Austin Pickleball Update - Volume 20

August 15, 2024

Hello, and welcome to Austin Pickleball Update - Volume 20!

In this issue of Austin Pickleball Update, we celebrate APU Volume 20, cover the latest from Austin’s local pro team the Texas Ranchers, update you on the latest community news, and (as always) feature a huge tournament and event update!

In this issue of APU:

  • Austin Pickleball Update Celebrates 20 Volumes

  • Texas Ranchers Roundup - Midway to Playoffs

  • Community News

  • Tournaments, leagues, and community clinics & events

  • Austin Pickleball Update social groups

If you’re looking for places to play pickleball in Austin, check out our Austin Pickleball Courts and Clubs page here. 

Let’s dink on in!

Austin Pickleball Update Celebrates 20 Volumes

We are excited and grateful to send you today’s newsletter, Austin Pickleball Update Volume 20!

As we stated in APU Volume 10, our goal is to create value for the Austin pickleball community, and bring that value to Austin pickleballers in a simple, easy to digest format. 

We had an idea that, like us, there were other pickleball players in Austin who were seeking information around where to play, how to play, and wanting to know about upcoming pickleball tournaments, events, and clinics in Austin. 

APU's first ever paddle demo event at SARC in December 2023

After 20 Volumes, the Austin Pickleball Update community has grown to over 2,600 members, continuing to exceed our expectations in terms of engagement, growth, and love.

As part of newsletter 20, we’re highlighting a few of our favorite volume of APU to date:

  • Check out where it all started with APU Volume 1. This edition featured 3 tournaments and our first court review for Dick Nichols Park. 

  • APU Volume 3 featured a court review for one of Austin’s biggest pickleball hotspots, South Austin Rec Center (SARC), as well as our first community news section. 

  • In APU Volume 5, we first chronicled Austin’s professional pickleball teams, The Texas Ranchers and the Austin Pickleballers (RIP). 

  • APU Volume 7 featured a court review for another Austin pickleball hot spot, Pan Am Park, as well as our first Tournament of the Week.

  • For our 10th volume, we recapped the Austin PPA Tour stop in Austin, as well as expanded the number of tournaments we covered. 

  • In APU Volume 11, we reviewed one of our favorite pickleball training tools, The Dink Master, covered the Texas Ranchers MLP draft, and started sharing information about local leagues.

  • APU Volume 12 included one of our favorite features to date, an interview with professional player and Austin local Zane Navratil. 

  • APU Volume 14 debuted of one of our favorite newsletter sections, the Texas Ranchers Roundup. 

  • Another favorite feature of ours can be found in APU Volume 15, where we spoke with Real Clear Stats and went deep into the world of professional pickleball statistics.

  • APU Volume 17 showcased a new layout for our tournaments, leagues, clinics, and events section.

While our format and content have evolved, we remain committed to our goal and intention of being your premiere source for pickleball courts, clubs, tournaments, events, and news in Austin, Texas. 

To all of our readers, whether you’ve been here since the beginning or have only recently joined, we are grateful for your support, comments, feedback, and love. 

Thank you for supporting Austin Pickleball Update!

Thank you for being a part of the Austin Pickleball Update journey! We’re excited to continue bringing you the very best of pickleball in Austin.

Tournaments of the Week

Liveball Mixed Doubles Moneyball Tournament

Liveball TX is hosting a Mix Doubles Moneyball Tournament on August 21 at Lost Pine Pickleball Club.  The tourney features three different divisions all with cash prizes, and guarantees at least 4 games to 11 for the $45 entry fee. 

Dink for Pink - Tourney for Robin Altson

Dink for Pink takes place this weekend at Dittmar Rec Center on August 17th and 18th. This two day, round-robin tourney still has a few spots available for the 4.0+ Mixed Doubles bracket on Saturday. Tickets run $50, and all proceeds from this tourney support local community member and pickleball player Robin Altson, who is currently battling a rare form of breast cancer. Please also consider donating to Robin’s Meal Train if you are able to.

Capital City Pickleball Doubles Social Tournament

Capital City Pickleball is hosting their CCP Doubles Social Tourney on Sunday, August 25. The $35 entry fee gets you access to beginner, intermediate, or advanced divisions with a round-robin format. Winning games results in raffle tickets for prize drawings, including a brand new, surprise paddle.  

Texas Ranchers Roundup - Midway to Playoffs

We have officially reached the halfway point of the 2024 MLP season!

While the league got off to a rocky start due to the merger with the PPA Tour, the MLP season now enters the second half with four events completed and four events remaining prior to playoffs. 

The Ranchers Tina Pisnik is a pro in every sense of the word

The Ranchers had a solid outing at MLP Kansas City on August 3-5, finishing with two wins and one loss. Here is the full match recap from the weekend:

  • Won 3-1 against AZ Drive

  • Won 2-1 against the Columbus Sliders

  • Lost 1-3 against D.C. Pickleball Club

The Ranchers currently sit in third place with 35 points, two points behind second place Dallas Flash Pickleball (37 points) and 3 points behind first place the STL Shock (38 points).

The Ranchers are 11 points ahead of the fourth place NY Hustlers (24 points), so the team is in a fantastic position to make a run for the playoffs.

Three points out of first!

The Texas Ranchers have a BYE for the next two MLP events, MLP New York (9/19-9/22) and MLP Virginia Beach (9/26-9/29), and will pick up their paddles again for MLP Las Vegas from October 14-16. 

Interested in hanging with the Texas Ranchers during their time off? Check out the Austin Summer Slam by Texas Ranchers X Zero Zero Fun tournament at Lost Pines Pickleball on September 1. The winning premiere team will have the opportunity to play against Ranchers players in an exhibition match. 

Win the tourney, play the Ranchers

Stay tuned to Austin Pickleball Update for the latest news and information about Austin’s professional pickleball team, the Texas Ranchers!

Become a Dink Master with The Dink Master

Did you know that 15 minutes of wall drilling is roughly equivalent to the amount of touches you would get in 2-3 hours of doubles play?

More touches = more improvement

The Dink Master is the #1 training aid in pickleball, designed to help you practice your dinks, volleys, and shot accuracy. With the Dink Master, you can control what types of shots you work on while getting in thousands more reps when compared to a normal game. The Dink Master helps you improve your coordination, muscle memory, and overall gameplay on your own time. Use code “APU” when ordering your Dink Master today for 30% off and free shipping. 

Read our full review of The Dink Master in APU Volume 11. 

Community News

Pickleland’s Grand Opening Delayed Again

Pickleland, located at 21427 Martin Ln in Pflugerville, has pushed back the opening of their club an additional week to Friday, August 23.

Per their newsletter, the shift was due to their final inspection date being moved back. While the delay is a definitely a bummer, we look forward to Pickleland joining the Austin pickleball scene soon.

Longhorn Pickleball Competitive Team Tryouts

Do you know a UT student interested in playing pickleball in one of the best college pickleball programs in the country, not to mention being teammates with Major League Pickleball pro Jack Munro?

Hook 'em!

Longhorn Pickleball is hosting competitive team tryouts on Tuesday, August 27 from 7:30-9:30pm at Urban Pickleball Club downtown. Interested parties must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours at UT.

Paddle Discount Codes - APU

Code APU saves you $$$

Use code “APU” and get a 10% discount on all paddles and gear purchased from CRBN and Six Zero. This includes the CRBN 1x, 2x, and 3x paddles and the Six Zero Ruby, Double Black Diamond, and Quartz paddles.

Upcoming Tournaments, Leagues, Clinics, and Community Events

Local Clinics & Events

Communities

Clubs

Coaches

Misc

Austin Pickleball Leagues

Austin Area Pickleball Tournaments

August

September

October

November

January

Austin Pickleball Update Social Groups

Follow Austin Pickleball Update on Instagram for pickleball content and local news and follow our Facebook group to learn about upcoming events.

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Share Austin Pickleball Update

Share this newsletter with your Austin pickleball friends so that they stay up to date around everything pickleball in Austin! 

If you’re looking for places to play pickleball in Austin, check out our Austin Pickleball Courts and Clubs page here. 

Previous volumes of Austin Pickleball Update:

If you have any Austin pickleball news, tips, or topics that we should cover or may have missed, reach out and let us know! We're always grateful to hear from our readers.

Look out for Austin Pickleball Update - Volume 21 on Thursday, August 29, 2024!

See you on the courts!✌️