traumatic experience for their adolescent kids.

To my surprise, he admitted to me that if it wasn’t for an out-of-the-blue pickleball/bbq invite a few months ago from friends, the divorce would’ve gone through. In short, he credits pickleball to saving his marriage.

Cool story, huh? Well, this got me thinking: How else has pickleball quitely saved people from the misery of their own lives?

Sooo..I reached out to you guys and WOW. I got a good number of responses. So this week, I’m happy to share a couple of them with you all, anonymously, of course.

PSA: These stories highlight murder and suicide and should not be taken lightly.

👨🏽 Tragically, I couple of my family members were murdered during a home robbery a few months ago and to say the least, it tore our family apart even more than it already was. If you’ve ever experienced loss, the endless amounts of pain and efforts taken to make sense of such violence can drive anyone crazy. It wasn’t until a few months after the incident did the family get together for the yearly family reunion did we discover pickleball.

Long story short, the sport was what brought our family together and for the first time in a long time, we laughed. We were able to take a break from our grief and remember our loved ones without the poison death. It’s still hard for all of us, but at the least, we can say that the family is stronger than ever and we can only pray that our loved ones are looking down on us while we dink!

👩🏼‍🦰 If you were to ask me just a year ago, I’d tell you that Death was knocking viciously at my front door. And, I was very close to welcoming him into my pittiful, lonely life to take over.

Unlucky for Death, a saviour by the name of Mr. Pickleball saw Death on my Ring camera and shooed him away, sweeping me onto the bright pickleball courts near my house.

Was Mr. Pickleball God? In that moment, I’d say so. And if it were up to my imagination, those lovely people who welcomed me were His angels.

In all seriousness, pickleball brought purpose and community back into my life. This is just my way of expressing a dark time in my life in a lighthearted way.

To Death: Stay in the kitchen.

To Mr. Pickleball: Hand me another paddle, would ya?

BITE-SIZE PICKLES

1/ ➜ Happenings: New Yorkers are in love with pickleball, and the city is making it a permanent addition. Central Park is embracing the ongoing popularity of pickleball with the return of its 14-court installation by CityPickle at Wollman Rink, opening officially on May 1. Following a successful run in 2023 with 56,000 participants, these courts are now a permanent fixture, even staying hidden under the ice during the skating season.

CityPickle aims to make pickleball accessible, offering 182 hours of daily play and diverse programs like group clinics and leagues, along with food and drink options. Special amenities such as cabanas and a VIP Players Lounge cater to those seeking exclusive experiences.

Trip to NYC anyone? 🥹

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2/ ➜ Happenings: It makes so much sense.TeachMe.To and Pickleheads have teamed up to offer pickleball coaching services across North America accessible to ANYONE and EVERYONE.

This partnership allows Pickleheads users to book in-person pickleball lessons with local TeachMe.To instructors, while TeachMe.To visitors can find local courts and groups through Pickleheads. Coaches joining TeachMe.To will be prominently featured on the Pickleheads website and app, enhancing visibility for players seeking lessons. Together, they aim to make pickleball coaching and court access more accessible and enjoyable for players of all ages and skill levels.

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3/ ➜ Happenings: Taylor Swift had quite the week. Her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” has become the first album in Spotify history to exceed 200 million streams in a single day.

Her lead single, “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone, has fueled a viral TikTok challenge spearheaded by Swift herself. Notably, she showcased her pickleball skills in a lavender pirouette skirt from Popflex, which has seen a surge in popularity due to the “Fortnight” challenge, causing the lavender color to sell out.

Thanks to Swift, Popflex, founded by YouTuber Cassey Ho, is now accepting limited pre-orders with shipments planned for July, expressing excitement over the attention on Instagram, calling it their "wildest dreams come true."