FORGIVE ME I'M BACK

Heyyyy besties … I’m so sorry for my absence! We have a lot to catch up on! It’s so sweet that I received so many messages about what was going on with my newsletter, you guys are way too nice and flatter me! The Twitter callouts in particular were hilarious… (@Jake I’m talking mostly to you), but I’m really going to make a point to get more consistent with this and the other things I do. You guys deserve it!!! ❤

Basically, I got bad writer’s block. I wanted to write about the match versus Anna Leigh and Jorja in Michigan… why we did it, my thoughts on people hating on it, my thoughts on how that would develop, but then I decided I simply couldn’t do that because I didn’t want to give up too much information or provide the Clowns with bulletin board material😂. And then, since I couldn’t write about what I wanted to write about, I found it largely impossible to write about anything else LOL. Of course, I could have, but basically that’s what happened.

I won’t share too many strategic thoughts on the matchup, but I will say that the response to that match was hilarious to me. I won’t lie, my feelings were hurt when I shared my dreambreaker idea and I got flamed for it on Reddit. It was just a couple of idiots who were trolling (I hope they aren’t actually as stupid as they seemed), but it made me realize that I’ve developed a thick skin for anyone coming at me for my play, persona, or professional production; but go after or misrepresent an idea or insult my intelligence and I do not like it.

All of that to say, people going after me for icing out Anna Leigh DID NOT bother me at all😂😂😂. That is entirely a play/persona thing HAHA. A lot of people were commenting some ridiculous things on my various platforms… like that I was admitting she’s better than me, admitting I was scared of her, or even admitting I can’t beat her straight up, and it’s like… yes? Gold star for observation skills!

At the same time though, winning that single game to 11 is far from a crowning achievement in my career. It’s one game to 11, we deliberately iced Anna Leigh, and it’s not even the playoffs. Someone from a major news outlet wanted to interview me about the match and have me discuss its applications to life (???) on and off court, and I declined. First of all - bulletin board material, second of all - just not that big of a deal. The playoffs are around the corner, and that is where winning matters.

Federico has long been the funniest person in pickleball (he is the rare combination of being both incredibly intentionally and unintentionally funny- case in point “give my grain of salt” in the below video😂😂😂), so being able to legitimately call him a clown is only fitting🤡. A lot of people have asked me my thoughts on this trade, so let’s get into it!

From Orlando’s perspective, this trade does not make sense to me at all. I assume they got the maximum dollar amount for it ($400K), but giving up your best man AND woman (Milan Rane), and not receiving either of the 5s very good men is bizarre to me. Good work by Ryan Harwood. Even if Federico wanted to be traded, they do not have to let him go. They are such an invested ownership group, and it’s extra strange to me that they would choose to do this right before their home event. You can’t help but feel a bit bad for Squeeze fans who were looking forward to cheering for their original squad - even if they were never going to win the event, they were a team no one wanted to play.

All that being said, as a competitor, I am actually glad that the 5s did not give up either Will or Noé to Orlando. Now, instead of one of them feeling like the 5s ownership didn’t believe in them as they wear a Squeeze uniform, they both feel the pressure of being unsure of who the 5s think is their #2 guy. Will and Noé split time in their match yesterday, and in their first match today, it is Noé who gets the nod to play both events. It has been a ton of pressure all season for these men as they’ve had an absolute magnifying glass on them, and playing with Anna Leigh and Jorja is not easy. But now, anytime they lose, there will also be thoughts of losing their spot. I think it will be a very interesting dynamic.

This video from Noé’s wife Jen encapsulates the situation quite well😂.

The playoff race is both contentious and complicated at the moment, and I will leave the discussion of all the various possibilities and outcomes to the true nerds of the pickleball world- I write based on vibes. I understand that the match between the Chicago Slice and the CA Black Bears is hugely consequential for those two squads, and I’m very excited for that one.

I don’t honestly watch that much MLP when I’m not playing, but I’ve watched the Slice more than any other team. I literally react and emote when I watch Elsie play, and I am really so proud of her for all the success she is having. Her and Jamie look like they are having so much fun in women’s, and the Slice in general are just a really easy squad to root for. I hope they win their match against the Bears and qualify for the playoffs, but the Bears are tough and another gritty team that makes you earn it all the way through. Zoey Weil’s move to the right has been huge, and I think she is very well-suited to play there alongside Sahra.

Both of these teams likely feel as if they should have beaten the Royals yesterday, and they’re probably both right. Elsie and Jamie’s win in particular was HUGE, and the rest of the league is glad they have finally snapped Sofia and Tina’s “undefeated” record.

I find it funny that the “undefeated” rhetoric has been used so widely internally (I am inferring this based on Sofia’s instagram captions that say “undefeated”) that whatever intern runs the social media accounts actually thought it was true. As a competitor, it’s always good when your competition loses some confidence. Nothing personal, but Jamie and Elsie’s win definitely makes the Tina/Sofia pairing look more human.

The last interesting thing to discuss so far from this event is LA’s acquisition of Connor Garnett. I feel it’s a pretty lateral move in mixed (I think Connor and Max are pretty comparable) except for the fact that it gets Catherine on the right in mixed, which is where all top women would rather be. Playing the left is just soooo uncomfortable in mixed for most of us who haven’t done it much. I found this tweet from Nico quite funny, and it’s probably also quite true. Can’t wait for the 5s v Drops match!!!

That’s all for this edition folks! I’ll be back next week (: If you want to see a bit of what I’ve been up to in my time between the mid-season tournament and this event, you can watch my latest vlog!

I’ll see everyone from PickleballTV, if I wave at the camera, it was definitely to you😉

XOXO, your internet bestie, Anna🫦✨❤️