{"id":3644,"date":"2026-06-09T23:01:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/news\/the-dink-film\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T23:55:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:55:53","slug":"the-dink-film","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/news\/the-dink-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple TV film \"The Dink\" opens July 24\u2014with Andy Roddick playing himself and produced by Ben Stiller, pickleball becomes entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apple TV will release a film themed on pickleball,The Dink<\/strong>, on July 24, 2026. In this story of a washed-up tennis coach who encounters pickleball in the course of his comeback from injury, former tennis world championAndy Roddick<\/strong>appears as himself. The producers includeBen Stiller<\/strong>and others. It is a work that shows the sport has spread not only as a target of capital investment but as material for entertainment.<\/p>\n

A comedy film releasing July 24<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Dink is a PG-13 comedy film. The protagonist is Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson), a tennis coach still carrying past failures. He finds unexpected fun in pickleball, which he reluctantly took up during rehab after an injury, and comes to terms with his relationship with a father who hates the sport and with his past mistakes. Directed by Josh Greenbaum, written by Sean Clements.<\/p>\n

A star-studded cast<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Role<\/th>\nPerson<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Lead (Dusty Boyd)<\/td>\nJake Johnson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Father Chuck<\/td>\nEd Harris<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Partner Candace<\/td>\nMary Steenburgen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
As himself (childhood rival)<\/td>\nAndy Roddick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Other<\/td>\nPatton Oswalt, Chloe Fineman, and others<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Producers<\/td>\nBen Stiller, John Lesher, and others<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Release<\/td>\nJuly 24, 2026 (Apple TV)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Set at a country club<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The story revolves around pickleball, the \"new craze\" at a country club. The plot of a protagonist coming out of tennis who gets hooked on the upstart sport while bewildered mirrors the movement of people from \"tennis to pickleball\" now happening worldwide. The playful touch of Roddick appearing as himself as a \"childhood rival\" also lands well.<\/p>\n

From \"investment\" to \"entertainment\"<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In recent years, pickleball has been talked about in the context of big money and pro tours. The film adaptation is proof the sport has entered a stage of being consumed as a story for a general audience. With tennis champion Roddick added to accomplished actors like Ed Harris and Mary Steenburgen, it has the breadth to reach even those who don't know the sport.<\/p>\n

Impact on readers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A film themed on a sport can be the best entry point for people who don't know the rules. Even in Japan, where awareness is still low, such entertainment works could grow the segment that \"knows the name\" and nudge them toward a first step to trying it. Because it streams on Apple TV, Japanese viewers can also access it around the same time.<\/p>\n

Ripple Effects on the Industry<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This move toward screen adaptation, following the reality show PARTNERS, shows that pickleball is starting to be incorporated into the content industry. Investment in pro tours, the realignment of equipment brands, and now a film -- the \"money\" and \"stories\" surrounding the sport are gaining depth at the same time.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Dink symbolizes pickleball's shift from \"a target of investment\" to \"the lead of a story.\" Turning it into entertainment is the softest adoption device for reaching people who don't know the sport.<\/p>\n

Related articles:
\nandA market survey of 330,000 competitors and 11.89 million potential players<\/a>
\nandDunlop launches its first lineup of pickleball products<\/a>
\nand17LIVE signs sponsorship contracts with 3 players including Yuta Funamizu<\/a><\/p>\n

Source:Apple TV Press<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apple TV's pickleball film The Dink premieres July 24, 2026. In the story of a washed-up tennis coach finding redemption through pickleball, Andy Roddick appears as himself, with Ben Stiller among the producers. The sport is expanding from \"investment\" into \"entertainment.\"<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ssp_meta_description":"","swell_btn_cv_data":""},"categories":[30,53],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-3644","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","category-trend","category-overseas"],"acf":{"summary":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/3644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3644"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=3644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}