Major League Pickleball announced this week that Samin Odhwani will no longer be the commissioner of the league. He served in the role for two seasons.

The announcement comes several weeks after the conclusion of the 2026 season that saw the New Jersey 5s win their first title.

Odhwani was named commissioner of MLP in the spring of 2025 after serving as VP of Strategy for 35V, an investment firm founded by NBA star Kevin Durant. He was also the General Manager of MLP’s Brooklyn Aces prior to becoming the league’s commissioner and Chief Strategy Officer of the United Pickleball Association, which is the organization that oversees the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball.

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Odhwani said in a post on X that he is leaving MLP to join Apollo Sports Capital, an investment platform of Apollo (NYSE: APO) that led a $225 million investment in Pickleball Inc. earlier this year. Pickleball Inc. is the parent company of the PPA Tour, MLP, Pickleball Central, Pickleball.com and Pickleball TV.

As commissioner of MLP, Odhwani reported to the MLP board and was responsible for team governance and on-court competition, as well as leading the league’s business operations and content distribution strategy.

Following the 2026 season, the league touted year-over-year increases in viewership, attendance and ticket revenue compared to 2025. The Major League Pickleball Finals set an all-time MLP viewership record in August, with 773,000 average viewers watching the CBS broadcast on the event’s final day, according to the league.

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Odhwani will remain MLP’s commissioner until a successor is in place, and he will also have a seat on Pickleball Inc.’s board moving forward.