The battle for sporting supremacy is heading somewhere no one saw coming: the pickleball court.
The first trailer for Apple TV’s The Dink has arrived, serving up a crowd-pleasing sports comedy packed with rivalry, redemption and more than a few bruised egos. Starring Jake Johnson, the film follows former tennis prodigy Dusty Boyd, whose promising career has long since faded into memory. Now coaching difficult kids at his father’s suburban country club, Dusty finds himself caught up in an increasingly absurd war against the sport rapidly taking over the tennis courts: pickleball.
Driven by a desperate need to earn the approval of his demanding father Chuck (Ed Harris), Dusty initially joins the anti-pickleball crusade. But when an old injury flares up and leaves him unable to play tennis, he reluctantly picks up a paddle himself. What begins as a rehabilitation exercise soon turns into something far more complicated, especially after teaming up with the charming Candace (Mary Steenburgen) and discovering that the game he was taught to hate might actually be… fun.
As Dusty navigates his unexpected new obsession, he is forced to confront years of disappointment, unresolved family tensions, and the lingering shadow of childhood rival Andy Roddick, played by the former tennis champion himself.
Directed by Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar) and produced by Ben Stiller (Dodgeball), The Dink looks to blend underdog sports-movie heart with a knowing sense of absurdity. Alongside Johnson, Harris and Steenburgen, the ensemble cast includes Patton Oswalt, Chloe Fineman, Chris Parnell, and Australia’s own Aaron Chen.
Part sports comedy, part family reconciliation story, and entirely committed to treating pickleball like the most important thing in the world, The Dink appears ready to prove that redemption can come from the most unexpected places when it arrives to stream on Apple TV from July 24th, 2026.
