Anna Leigh Waters has had a lot of great weeks on the PPA Tour over the years, but this one will go down as arguably her best — both on the court and off. She signed a long-term paddle contract with Franklin (rumored to be worth well in the millions), then followed that up with […]
Robert Elliott has seen it all in the pickleball paddle manufacturing industry. The founder and CEO of Engage Pickleball was one of the first to experiment with adding grit to the paddle face back in the mid-2010s, when he and his wife were among the top players in the U.S. and competing in tournaments throughout […]
Major League Pickleball on Wednesday released several new rules for the 2026 season, as well as the format for the upcoming free-agency draft. The biggest changes involve allowing teams to use their full six-person lineup in the same match, a new regular-season event format that will crown a winner at all nine regular-season events and […]
Those in the pickleball industry have been wondering for years: When will Nike get involved in the sport? The athletic apparel and shoe giant officially made its entrance on Tuesday, signing world No. 1 women’s player Anna Leigh Waters to a long-term sponsorship deal that elevates pickleball to new heights in the sports landscape. “Growing […]
World No. 2 men’s player Gabe Tardio has signed a new paddle sponsorship deal with Facolos, a Vietnamese brand that will be entering the U.S. paddle market in 2026. Facolos said in a news release that the deal is part of a broader effort to establish the company as a leading Asian pickleball brand with […]
In what has become a yearly tradition, there are several new partnerships making their debut at the PPA Tour Masters this week in Palm Springs, California. We expect to see most teams stick together for at least the first quarter of the season, so I thought it would be an interesting exercise to take a […]
Thursday’s announcement that Anna Leigh Waters is joining Franklin Sports ends several weeks of speculation about which paddle she will use going forward. When it became clear that she wasn’t going to sign a new deal with longtime sponsor Paddletek, there were a few logical landing spots. JOOLA, Selkirk and even Holbrook were thrown around […]
It’s official: Anna Leigh Waters has signed a new equipment deal with Franklin Sports. Waters and Franklin announced the partnership Thursday morning, putting an end to the rumors and speculation that had taken over the pickleball world since Waters’ contract with Paddletek expired on Dec. 31. As part of the new contract — which is […]
Enhance Pickleball got started as a company making training aids and producing instructional content. Over the years they have dabbled in manufacturing paddles, but their main focus was their Dink Master training board and several other products meant to help players work on their game. That all changed in 2025, first with the release of […]
Pro player Vivienne David on Tuesday announced her retirement from playing professionally after competing for more than 5 years on the PPA Tour, APP Tour and in Major League Pickleball. David, 28, won 15 gold medals (5 women’s doubles, 10 mixed doubles) and 42 total medals during her career, making her one of the winningest […]
