A new reality series called "Partners" was released on Tuesday and is now available on the PPA Tour’s YouTube Channel, Amazon Prime and Pickleball TV. The documentary gives fans a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at the inner-workings of pro pickleball and the players who compete on the PPA Tour.

The six-part series, produced by Shutterstock Studios, follows more than 25 players, coaches and executives at the center of the PPA Tour. Prominent players in the series include Anna Leigh Waters, Anna Bright, Parris Todd, Ben Johns, Gabe Tardio, Hayden Patriquin, Christian Alshon, Hunter Johnson and more.

I was granted early access and have watched all six episodes. I'll give some more detailed thoughts below, but in general I thought the show was interesting, spicy at times and offers something for everybody — whether you’re a die-hard fan or a casual viewer.

“Pickleball is certainly having a moment, but most people still haven’t seen what it actually feels like inside that world,” Shutterstock Studio Executive Producer Mark Infante said when the show was announced. “The access we received from the Carvana PPA Tour changed everything, placing us directly within the action – close to the players, decisions and the dynamics. ... We’re telling real stories that core fans will recognize immediately, and new audiences can jump in without needing a primer.”

Below you will find a short summary of each episode and a few bits and pieces that I found especially interesting. Most fans will be familiar with many of the storylines the series touches on, but there are several instances where the behind-the-scenes nature of the show provided further clarity/depth to things I was only indirectly aware of.

Official warning: There will be some spoilers in this article.

Episode 1: All Hail the Queen

This episode focuses on the sport's biggest star: Anna Leigh Waters.

Waters -- who was 18 while the show was being filmed last year -- has dominated on the women's side of the PPA Tour for years, earning more than 40 Triple Crowns since turning pro.

Fellow players, including No. 2 women's player Anna Bright, offer their thoughts on Waters' accomplishments and how her success has elevated the sport and made the rest of the players work harder as they try to knock her off her thrown.

The episode also introduces viewers to No. 1 men's player Ben Johns and PPA Tour Founder and CEO Connor Pardoe, along with some background on the sport as a whole and the pro tour -- including the infamous "Tour Wars" drama that led to the current pro pickleball landscape.

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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

▪️ The episode gives a great look at the relationship between Waters and her mother/coach, Leigh Waters.

▪️ At this point in the show, Bright is still partnered with Rachel Rohrabacher in women's doubles, and Bright's toughness and intensity are a big theme. There are some good moments involving Bright/Rohrabacher as they work to build "The Girlies" brand and begin selling merch.

▪️ Viewers are also introduced to Waters' women's doubles partner, Catherine Parenteau, along with her wife and coach Athena Trouillot.

▪️ The episode ends with the shocking breakup of "The Girlies" as Waters and Bright go from rivals to women's doubles partners. The drama surrounding partnership shakeups becomes the major theme of the series.

Episode 2: Doubles Trouble

This episode focuses more on the men's side of the sport, as players like Christian Alshon, Quang Duong and others discuss their efforts to chase down Johns, who has held the No. 1 spot for years.

Meanwhile, Quang and his father, Duc, are focused on growing the sport in Asia, which causes tensions with the PPA Tour and Pardoe.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

▪️ The episode captures the ripple effect of the decision by Waters/Bright to drop former partners Parenteau and Rohrabacher. This is one of the instances where the show does a great job providing further detail to something that happened mostly behind closed doors. Despite being a very active voice in the sport on social media, Bright was uncharacteristically silent in the immediate aftermath of "The Girlies" breakup. She declined to speak publicly about it at the time, but the show's producers got her in front of the camera and asked the tough questions, including whether she and Rohrabacher are still friends. Not exactly, Bright said. "I know that she wants to choke strangle me every time she's across the court from me, and honestly the feeling is reciprocal," she said of the tensions between the two players.

▪️ Alshon is portrayed as a villain and one of the main threats to Johns. The episode captures the win in men's doubles by Alshon/Andrei Daescu over Johns/Gabe Tardio at the Mesa Cup, and also covers the Johns/Tardio loss to JW Johnson/CJ Klinger at the Atlanta Pickleball Championships a few months later.

▪️ Several fellow players offer their perspective on Johns and his ... interesting ... personality. They stop short of calling him weird, but that seems to be the consensus -- at least the way it's presented to the audience.

▪️ There are some great behind-the-scenes moments with Quang and Duc featuring their time in Asia and their unconventional training methods. Duc is portrayed as the source of the tensions with Pardoe and the PPA Tour, but Quang offers a defense of his father. "People can say whatever they want," he said. "At the end of the day, my dad has my back. That's all that matters."

▪️ The episode ends with the termination of Quang's contract with the PPA Tour, which Pardoe called an easy decision. "We would make the same decision every day of the week if we had to," he said.

Episode 3: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

Partnerships are blooming on and off court, as Hunter Johnson and Parris Todd have been deemed pickleball’s power couple. But their on- and off-court friend Jaume Martinez Vich, a charmer from Spain, puts their relationship to the test. The episode also provides more detail on Duong’s battle with the PPA front office, including information about the tour's exclusivity clause in player contracts.

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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

▪️ The episode sets up the Johnson-Todd-Martinez Vich drama by diving into their backgrounds individually. There are scenes involving Johnson and Todd where they appear to have an extremely strong bond, and there is even talk of marriage. Martinez Vich is portrayed as flirtatious, and while there is no direct confirmation that something happened romantically between Todd and Martinez Vich, that's certainly the implication. "Only myself and the other person knows what actually happened," Martinez Vich says.

▪️ After his breakup with Todd, Johnson puts all his energy into pickleball, which leads to him rising to No. 1 in the world in men's singles.

▪️ The film crew heads to Vietnam with the Duong family, where they are treated like celebrities and it's easy to see why they are making a big bet on the Asian pickleball market.

Episode 4: If You Can’t Take the Heat

As the 2025 season progresses, it’s clear that pro pickleball is on the rise both in tournament attendance and fan engagement. For women's singles star Kate Fahey, that attention is a double-edged sword after an infamous self-inflicted paddle smash on her head lights the internet on fire. The episode also provides a more personal glimpse at Gabe Tardio, the 19-year-old star from Bolivia whose partnership with Ben Johns has led to huge success.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

▪️ Waters/Bright experience adversity for the first time since teaming up, with losses to Jorja Johnson/Tyra Black in Las Vegas and Jackie/Jade Kawamoto in Cincinnati. Bright discusses the pressure and expectations that come with playing alongside Waters, and how they were able to right the ship after those losses.

▪️ Meanwhile, Rohrabacher says those two tournaments gave the rest of the women's field hope that the top women's team was vulnerable.

▪️ The show gets very personal with Fahey, who is open about her struggles to keep her emotions in check and keep life outside of pickleball in perspective. The show's crew sits in on a video call between Fahey and her therapist, where they discuss channeling those emotions in a positive way, and Fahey reminds herself that her life off the court is more important than her performance on the court.

Episode 5: Old vs. New

Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin are a volatile team atop the leaderboard in men’s doubles, and their quick ascent and descent have put a strain on their partnership. At 48, Matt Wright is still ranked among pickleball’s best, but Father Time and a surge of youthful contenders are knocking at his door.

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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

▪️ The film crew spends the day with Staksrud and Patriquin on the golf course, giving fans a great look at how the two interact off the pickleball court. They discuss Staksrud's passion for pickleball and his intense work ethic, but also acknowledge that they were underperforming as a duo at the time.

▪️ The episode portrays Wright as the old dog who has had to learn new tricks in order to stay relevant. Fellow players discuss their interactions with Wright -- both good and bad -- and detail his reputation as a legendary trash talker.

▪️ We're also introduced to Wright's longtime girlfriend Lucy Kovalova, who is described as blunt but mostly liked by fellow players.

▪️ The episode concludes with a detailed look at Staksrud and Patriquin's emotional win at the Pickleball World Championships in November, including the strategic adjustments they made in order to get over the hump.

Episode 6: The More Things Change

Over five seasons on the PPA Tour, Waters and Johns have been consistent champions regardless of how the game has evolved. As new partnerships form to bring them down, both look ahead to what pro pickleball has in store for them. 

▪️ The show concludes where it started -- back with Waters and a behind-the-scenes look at what her Championship Sundays look like when she's chasing a Triple Crown. Fellow players chime in on how difficult winning a Triple Crown actually is, despite the fact that she makes it look easy most of the time.

▪️ At the first Slam of the 2026 season -- the PPA Tour Masters -- the crew follows several new partnerships that have formed with the goal of taking down Waters and Johns. Those partnerships include Bright/Patriquin in mixed doubles, as well as Alshon/Patriquin and Daescu/Staksrud in men's doubles.

▪️ The film crew follows Patriquin and Alshon as they train together in South Florida. They discuss why they decided to team up and what it will take to be the No. 1 men's doubles team.