This week on the PicklePod, Zane and Tice break down one of the wildest weekends of pickleball we’ve seen all year. The Lakeland Open delivered everything—controversial calls, insane comebacks, breakout stars, near meltdowns, and another dominant run from the tour’s heavy hitters.

We kick things off with Part 2 of last week’s viral Create-a-Player Draft, where Zane and Tice build the ultimate women’s pickleball player. 11 categories. No duplicate picks. Maximum trash talk. The community demanded a rematch…and Tice wants revenge.

From there, the guys get into all the biggest stories:

Lakeland Open Chaos

– The now-infamous Roscoe/Hunter match point controversy

– Luca Mack’s eye-opening semifinal run

– Noe's first PPA medal

– The 17-point swing that shocked the men’s doubles bracket

Nationals Recap

– Jill Braverman's viral line call

– Why a $225K event ran with no replays

– PK’s first singles title

• Global Pickleball Politics

– The WPF, GPF, UWPF alphabet soup explained

– What a potential merger means for the Olympics

– Why governing bodies matter more than people realize

Lakers Pickleball Tournament

– Yes… the Lakers ran their own pickleball event

– Luka Dončić credits pickleball for slimming down

– Why NBA players might be the worst body type for dinking

• Debate of the Week:

If Ben and Anna Leigh were forced to split up in 2026… who wins more mixed titles?

Zane and Tice go deep on the chessboard of future partnerships.

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0:00 Intro

1:56 Build a Women’s Player

13:39 Quick hits Carmel-by-the-sea + International merger

19:58 Jilly B’s controversial call

22:23 Nationals winners and Zane’s son

27:25 PPA Lakeland recap

34:13 Hunter vs Roscoe and the controversial net cord

46:33 Ben vs ALW hypothetical split

53:03 Women’s doubles and men’s match of the weekend

57:50 Luka and the Lakers host a pickleball tournament

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