Many consider the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics to be the the most significant sporting event to ever take place in the Utah capital. But that is no longer the case now that the Spikeball Salt Lake City Major has come to town and put the Olympics to shame.

Roundnet in the Olympics when?

Today we’re:

• 🏔️ Breaking down the Salt Lake City Major

• 😲 Drop the jaw of your opponents by mastering the drop serve

• 🎾 Making tennis legend Roger Federer proud

Here we go.

🍺 Salt Lake City Major

Ryder Rivadeneyra and Matthew Cole of TRP Moneyline were victorious at the 2023 Salt Lake City Major. 

For those of you not familiar with the Spikeball scene, Ryder’s name might still ring a bell, as he films and edits for YouTube golf sensation, Garrett Clark.

But Ryder isn’t just a stud behind the lens, he is also one of the best Spikeball players on the planet–and that sure was evident in Utah. Ryder and his partner Matthew were excellent from start to finish at this Major, as their team TRP Moneyline was unbeaten throughout the course of the tournament, finishing with an 11W - 0L record with an average margin of victory of +5.11 per set played. But while this makes it seem like TRP Moneyline cruised to victory, that was far from the case. 

Judgement Day (Gabriel Finocchi and Fredric Hinkle), also boasted an undefeated record heading into the Championship match. But in the end, it was TRP Moneyline’s day, as they defeated Finocchi and Hinkle in a three-set thriller: 21-16, 18-21, 21-15. Insystem (Blake Bosak and Etienne Cote) wrapped up the top-three, defeating Bad Combo in the 3rd Place match. 

Our Thoughts

We’re still waiting for Bad Combo to push through and earn a Pitcher in 2023—they seem close every tournament.

Rogue was missing from action this week after an impressive victory in Virginia. This season is gearing up for an epic final with play becoming incredibly impressive. We’re going to get some stacked fields in the coming months.

Is Ryder going to play more tournaments? It would kind of be awesome if he came, won a major, and left.

Women’s Division

In the Women’s Division we had quite the battle between K2. and TWINZ in the Finals. This matchup included the three highest ranked Women’s players in the world—Laura Kunzelmann (who made the trip from Europe), followed by the the two Jenki twins. But in the end, it was the #1 ranked player and partner Katie Pierson who reigned supreme in Salt Lake City, as they defeated the TWINZ in three sets (17-21, 21-16, 21-18).

Six teams from Contender were promoted to the Premier Division in SLC–here are the teams that made the jump:

1. Whenimechainthesuma (Jake Woolley & James Lamkin)

2. Ace High (Ryan Benz & Jackson Gordon)

3. LL Unfinished Business (Ryan Paul & Josh DiDonato)

4. Blind Date (Joseph Kaylor & Bryce Young)

5. American Spikers (Alex Hart (ASL) & Jake Martha)

6. come to brazil (Max Huang & Alec Galbo)

💧 How to master the drop serve

What is a drop serve? It is when the server hits the ball with a downward motion, causing it to drop or “die” close to the net on the opponent’s side. 

The drop serve, if done correctly, is extremely effective due to its deception. The set-up and pre-contact motion looks identical, leaving your opponent with little time to react. 

Essentially, the only difference between a drop serve and the standard serving technique is the wrist action. Right before you make contact with the ball, you are going to drop your wrist to create backspin on the ball. 

While the motion is quite simple, the drop serve can be difficult to perfect. If your opponent notices any sort of deceleration in your arm swing, they know the drop is coming. Additionally, ball placement on the net is extremely important to execute an effective drop serve. You want the ball to hit the “near net” (the front third of the net closest to you) rather than the middle of the net. If you land the ball in the front third, the ball will shoot off of the net quicker, but if it is the center, the ball will bounce higher and your opponent will have more time to react. 

Here’s a great drop serve breakdown from How to Roundnet.

👊 Quick Hits

🍺 The perfect Sunday—beer, football, and roundnet!

🎾 Roger Federer WISHES he could hit tweeners like this

🏋️ Never skip ab day