The five people who were killed in a Texas plane crash on their way to a pickleball tournament last week have been identified. All were members of Amarillo Pickleball Club — Seren Wilson, 19; Brooke Skypala, 45; Stacy Hedrick, 51; Justin “Glen” Appling, 37; and Hayden Dillard, 39. They died in the crash Thursday night, […]
The favorites may have prevailed in every division on Championship Sunday at the PPA Tour Atlanta Pickleball Championships, but in a few years fans could look back on this week as the tournament Tama Shimabukuro became a star. The talented 15-year-old from Hawaii made the final in men’s singles and the semifinals in men’s doubles […]
Pickleball Inc. has become the new parent company of the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball following a $225 million investment led by Apollo Sports Capital, which is an investment platform of Apollo (NYSE: APO). The deal integrates professional and amateur pickleball with leading technology, retail and infrastructure platforms. Pickleball Inc.’s newly merged business operations […]
In the past 5 years we’ve seen thousands of pickleball facilities pop up across the country. When the sport exploded in the early 2020s, there was a clear need for more courts in almost every community. Public parks were jam packed, which presented an opportunity for entrepreneurs and business-minded players to open their own private […]
The second “Slam” of the year in pro pickleball is upon us. The Atlanta Pickleball Championships is annually one of the biggest events on the PPA Tour calendar, and the action started Monday with pro qualifying. Main-draw matches will begin Tuesday, with one round in every division to be played each day through Championship Sunday. […]
We’ve known for a while that the United Pickleball Association of America — the governing body for the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball — was working on a new rulebook that will be separate from the existing USA Pickleball rulebook. That rulebook is finally here, and late last week the UPA-A made the 71-page […]
Cailyn Campbell has been on the pro pickleball scene for more than a year, but she’s still only 15 years old and is rapidly climbing the PPA Tour rankings. She’s coming off of her best result to date — a bronze medal in women’s doubles alongside Tina Pisnik at the Sacramento Open. To put the accomplishment […]
For the past three weeks, Proton pickleball paddles have not been permitted in professional play on the PPA Tour due to a contractual dispute between the brand and the United Pickleball Association, which is the body that oversees PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball events. That dispute came to an end this week, and players […]
Despite pickleball’s historic growth over the past decade, the sport has faced a persistent challenge that could be prohibiting even further expansion: How to accurately rate players in a way that keeps games evenly matched and enhances the experience. For Mike Barker, the solution didn’t exist – so he built one. At first it started […]
There are just two PPA Tour events remaining between now and the PPA Finals in early May. That means there are limited opportunities for players to improve their standing in the points race ahead of the end-of-season championship in San Clemente, California. The home stretch starts this week at the PPA Tour Sacramento Open, which […]
