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Dinks On Tap: The Happy Hour Pickleball Podcast

Dinks On Tap: The Happy Hour Pickleball Podcast

Grief Is Part of the Game: Why Losing a Pickleball Partner Hurts and How Healthy Competition Can Help You Keep Growing with Dr. Amanda Sovik Johnston

Aug 12, 2026 · 59m

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About this episode

Nobody warns you about this part of pickleball. Your favorite doubles partner moves away, levels up, or… stops putting you on the calendar. Suddenly, “it’s just pickleball” doesn’t come close to describing what’s happening. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Amanda Sovik-Johnston, founder of The Connected Competitor and the sports psychologist behind the blog post “Pickleball Will Break Your Heart”. We talk about the mental game behind partner breakups, changing groups, and the real grief pickleball players can experience when relationships on the court shift. Amanda explains why losing a pickleball partner can hit so hard, why being left out can trigger more than disappointment, and how…