This week on PicklePod, we break the news that fully automated line calling is coming to pro pickleball. No more arguments, no more missed calls — just cold, hard tech making the decisions. Finally!

Andrea Koop joins the pod to talk about ESPN bringing SportsCenter to the Beer City Open. How did Grand Rapids land the spotlight, and what does this mean for pickleball’s mainstream future?

We also dig into the biggest on-court drama of the weekend: Jessie Irvin vs. Genie Bouchard. Tension during warmups led to a full-blown walk-off and some major lineup chaos. We have the inside details.

Connor Pardoe stops by to explain the new UPA contract extensions, prize money structures, and what the future holds for signed and unsigned pros. Some are calling it smart business. Others aren’t so sure.

Plus, we get into trade rumors, breakout performances, and which teams are quietly becoming title threats heading into the back half of the MLP season.

If you’ve been on your feet a lot lately, especially at tournaments, do yourself a favor and check out these shoes from G-DEFY: https://www.gravitydefyer.com/discount/dink?redirect=/pages/pickleball-summer-25-gdefy-shoes-engineered-for-comfort?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=dink

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Andrea Koop

0:00 Sportscenter is coming to Beer City

5:35 Belknap Park is growing with the game

9:05 Tournament ownership provides a different feel

Erik Tice

11:02 T-Dog was on the mic again in San Clemente

12:24 Ranchers on the hot seat for Etta trade

18:34 The Mad Drops missed their chance

21:20 Brooklyn subs came up huge

27:41 The Hard 8’s are fun to watch

30:54 No longer the vibes team of MLP

43:50 Loong battles through the dirt bike injury

45:22 Listener questions

Connor Pardoe

53:52 Zane agrees with 90% of the contract restructuring

57:50 How do we work towards what’s best for fans/players

1:03:32 More difficult for players to break in

1:07:37 Moving from guaranteed to incentive-based

1:13:22 The three forms of cheating

1:15:05 Automated line calls

Javier Regalado

1:23:45 GPF President joins the pod

1:31:05 What qualifies a group to represent the country?

1:34:40 The three way conversation between IFP/WPF/GPF

1:37:55 What actually happened in Switzerland?

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AUTOMATED LINE CALLS Are Coming to Pro Pickleball