Hi

Sorry about the delay. I caught a fever yesterday and spent all day in bed drinking tea. But I’m back…

…and there are only 46 days left until ThatPickleballSchool launches on October 1st. 

It’s going to be here very soon! If you haven’t already, take the pickleball IQ test to see how well you really know the game 😳

Today’s ThatPickleballSchool Newsletter includes just one thing :

1. Kansas City Recap, aka That Pickleball Movie

FULL CIRCLE: A PICKLEBALL STORY

Last weekend at the PPA Tour KC event, I experienced what has been, without a doubt, the most emotional win of my career.

Christa Gecheva and I, the #53 seed, found ourselves facing Matt Wright and Lucy Kovalova, currently ranked 11th in Mixed Doubles on the PPA Tour.

To say that Matt and Lucy are a powerhouse team would be an understatement. I’ve watched them dominate center court over the last few years more times than I can count.

Also, in case you’ve never heard of Matt Wright – he’s developed a reputation of trying to get in his opponent’s heads with aggressive trash talking.

Now, before diving into the details of our match, let me take you back to a moment that set the stage for what would become a full-circle experience.

I know it’s a bit dramatic, but it played out kind of like a movie.

And like many great sports movies, it begins with a flashback…

🎶 CUE THE CINEMATIC MUSIC 🎶

January 2024: The Flashback

In January, my friend Augie Ge (by the way, you should remember this name because he is quickly becoming a top-10 player in the world) made a huge run in mixed doubles, where he met Matt Wright in the quarterfinal on center court. Our Phoenix crew was there in full force, cheering for our guy!

Matt Wright was in full form, playing aggressively with his typical intensity.

After Augie & Tyra won game one, Matt switched into full trash-talk mode. One of my friends wasn’t a fan of Matt’s approach, so he started kindly mentioning Matt’s missed dinks rather loudly.😂

After Matt heard my buddy, he glared over at our section, making direct eye contact with me, and said:

“Oh no, not the internet guy with 40 followers talking trash.”

Which was a bit disrespectful because, without a doubt — I had at least 50 followers at the time. 🙂 

The trash talk between my buddy and Matt continued throughout the match, with Matt still convinced it was coming from me.

In the end, Augie and Tyra came out on top and sent Matt packing.

END FLASHBACK - CUT TO ACT ONE

The Match: Fast Forward to The Night Before Gametime.

When I woke up Saturday Morning (after going 2-0 in the Pro Qualifiers on Wednesday) and saw who we were playing, I smiled.

It was a full-circle moment to draw Matt in the first round of this tournament. And it just so happened that my friend—the one who had actually been talking trash during Augie’s match—would be watching from the stands.

I have to admit, I was nervous. Matt and Lucy are a great team, and I was eager to see how I’d handle the inevitable on-court trash talk.

GAME ONE

If you’ve ever been interested to see what it looks like for “bangers” to dominate another team at the pro level, look no further than game one of this match.

It ended in what seemed like 5 minutes.

Simply put, Lucy and Matt overpowered us. We struggled with short returns and couldn’t get our fourth shots on the ground. I sent a few long, Christa made some errors, and we found ourselves sped up in a game where we needed to slow things down.

We lost game one 11-3.

The Turnaround: Game Two

Christa and I sat on the bench during the break and talked about our strategy.

We were not going down without a fight. Losing the second game the same way we lost game one was NOT going to happen.

We decided to focus on three things (this is the point of the movie where the coach gives a passionate speech in the locker room – only there is no locker room in pickleball 😁):

1. Hit better returns

2. Get our fourth shot on the ground

3. Slow the game WAY down

And that’s exactly what we did. Now, for anyone reading this who’s struggling to play against hard-hitting players, this match is about as perfect an example to watch.

In game one, we didn’t handle their pace well. But here in game 2, it all started with those returns and 4th shots. And when we improved those, the entire match changed.

We played slower, longer points and didn’t beat ourselves. As the game progressed, we found ourselves at 10-8-1, game point.

As we walked back to the baseline before serving for game point, I turned to Christa and said…

“Play the same type of point that got us here & take the best available attack.”

We served, worked our way to the kitchen, and in one the most disciplined rallies I’ve ever seen, Christa dinked cross-court with Lucy for what felt like an hour before catching Matt out of position.

See the entire point starting at 24:58.

She hit an Erne to take game two.

I was so damn proud of her in that moment. 

CUT TO ACT TWO

The Decider: Game Three

After that, we felt energized and ready to win this entire match. There was a massive shift in our mindset between games one and two. It felt like a huge moment for us, but we didn’t feel overwhelmed.

It felt like our moment.

As we prepared for game three, we knew what we needed to do:

1. Continue playing the same slow, controlled style

2. Avoid off-the-bounce speed-ups and stick to our strengths, which were out-of-the-air attacks

Pause.

Here’s a quick lesson for you on “why” we wanted to avoid off-the-bounce speed-ups against these two (which I think is a great lesson for all of us).

Christa doesn’t yet have a strong forehand off-the-bounce attack, and with Matt in front of her—who has some of the best counters in the game—speeding it up would be a low-percentage play.

On my side, I also don’t yet have a strong off-the-bounce backhand offense from the wing.

So, starting in game two, we focused on identifying our best attacking opportunities and committed to staying disciplined with what we knew would work.

Simply put, we played to our strengths and strategically managed our weaknesses (something we preach at ThatPickleballSchool constantly).

Back to the match…

We took a 6-2 lead at the switch, executing our game plan extremely well. But after the switch, they fought back.

There are two moments I’d like you to watch in the video:

#1 - A questionable outcall by Matt (around 39:20) that had me starting to boil over.

#2 - A tough foot fault call by the ref (around 47:05) - Truth be told, in real-time, it looks like a foot fault. If you slow it down, you’ll see my left foot is on the ground during contact, and my shoe squeezed, which is further proof of me dragging my foot. BUT…

After these two incidents, I was still heated. 😡

🎶 CUE INTENSE MUSIC 🎶

This is important to note because anger while playing is an interesting thing.

For some, it can lead to two or three really bad decisions in the upcoming points. However, if that anger is bottled up and directed in the right way, it can be an extremely valuable resource to fuel your play.

Now – in the past, these two moments happening so close together may have destroyed my game. And they’d have been a good “excuse” if I ended up losing because I could easily just blame those moments.

But I’ve worked really hard to get out of that mindset.

For me, those two moments built an anger inside me that flipped a switch in my brain.

After the match, my buddy Zach told me the foot fault call was the best thing that could have happened. And I agree with him because what happened next was one of the most memorable moments of my entire career.

CUT TO ACT THREE

The Comeback

Down 6-10-1 (starting at 48:30 of the video), I turned to Christa and said, “I’m taking over this 🤬 match.”

🎶 MUSIC CRESCENDOS 🎶

Everything went quiet. I was in the zone.

Then we went on to lose that rally. 🤦‍♂️ 😂 

But I was still locked in.

At 6-10-2, I drove the 3rd shot, and we ended up getting caught on the defensive.

As Matt went to hit an overhead, I just stuck my paddle out in full-out survival mode. I was able to get the lob over to Matt's non-dominant shoulder, so his overhead was weak.

That allowed me to hit a drive from the baseline and get back toward the kitchen line. Then Matt went for an inside-out forehand, which he missed high, and I was able to backhand punch up the line for a winner.

“LET’S GOOO!!!!!!!!!” I yelled.

7-10-2

After that yell, I found myself even deeper in the zone.

I serve the ball, and it’s returned near the middle, lower than usual, as I go to hit the 3rd shot drive. The ball clips off the tape, Lucy pops it up — and I charge in to hit an overhead.

Boom. Point.

8-10-2

“LET’S GO,” I yell again before Matt and Lucy call a timeout.

GOOD.

I don’t grab water here. I don’t want to look or talk to anyone. I stay near the back fence, preparing for Matt and Lucy to come back on the court.

I’m pretty sure if you saw me in that moment, I looked like a tiger pacing in a cage, waiting for his food.

🐅

If you watch the video at 50:49, you see me looking across the net. I vividly remember this moment and knowing, “We’re not losing this match.”

I step up and serve Matt out wide. He hits a short return, and I go into attack mode, hitting a 3rd shot drive. His fourth goes into the net.

“LET’S GO. RIGHT NOW.”

9-10-2

Christa and I work our way to the kitchen line before Lucy launches an ill-advised inside-out backhand attack that sails 2 feet wide.

10-10-2

We’ve closed the gap, and now we just have to close out the match.

On the next rally, we struggle to get into the kitchen. And Matt hits an inside-out winner, barking at us right after he did it.

It’s okay, though. It was an EPIC run to tie it back up.

Matt and Lucy go up 11-10 – another chance for them to win the match. We earn a side out and get the ball back.

We tie it up at 11-11 before giving the ball back to them.

At 11-11-1 (we’re returning), Christa hit one of the most brilliant shots I’ve ever seen on a pickleball Court. If you watch nothing else, go check out the shot she hits at 55:29.

Unreal. 🤯

And on the next rally, we get a stop and earn the side out.

It’s our serve at 11-11-1.

I serve the ball and go to hit the drop when a ball rolls on from the nearby court. This ended up being good for us because on the next serve, I got a return I could be more aggressive on. I went into shake-n-bake mode on my own ball. BOOM, BOOM.

12-11-1 – Match point. 

We work our way to the kitchen. Christa resets 4 balls before we make it there. Then, Christa dinks one ball before Lucy speeds up at me.

Which was a bad decision against these hands (😂), and she missed her next ball into the net.

Game. Set. Match.

We WON!

In that instant, I dropped my paddle and hugged Christa. You can see this moment at the end of the video.

It still gives me chills when I see it.

My dad came over to us with tears in his eyes. Shoot, Christa, and I started to tear up as well. Then my mom came over, and she was crying.

It was such a special moment to share with my family.

Something I’ll remember forever.

ROLL CREDITS - END FILM

Closing Thoughts

Last week, I talked about being inspired by Olympic athletes and striving to create special moments.

This was one of those moments for me.

We battled through three tough games against a great team.

My family was there, my friends from Phoenix were cheering us on, and Christa—who had never beaten Lucy before—played with a level of poise and confidence that made me incredibly proud.

Wins like this help further validate what I already believe about myself. I can play against (and beat) the best players in the world.

It was a breakthrough, not just in skill, but in mindset.

And it’s a moment I’ll carry with me as I continue to push the limits of what I can achieve on the court.

If you’ve made it this far in the story - know that I appreciate YOU so much. And I want to leave you with this…

This is NOT just my story.

It’s a reminder to each of us – regardless of the level you play at – that we are all on a journey to become someone greater than we currently are.

It’s a reminder that if you commit to doing intentional work over a long enough period of time, you, too, will experience your own special moments on the court.

This is why I constantly obsess about how to make more helpful content for you.

It’s because I want you to experience more moments worth celebrating.

And I want you to be proud of yourself.

This journey – OUR journey – is only getting started. Thank you for coming along for the ride.

Until next week,

Kyle

PS: I’ll be in Salt Lake City, Utah, next week for another tournament and a clinic on Thursday. If you’ll be around and are interested in coming, you can find the details and sign up!