The pro boycott, changing contracts & bad blood

 

Pickleball Stars Weigh In On Tour Merger Thomas Shields and Pickleball Pro Zane Navratil Discuss Contracts, Drama, and What's Next Major developments are rocking the world of professional pickleball, leaving players to pick up the pieces. Appearing on The PicklePod Podcast this week, co-hosts Thomas Shields and Zane Navratil provided insight into how the stars are coping with the blockbuster merger between rival tours Major League Pickleball (MLP) and the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA). At the 3:56 mark, Navratil asserted that pickleball singles strategy lags far behind doubles. "Singles is, in terms of strategy, five years behind doubles still," he said. "The strategies of singles are going to involve a ton. We're super far behind in singles compared to doubles." Shields concurred that innovation in singles tactics will focus on baseline play and forehand power. Contract issues took center stage when Shields questioned at the 7:02 mark how the tours will handle players' existing deals. "If you signed up to just play all these different PPA tour events, if they want you to now play Major League Pickleball as well, should you be given another contract on top of that?" he asked. Navratil predicted some renegotiation ahead. "These contracts are gonna have to be, they're going to be changed, they're going to be touched up for sure," he said. Former tennis stars crossing over into pickleball was another hot topic, arising at the 13:29 mark. Shields highlighted how big names like Eugenie Bouchard and Jack Sock provide "legitimacy" to the fledgling sport. But Navratil remained skeptical. "It's basically they're just like yeah well hopefully it pans out right," he said of the unproven celebrities. The question of which up-and-comers deserve big contracts came up at the 18:50 mark. Shields posed a scenario of signing either budding phenom Quang Duong or established veteran Tyson McGuffin. After initially avoiding a direct answer, Navratil went with McGuffin for his proven track record in pickleball. But he granted Duong's potential upside. At the 23:49 mark, the exchange grew heated as the hosts dissected McGuffin's explicit tirade against rival Tyler Loong at a recent tournament. "He starts circling back around and all of a sudden, like on the feed, we obviously see some words exchanged," Shields recounted of the incident caught on camera. He described McGuffin inexplicably cursing out Loong after an initial friendly tap of paddles. Loong responded by mocking McGuffin's "family man" persona on social media. While deeming it poor sportsmanship, Navratil downplayed the long-term impact of McGuffin's meltdown. "In the grand scheme of things it doesn't really move the needle," Navratil said. Leaking inside information has become a trend, a development Shields highlighted at the 33:20 mark in discussing the anonymous Twitter account "@Pickle4444." "Clearly getting information from people on the inside and it's decided to make an anonymous account to air some of that out," Shields explained. Navratil floated theories on the mole's motives. "I think it's a somewhat disgruntled PPA employee or MLP owner or somebody close to one of those people," he said. Pros overcoming bad blood was the theme when reader comments arose at the 42:19 mark. Shields worried pickleball teams could see "awkwardness and tension" over contract disputes. But Navratil downplayed the risk. "I don't think it's warranted frustration at that player. I think that frustration is warranted but not towards that player," he argued. At the 47:40 mark, the conversation turned to players' roles expanding to clean bathrooms or provide child care, per a suggestion from the sport's famous prankster, Rafa Hewitt. "For the amount of money that they're paying me I would clean out the porta potties," Navratil insisted. "I'll do whatever the hell they want." The unknown future of USA Pickleball was discussed at the 50:47 mark. Shields questioned the organization's relevance given its silence during negotiations. "They don't think they do," Navratil bluntly stated. He predicted the pro tours will increasingly influence paddle regulations rather than USA Pickleball. More heated comments arose at the 57:47 mark, when Shields read criticisms of Navratil's takes. But Navratil held firm. "I am good, I'm very happy," he maintained. "What else do we have to unpack from that?" At the 1:08:14 mark, Shields crowned Ken Herrmann pickleball's sole OG still standing amid all the turmoil. "He's just plugging along, he's just doing his thing," Shields said. Finally, possible formats for the 2024 pro league reboot came up at the 1:10:42 mark. Navratil revealed all 24 MLP teams will now stay in the top tier, eliminating regulation. He advocated switching to an auction draft for players. "It's gonna be pure chaos," Navratil predicted of the 2024 free agency period. The blockbuster merger between Major League Pickleball and the Professional Pickleball Association has sent shockwaves through the sport, leaving many unanswered questions about what comes next. Pros are sorting through the changes while bracing for more chaos ahead.

0:00 Honcho winners get to play Zane 2 on 1 3:56 Singles is 5 years behind doubles 7:02 Contracts will need to be touched up 13:29 Tennis players entering the mix 18:50 Paddle companies choosing from top talent 23:49 Tyson’s flips the bird at PPA Cincy 33:20 Pickle4444 leaking inside information 42:19 Pros overcoming bad blood 47:40 I will clean out the porta-potties 50:47 Where does USA Pickleball stand? 57:47 Annonymous accounts coming for Zane 1:08:14 Ken Hermann the last OG left 1:10:42 No more relegation - What 2024 looks like