May 11, 2026
A 15-year-old, a line call, and the mental game
This week we covered a story that stopped a lot of people mid-scroll — a 15-year-old from Hawaii who just made the PPA Tour. We also got into the line call rules that cause more friction than almost anything else on the court, and the mental game that separates players who plateau from those who keep improving.
Who Is Tama Shimabukuro? The 15-Year-Old Who Just Changed the PPA Tour
Tama Shimabukuro, age 15, beat the #2 seed Federico Staksrud in three games as a #22 seed — a 20-position seeding gap that stands as one of the larger upsets in recent PPA Tour history.
Pickleball Line Call Rules: What to Do When You Disagree
USA Pickleball rules give calling authority only to the player on whose side the ball lands — the hitter, the net player on the other side, and your partner across the court have no standing to override that call.
Why Your Mind Loses More Points Than Your Paddle: The Mental Game of Pickleball Doubles
The gap between your current doubles game and a better one is more mental than technical — and every psychological skill in this article is learnable regardless of your current rating.
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