The Report
Pickleball’s Olympic route has a missing test
Good morning, pickleballers.
Today we examine the part of pickleball’s Olympic pathway that GPF’s new explanation leaves out. AIMS does not assess reach and governance alone. When several organisations claim to govern the same sport, it also asks which one has the legitimacy to do so.
We also have the opening results from D-Joy in Ho Chi Minh City and a new World Pickleball Podcast with Bruno Faletto, whose route into the professional game began with a decision to leave a successful Manhattan career.
The Global Pickleball Federation is right about one thing. Unification would not automatically put pickleball into the Olympic Games, and the sport may have several possible routes towards recognition.
Its new FAQ does not explain the separate legitimacy test published by AIMS. That assessment becomes important when more than one organisation claims to be the worldwide governing body for a sport.
The document also leaves questions about the future international rulebook, equipment standards and certification unanswered. Meanwhile, neither GPF nor WPF has provided a meaningful public account of where their unification talks now stand.
Read the full analysisCamron advances as Vietnam keeps two men in the hunt
Ronan Camron, Mikar Fisher, Jay Devilliers and Ryler DeHeart all reached the men’s singles last 16 as the D-Joy Pickleball Tour began in Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam’s challenge survived through Nguyễn Đắc Tiến and Từ Lê Khánh Duy. DeHeart was pushed to three games by Nguyễn Hữu Hùng Anh, while Fisher conceded only five points across his first four games.
Day One was devoted to professional singles. Our full roundup separates the comfortable advances from the performances that revealed something more about the field.
Read the D-Joy Day One roundupWhy Bruno Faletto left Manhattan for professional pickleball
Bruno Faletto had already experienced the promise and disappointment of a sporting ambition. Junior tennis in Chile led to injury, the Futures circuit and college in Florida before he built a successful sales career in New York.
Then pickleball gave him another chance. With a child on the way and bills that could not be ignored, Faletto built a coaching business around his working day before deciding he was ready to leave Manhattan and pursue the professional game.
In today’s podcast, he tells Chris Beaumont and Gordon Watson what that decision required and why unfinished ambition can be so difficult to leave behind.
Listen to Bruno Faletto’s storyThree more stories from the new magazine
Yesterday we introduced the cover story, Bruno Faletto’s first-person feature and Lee Whitwell’s argument about player responsibilities. Today, here are three different pieces from Issue #20.
Dr Deirdre Timlin explains why pressure can make a familiar shot feel inaccessible, and how players can train their attention rather than waiting for nerves to disappear.
Building the Future of University Pickleball in Japan
Mayu Omori is helping connect student clubs and build a collegiate network that could give Japanese pickleball a younger and more durable foundation.
Inside the Asia Elite Pickleball Academy’s attempt to build players, coaches and a lasting training culture on Hainan Island.
Download the complete September magazine
The website lets you read each article separately. The PDF gives you the magazine as it was designed, with every feature, image and page in one complete edition.
Issue #20 is free to download. Save it to your phone, tablet or computer and read it whenever you have time.
Download the free September PDFOpen the September issue page and select “Download Magazine”.
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