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 Leave your voicemail for the PicklePod at (512) 200 - 4299 ------------------ Like the ep? Do us a favor: subscribe to our channel and leave a review on Apple or Spotify -Subscribe to our 'all things pickleball' *free e-newsletter* at https://www.thedink.beehiiv.com https://www.instagram.com/thedinkpickleball/ -Follow us on IG -Continue the convo in our private FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thedi... -For everything else we do, visit https://linktr.ee/dinkfam -Read more about Zane and subscribe to his newsletter at https://zanenavratilpickleball.com/ -Follow Zane on IG @zanenavratilpickleball ------------------ 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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices