What’s up, everybody? This is PickleWho,provider of good, bad news and pickleball news, which tend to be phenomenal. The good news is that today is Monday. The bad news is that my rent is due, which means I’ll be doing intermittent fasting against my will for the next 15 days.

And here’s the pickleball news:

• Meet the Pickleball Kingdom

• APP Vlasic Classic kicks off

• Are malls the future of pickleball courts?

Pickleball Kingdom, what is it?

Despite its name, it’s not a new Disneyland attraction. That’ll indeed happen in the next couple of months because the Mouse loves money, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Pickleball Kingdom is actually an indoor pickleball brand that wants to take over the country and, as part of their expansion plan, they’re opening 5 new franchises in Dallas. Each one will feature top-notch technology and equipment, professional coaching, tournaments, a hug, and unconditional love.

Sorry. I added the last two. I desperately need them.

Here comes the APP Vlasic Classic

The APP Vlasic Classic, –a tournament whose name seems to be the result of an unadmitted typo– kicked off today in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is APP’s fifth tournament of the year and it features more than 200 pro players. Though I cannot name every player in the event, I can tell you who are my favorites:

- On the Men’s Singles side, there’s no doubt the title will be between Hunter and Yates Johnson. The brothers are competing so hard that we cannot imagine how tense family dinners are ever since these two started playing pickleball.

- On Women’s Pro Singles, Salome Devidze –winner of the 2023 APP Mesa Open– returns to the field like a post-credit scene in a Marvel movie.

- On Men’s Doubles, if Andrei Daescu is competing –doesn’t matter who he’s partnering with–, you better place your bets on him.

- On Women’s Doubles, I’m pretty sure Parris Todd and Simone Jardim are here to get the bag, kick some butts, and send players back home.

Let’s see how it goes!

Malls: the future of pickleball courts

Malls are absurdly massive to walk, crowded, expensive and overall boring. And if I’m able to get the same stuff they offer from the internet, the next time you’ll see me at the mall will be on February 30th.

But what if malls are actually the future of pickleball? According to The Dink, the idea isn’t too far-fetched. Estimates say malls will contain up to one billion square feet of empty space within the next few years. That’s one billion New York apartments!

So I’m all for using empty malls as pickleball courts… If you leave me a space to move too.

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- 1000 days of pickleball lessons, part 9.