This is Pickleball

Save 10% on an Aireo Cyclone Paddle! Use code FABIAN10 Save 15% on an RPM Paddle! Use code FABIAN15 Rick is BACK in the studio, and we are skipping the fluff to answer the internet's most controversial pickleball questions! We dive deep into the forums to tackle the ultimate Reddit debate: Is dinking below a 4.0 level actually useless? Rick aggressively shuts down the "bang-everything" mentality,...

Links:  Buy an Aireo Cyclone: Save 10% using code FABIAN10 Buy an RPM Friction Pro: Save 15% using code FABIAN15 Think the pro pickleball lifestyle is all first-class flights, massive paddle contracts, and easy money? Think again. We sit down with the PPA Tour's ultimate giant-killer and Columbus Sliders singles specialist, Alex "AC Baby" Crum, to completely shatter the illusion of the pro tour. I...

Links:  Buy an Aireo Cyclone and save 10% with code FABIAN10 Buy an RPM Friction Pro or Q2 and save 15% with code FABIAN15 This week, host Fabian holds down the studio while Rick is out in full swing crushing tennis and pickleball lessons. Fabian sits down with the man of many names—PPA Tour World No. 6 singles phenom and St. Louis Shock weapon, John Lucian Goins. We unpack a wild, full-circle rea...

Use code FABIAN10 to SAVE 10% off the Aireo Cyclone!! In this episode Fabian sits down with Scarlett Chen and Matthias Kling, the visionary co-founders behind Aireo Sports, to break down the incredible internet hype and cutting-edge paddle technology behind the Aireo Cyclone—the exact paddle that just carried Fabian to his very first 3.5 gold medal. From a chance meeting on a flight from Paris to...

WE ARE DALLAS BOUND! ✈️🤠 Fabian won GOLD and officially punched his ticket to the PPA World Championships! In this episode, we are taking you inside the emotional roller coaster of our recent tournament run at the Greatest Spectacle Qualifier. Fabian kicks things off with a raw, completely honest recap of his first-ever singles bracket—where a brutal 0-5 run provided a massive reality check (and...

What actually makes a "good" partner? It isn't just a DUPR rating. In this episode, Rick Witsken and Fabian Rodriguez break down the intricate dance of pickleball partnerships. Rick shares his "Big Rick" philosophy on taking the middle, the importance of high EQ during timeouts, and why phrasing your suggestions as "we" instead of "you" can be the difference between a gold medal and a blowout. We...

In this episode, we sit down with Steve Hoy, a certified DUPR assessment coach at 3rd Shot Pickleball. Fabian opens up about his "Road to 4.0" which recently hit a massive speed bump—an 0-4 tournament finish that led to a literal identity crisis (and a fresh haircut). Rick provides a masterclass on player accountability, explaining why focusing on the process rather than the result is the only way...

Nico The Lefty is everywhere. In less than a year, he went from a corporate strategy role at Intuit to becoming one of the most recognizable (and polarizing) voices in the sport as the co-host of the Picklepod . But how did it happen so fast? In this episode, Fabian Rodriguez sits down with Nico to peel back the curtain on the "Nico The Lefty" persona. They dive deep into the business of being a c...

Welcome back to the studio! Rick and Fabian dive headfirst into the massive legal bombshell rocking the pickleball world: JOOLA has filed patent infringement lawsuits against 11 major brands. We break down the "Propulsion Core" controversy and discuss whether this is a move to protect innovation or an attempt to "buy the industry." From the merger of the NPL into the Championship Series Pickleball...

What happens when you combine three guys from Kansas City making "dumb videos" with three Yale grads crushing e-commerce? You get Friday Pickleball, the fastest-growing (and funniest) brand in the game. We sat down with Isaac and Scott from Friday Pickleball to go behind the scenes of their meteoric rise. The guys get transparent about the initial legal friction and tense first impressions that al...

In this episode, we dive deep into the most controversial news in the sport: the DUPR Reset. Is it a necessary validation tool for the "boots on the ground" players, or is it just a $35 money grab? Rick shares a personal horror story of how winning a gold medal actually caused his rating to tank and why he refuses to play another tournament without paddle testing. The guys also lay out the ultimat...

Are you plateauing because of your paddle, or because of your brain?  In this episode of This Is Pickleball, Rick Witsken and Fabian Rodriguez sit down with pro player, club owner, and former military linguist Susannah Barr to dive into the core of high performance: The Pickleball Grit Mindset. Susannah reveals her 77-day military-inspired blueprint designed to harden your mental game and eliminat...

Ever wonder what it takes to organize 7,000 players, 500 pros, and 56,000 fans in a single week? Welcome Inside the Biggest Pickleball Party in the World. In this episode, we sit down with Ben Weinberger, President and Tournament Director of the US Open Pickleball Championships. Ben reveals the staggering growth of the 10th-anniversary tournament, the "humbling" reality of turning away thousands o...

In this episode of This Is Pickleball we dive deep into the crossover between pro tennis and pro pickleball. Rick gives an exclusive "Uncle Rick" perspective on Ben Shelton's recent Australian Open run and discusses the tactical evolution of the world's best tennis players. But the real drama starts on the pickleball court, as Rick shares the "spite-fueled" story of winning the US Open with Scott...

In this episode, we sit down with the PPA's most synchronized force: Jackie and Jade Kawamoto. From their childhood in Maui to their Division 1 tennis days at the University of Dayton, the sisters share their unique path to the podium. Unlike many full-time pros, Jackie and Jade maintain careers at the NCAA, a "diversion" they claim keeps them mentally sharp and prevents the burnout seen in specia...

From the historic $10 million contract for Anna Leigh Waters to the emotional origin story of the Ripsken brand, this episode covers the entire spectrum of the sport. In this episode of This is Pickleball , Rick and Fabian break down the massive "Paddle Shuffle" of 2026—tracking the moves of Rachel Rohrabacher, Chris Haworth, and rumors about the Johnson siblings. Rick then opens up in a rare, vul...

From quitting his job as a Deloitte auditor to becoming the World #1 and inventing the most controversial serve in pickleball history, Zane Navratil is the ultimate disruptor. In this episode of This is Pickleball, Rick and Fabian sit down with the "Moneyball" king himself to discuss his wild journey, his new role as President of the UPA Pro Player Committee, and the explosive drama surrounding pl...

Kick off 2026 with a bang! In this special New Year's episode of This is Pickleball, Rick and Fabian dive headfirst into the chaotic world of "Paddle Wars." With contract negotiations exploding and pros switching brands left and right, the guys break down the biggest moves, rumors, and controversies shaking up the PPA . From the speculation surrounding Anna Leigh Waters leaving Paddletek (is Nike...

Brooke Buckner is proof that you can have it all—if you're willing to work harder than everyone else. A University of Michigan tennis legend and former D1 coach, Brooke traded the sidelines for the center court and quickly skyrocketed to the Top 5 in the world in singles. Fresh off an MLP Challenger Championship with the Las Vegas Night Owls and a Bronze at the World Championships, Brooke joins Ri...

Matt Manasse was born to coach. From the high-pressure courts of collegiate tennis to the glitz of the "Pickleball Coach to the Stars" moniker, Matt has a unique ability to bridge the gap between elite athletics and pure entertainment. A former high-performance tennis coach for stars like Shelby Rogers, Matt joins Rick to discuss his rapid ascent in the pickleball world—a journey that started with...

Jack Munro is a force of nature. Dominating the APP tour in 2025, he and his partner clinched seven gold medals, setting a new record for most consecutive wins in APP history. But his impact isn't just on the podium; he's one of the sport's biggest creators, reaching over 10 million people a month with game-changing content. Fresh off his historic run, Jack joins Rick to discuss his unique path: f...

Andrei Daescu was born to compete. From his early days in Bucharest, Romania, to a standout All-American tennis career at the University of Oklahoma and a pro run that saw him reach ATP #120 and represent his country in the Davis Cup, his athletic pedigree is elite. But after a shoulder injury cut his tennis career short, pickleball gave him a "second chance" to compete. Today, Andrei is one of th...