Your Knees Are Trying to Tell You Something

This week's Pulse starts with the biggest health-and-performance storyline from the Toys "R" Us PPA Finals in San Clemente: Anna Leigh Waters did not play women's singles after late reports that she was not 100% healthy and had been wearing knee braces on both knees in Atlanta.

We are also looking at knee pain from the player's point of view: how to warm up, recover, manage volume, and make smarter choices before a sore joint turns into missed court time.

Let's get into it.

PPA FINALS CLOSE THE TOUR SEASON: The 2025-26 PPA Tour season wrapped at Life Time Rancho San Clemente, with Kate Fahey taking the women's singles title after Anna Leigh Waters withdrew from singles. Read the Finals recap →

MLP SEASON IS NEXT: Major League Pickleball's 2026 campaign runs from May through August, opening in Dallas May 22-25. See the MLP schedule →

ONE POINT, BIG MONEY: The 2026 Paddletek One Point Challenge is July 9-12 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with $20,000 to the winner. View the event page →

The lead story from San Clemente was not that Anna Leigh Waters disappeared from the tournament. She did not. She still played doubles, still won, and still shaped Championship Sunday. The story is more specific: Waters did not play women's singles at the Toys "R" Us PPA Finals, the May 4-10 season-ending event. The Dink reported on May 5 that Waters would not play singles and that Liz Truluck would step into her spot.

The injury context matters. The Kitchen's Finals recap reported that Waters pulled out of singles after wearing knee braces on both knees in Atlanta and acknowledging that she was not 100% healthy. That made the decision feel less like a schedule choice and more like a durability calculation at the end of a long PPA season.

Kate Fahey went undefeated and won the women's singles title, a result that becomes difficult to separate from Waters' absence. At the same time, Waters and Anna Bright won women's doubles (45-0 with nine gold medals in 2026 PPA events), while Waters and Ben Johns won mixed doubles (46-1 with seven golds and one silver).

What it means: The women's singles field got a rare look at life without Waters in the draw, and Fahey took full advantage. The larger tour takeaway is about load management: even the most dominant players have to balance titles, doubles commitments, and the physical cost of repeated stop-start court movement.

Knee pain in pickleball usually has a pattern. The sport asks for short sprints, split steps, lunges, deceleration, twisting, and quick lateral movement. Hospital for Special Surgery notes that knee strain can be aggravated by the twisting and pivoting that happen on court, especially for players with underlying knee arthritis.

Start before the first rally. A knee-friendly warm-up should build gradually: three to four minutes of circulation, five to six minutes of joint mobility and muscle activation, then three to four minutes of controlled lateral prep and small split steps. The Pulse of Pickleball knee warm-up guide emphasizes this exact progression and cautions players with bad knees to avoid aggressive cold stretching, ballistic movement, and deep squats before the joint is ready.

For prevention, think above and below the knee. Stronger glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, and foot/ankle control help the knee track better when you lunge or change direction. HSS recommends slowly ramping up play volume and using lower-impact cross-training, such as swimming or stationary cycling, for older players.

Health takeaway: Do not wait until your knee hurts in game three. Warm the joint, activate the muscles around it, build volume gradually, and treat sharp, swelling, unstable, or persistent pain as information instead of inconvenience.

The The newest Pulse of Pickleball posts all point to the same idea: sustainable pickleball is a system, not a single hack. The lower-back article explains why repeated acceleration, deceleration, reaching, rotation, and low ready positions can irritate the back. The nutrition article adds the recovery piece — players over 50 need enough protein to repair muscle after sessions. The heat article explains why hot-weather sessions can drain energy before a player realizes hydration timing has fallen behind.ad the latest guides: Lower Back Pain Prevention | Protein and Recovery Nutrition | Heat and Hydration

01 — Pictona at Holly Hill, Florida: Just north of Daytona Beach, Pictona is a true pickleball pilgrimage stop. The official site lists a 49-court campus, day passes with all-day access, memberships, PB-101 beginner instruction, Beginner Mixers, Camp Pictona, food and beverage, a player shop, lodging partners, and live court-status resources.

If your knees get cranky late in sessions, listen to your feet. Many recreational players split step too high, land too stiff, and then ask the knee to absorb force it never needed to take. Think quiet, low, and springy. Land with soft knees, keep your weight slightly forward, and make the next move from your hips instead of snapping everything through the knee.

This week's watch is a current PPA Finals highlight package from San Clemente. Watch how quickly pros recover after wide balls, how often they reset before attacking, and how efficiently they move through transition. Watch on YouTube →

THE UPGRADE: Enhance Pickleball — paddles, training aids, and accessories

This week's gear pick is Enhance Pickleball, especially for players who want more deliberate practice instead of simply logging more games. The product lineup includes performance paddles, training aids such as the Dink Master 3.0 and Bullseye Trainer Paddle, and small upgrades like overgrips, lead tape, balance pods, and accessories. Shop Enhance Pickleball →

Until next week — play smart, protect the joints, and see you on the court.

Questions or feedback? Reply to this email or reach us at [email protected]