Welcome to the Golden Gate Pickleball Newsletter. Within its digital pages you will find information about upcoming events, results of past events, and a little bit of entertainment, too.

GGP's mission is to facilitate the growth of pickleball in the San Francisco Bay Area. We offer organized recreational and competitive play for the enjoyment, health, and social engagement of all players in a collegial and sportsman-like environment. We are also working to expand facilities and programs to meet the growing needs of our pickleball community.

We are an all volunteer organization. Ninety-five percent of your donations will go directly to program and community activities.

You may donate here: https://www.goldengatepickleball.org/donate

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What to look forward to in 2025

Golden Gate Pickleball Honor Board!

Are you a member of the Golden Gate Pickleball Foundation and a tournament warrior? Then we want to see your victories! We’re creating the Golden Gate Pickleball Tournament Honor Board, and we need YOU to be a part of it! Whether you’re taking home gold, silver, or bronze, we want to celebrate every hard-fought win.

🎉 What’s in it for you? At the end of the year, we’ll host a Gala Celebration to honor all our dedicated tournament players. There will be medals, memories, and maybe even some wild dance moves (because who doesn't love a good party?). Don’t miss out!

📸 How to participate:

Snap a pic of your tournament medals.
Send it to us at ggp.huyle@gmail.com.

We’ll proudly display your accomplishments on the Honor Board and celebrate your achievements at the Gala. So, get out there, play hard, and don’t forget to send us your victories—because no one is ever too humble for some pickleball bragging!

UPCOMING EVENTS

GGP X FCPC SUPR DUPR MIXR

GGP MEMBERS Golden Gate Pickleball and the Foster City Pickleball Club are co-hosting a SUPR DUPR MIXR, FREE for GGP members, on February 22nd!

Sign up for our DUPR round-robin at the Foster City Pickleball Courts, where you'll play competitive matches with and against FCPC members (rotating partners).

BRACKETS: 3.5 and under, 3.5 - 3.999, 4.0+

Spots are limited, so sign up soon!

The Golden Gate Pickleball Spring Showdown Tournament!

We need volunteers and referees to help make this event a success! Join the GGP family and be part of an exciting tournament. Whether you're experienced or new to helping at events, your support is invaluable. Please contact tanya @ ggp.tanyaslesnick@gmail.com or Shelly @ ggp.shellythomas@gmail.com.

SPECIAL NEWSLETTER-READER DISCOUNT – GET $20 OFF YOUR REGISTRATION FEE by using discount code FNL2025. This offer is good through February 19, 2025.

Sign up today and be part of the action!

📅 Date: April 25, - April 27, 2025

📍 Location: Willow Pass, Concord, CA🕘 Start Time: 8:00 am

Tournament Format

Open Division: Got the skills to catch the gold? Players must have a DUPR rating of 4.0 or higher to compete in this division. The format will be double elimination and there will be cash prizes (for this division only), as follows:

For Mens Doubles OPEN, Women's Doubles OPEN, Mixed Doubles OPEN with 8+ teams registered:

Gold prize = $500/player
Silver prize = $250/player
Bronze prize = $100/player

If only 4-7 teams are registered, the cash prizes are:

Gold $250/player
Silver $125/player
Bronze $50/player

If there are fewer than 4 teams registered, there will be no cash prizes.

All Other Divisions: Dive into our Round Robin format, where everyone gets their fair share of games and fun! And we will have some fun prizes for the winners.

Event Dates:

Friday April 25, 2025 Senior gender doubles, Singles
Saturday April 26, 2025 – Mixed doubles
Sunday April 27, 2025 Gender doubles, Senior singles

Note: dates may change based on registration.

Register now—because the Gold waits for no one!

ON GOING ACTIVITIES

Drill and Play

Morning Drill and Play

Huy is back!! Look for Playtime Scheduler sign-up. As soon as the weather clears up be prepared to drill and put that drilling to purpose.

Help Support Drill and Play

We need everyone’s support to keep Drill and Play going. A small monthly donation will keep everyone on the courts and playing.

Your monthly donation directly funds instructor fees, ensuring that anyone—no matter their background—can learn and love pickleball for free.

👉 Make a difference today CLICK HERE to donate.

Together, we can grow the game and keep our community thriving. Thank you for being a part of this journey!

Women’s Drill and Play

GGP offers a free all-female Drill and Play on Wednesdays from 12:30 to 2:00. The skill level is 2.75-3.25, and Lisa Shaw leads the sessions. We are doing round robins, with strategic lessons as we go.

Challenge Court

The Challenge Court continues at Louis Sutter on Saturday mornings at 8:00 am. GGP provides donuts, coffee, and other snacks on the last Saturday of the month. Join the coffee klatch. Be there or be square!

Paddle Tales

Pickleball Ritual or Tic?

by Twila Slesnick

Actually, I really really hate to use tennis superstar Rafael Nadal’s pre-serve routine as an example of how to improve your pickleball game. But here goes.

In case, you are unfamiliar with either Nadal or his game, all you need to know is that before each and every serve, Nadal pulls an imaginary wedgie from his bum, plucks at the right shoulder of his shirt and then the left, tucks an imaginary stray hair behind each ear, wipes the top of his nose, and…well, I’ve lost track of the rest.

In the pro pickleball world, there is one woman whose routine is almost as complex (touch left shoulder, right hip, right shoulder, left hip, cross right ankle over left, drag right foot back around and tap it on the ground behind the left heel). I can’t help but think it’s almost as difficult to remember the routine as it is to perform it.

Elaborate routines like Nadal’s sometimes lead to murmurings about OCD behavior. More often, though, you will hear grumblings about “icing” – delaying the start of your serve to unnerve your opponent. I watched a highly anticipated gold medal match between the reigning pickleball world champ and an upstart tennis-pro-turned-pickleball-pro. When it came time for the upstart to serve, she sauntered to the fence behind her baseline with her back to her opponent (and the ref). I thought, oh no, she’s leaving! Poor thing is panicked! But she stood at the fence for just a moment and then turned around, marched up to the service line and served. Then she repeated the entire act before every serve.

Pickleball does have some safeguards against icing. Once the referee calls the score, the server has ten seconds to serve, so if your routine takes longer than ten seconds, you’d better start early.

Most rituals are simple, though, and don’t come close to running out the ten-second clock. For example, it might be as simple as tapping a thigh with the paddle, or bouncing the ball between the legs or twice off the head of the paddle. Noting that most pro players have some kind of schtick, I wondered if this was the secret sauce I’m (still) missing -- something that will help me serve more consistently and maybe calm my nerves when I’m facing the Nadal of pickleball.

If you ask any of the pros why they perform those weird machinations, most won’t admit to being superstitious. Instead, they claim that a ritual can help in these ways:

It brings your focus to the task at hand.

It engages your muscle memory (which you fervently hope will stay with you throughout the match).

It prevents you from rushing your serve, which can lead to inconsistency.

And perhaps most important, it can help calm your nerves.

Warning: A ritual that you haven’t mastered is likely to have the opposite effect. If your routine is to bounce the ball between your legs, but the ball keeps hitting your ankle bone and shooting off toward the sideline while you scramble after it hoping to be able to corral the ball and serve before your ten seconds are up, well…that could be pretty stressful.

With all this in mind, I have chosen my ritual. I’m going to hold the ball squarely in my hand and tap the paddle twice before serving. And I’m going to try very hard not to drop the ball between tap one and tap two.

Tournament Tips from a Senior Pro

by Jonas Satuito

Perhaps you have heard that Pickleball is a game of errors. What does that mean? At any level, the winner isn’t the team that hits the most winners, it’s the team that makes the fewest errors. Even at the Senior pro level, it’s not about hitting the most spectacular shots—it’s about making fewer mistakes. The difference between winning and losing often comes down to consistency, composure, and smart decision-making.

After every tournament, I take time to reflect—not just on what worked, but on what didn’t. In a recent MLP gold medal match, my team lost a dreambreaker 15-13. We had chances. Leading 19-17 in mixed doubles, we could have closed it out but ended up losing 21-20. We fought back to force the dreambreaker, even tied it at 13-13, but came up just short.

What was the difference? Consistency.

Our opponents hardly missed—no free points, steady defense, and smart shot selection. When it mattered most, they tightened up their game and waited for the right opportunity to be aggressive. At key moments, the other team didn’t rip winners. They just kept getting balls back which were low and unattackable. In rally scoring, every missed serve, return, or third shot is a point for the opponent. A missed put-away? That’s a two-point swing. Those little errors add up quickly.

The lesson? Don’t be Santa Claus on the court. No free gifts! In your own games, focus on consistency and play defense before you play offense, Stay patient until you get a ball you can attack. Out-dink your opponent and make them earn every point. The players who stay steady under pressure are the ones who come out on top.

Now, get out there and play smart, consistent pickleball!

If you like what GGP is doing for pickleball and community, you may donate here: https://www.goldengatepickleball.org/donate