Top 5 things you might’ve missed this week

Thomas Wilson Health Update

After being sidelined for almost a year with an undisclosed medical condition, this week Thomas Wilson gave an update via Instagram (watch below).  Thomas was diagnosed with Chronic Breathing Disorder; the diagnosis was challenging to reach, and the prognosis is still somewhat unknown. Both he and his wife, Brittany, said they will be more active on social media in the coming months, keeping fans updated on his progress.  It was great to hear from the Wilson family and we wish them all the best as Thomas continues to work his way back to the court.   

thomaswilson_pb

View more on Instagram

USAP bans the Ronbus Ripple

After some will-they-won’t-they back and forth, this week USA Pickleball rescinded its approval of the Ronbus Ripple R1.14, despite having previously passed PBCoR (Coefficient of Restitution aka deflection) testing.  This long-awaited paddle relies on a heavy foam core, which generates an enormous amount of power.  Ronbus said in a public statement that they will be conducting their own lab testing to investigate the cause, and continue to work toward a future release. Both Ronbus and USAP stated that initial testing was conducted on prototype, pre-production paddles, and the most recent tests that did not pass PBCoR were the actual production models.

Luckily, this occurred before Ronbus officially released the production model, but this still means Ronbus is now sitting on a massive amount of inventory that is essentially worthless.  Stay tuned for a more detailed follow up on the the state of paddle testing.

MLP trades

Yes, that was just this week, though it feels like old news already! But in case you missed it, at the beginning of the week, NY Hustlers, DC Pickleball Team, and Columbus Sliders made roster moves. Columbus traded Riley for CJ Klinger, and NY Hustlers traded Jackie K. for Viv Glozman. The full run-down is here, but this won’t be the end. We fully expect to see more trades take place as the deadline is less than 2 weeks away.

Ben moves to Florida

Ben Johns has reportedly packed up and moved across the country to sunny Florida.  Ben has resided in Austin for several years, and It’s unclear how long he plans on staying in Florida.  If you recall, Ben has decided to partner with Gabe for a significant number of tournaments this year. The move would definitely help him get more court time with Gabe.  Head over to the KOTC discord to see a video of Ben playing at a Florida lifetime with James Ignatowich, Hayden Patriquin, and Ryan Fu.

Collegiate Pickleball Tour

DUPR and UPA introduced a new partnership for the 2025 Collegiate Pickleball Tour, where hundreds of colleges will face off in both competitive and showcase events, with a prize pool of over $100,000.

The Tour consists of 30 regionals, 8 super regionals, a National Championships in the spring in Atlanta, and a World Championship in the fall in Dallas. Winners and runners-up in the spring Collegiate National Championships will play in exhibition against MLP Challenger teams at the Mid-Season Tournament held at Beer City Open in Grand Rapids, MI.

This partnership with UPA is an expansion of DUPR’s Collegiate Pickleball Tour, which began in 2022, and has grown from 17 schools to more than 200. Read more about event dates and leaderboards on their website. You’ll recognize names like Ava Ignatovich (U Miami) and Jack Munro (UT Austin).

Australia Open: Results

NEW EPISODE airs Tuesday, 10 a.m. MT (12 p.m. ET)

Meanwhile, catch up on the last episode and see how well they predicted the Australian Open. They also talk about mental health, PPA contracts for Top 50, and questions from fans.