Browsing: Pickleball News

We’ve reported on several occasions how pickleball is gaining widespread popularity in Australia. Well, it’s also making a big splash in neighboring New Zealand now.  The Southern Slam tournament held recently at the MLT Events Centre in Gore, Southland County, New Zealand, was the first pickleball event of its kind in the southern part of the country. Bigger And More Inclusive Tournament Next Year The competition attracted a healthy 16 teams from Gore, Timaru, Dunedin, Queenstown, Wānaka and Invercargill. Plans are already in the pipeline for a bigger and more inclusive tournament next year. Organiser Dan Winkel formed one half…

Born and raised in Naples, Florida, Brendon Long’s father’s profession as a poker player led to Brendon taking up the game, too. Following his father’s schooling, Brendon became an excellent player, and poker became his livelihood, taking him across the country for various competitions, including the Grand World Series of Poker. “It was just really fun,” reflected Long. “It was exciting, and it was good to learn and get better at things.” Worn Out However, after five years in professional poker, Brendon felt worn out. He needed to leave poker behind and move in a new direction. Having played pickleball…

The privately owned Wolverine Pickleball has opened a huge $7 million indoor-outdoor facility at 235 Metty Drive in Scio Township, near Ann Arbor. The club claims the 39,000-square-foot venue will be Michigan’s largest. Read our article from February to read about how the project was first announced. A Dozen Courts Wolverine Pickleball held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week as it revealed its new facility. The development features a round dozen pickleball courts, a lounge, a pro shop, and a bar. It also has extensive outdoor facilities, offering bocce ball, cornhole, volleyball, and beach tennis. There is also another lounge area…

Michelle Pfeiffer is sporting quite the shiner after an incident on the pickleball court a few days ago. She jokingly cautioned her Instagram followers about the risks associated with the sport and posted a series of photos on her Instagram account to show the extent of the injury. “Stay Out Of The Kitchen” In her warning, she highlighted the importance of staying clear of the designated “kitchen” area, where ball volleys aren’t permitted. “WARNING,” she wrote. “Pickleball – stay out of the kitchen! Thank you, Less!” The cause of her injury remains unclear. In the shared images, a makeup-free Pfeiffer,…

Two years ago, Andre Mercado was a bit non-plussed when a family friend suggested he give a new sport called pickleball a shot. Initially hesitant, he recounted, “I was like, OK, fine.” Initial Reluctance Encouragement from his tennis-backgrounded father nudged him further, despite his initial reluctance: “My dad asked if I wanted to play. I was like, no, not really,” Andre told Stephen Hunt of Red Line Editorial. “I was playing basketball and said what the heck, I guess I’ll try it. I got through one game and was actually pretty good. “We played for a couple hours, and the…

USA Pickleball, the National Governing Body for the sport of pickleball in the United States, is set to host the second annual Diamond Amateur Championship presented by Fortune Tires from December 3-10 at Pictona in Holly Hill, Florida. Well Over A Thousand Players A total of 1,192 players aged 12 to 84 will compete, representing 48 states and the District of Columbia, plus several different countries, including Canada, Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica. The participant split stands at 53% male and 47% female. Mike Nealy, USA Pickleball’s CEO, anticipates a stellar close to the 2023 tournament season with the Diamond…

As we reported a few days ago, the 2023 MLP Season 2 Finals will be held next week on Monday and Tuesday, December 4 and 5, at the LifeTime Ranch in San Clemente, California. The tournament promises to be a first-of-its-kind event in quite a few ways. Ticket Price And Availability For those eager to attend the Season 2 Playoffs, tickets are complimentary, and you can obtain them by clicking here. Match Schedule And Door Opening Doors will open one hour before the commencement of matches every day. Monday, December 4: 8 a.m. Pacific Time: Challenger Match #1 – St.…

Major League Pickleball (MLP) has reached out to all of its contracted pro players via email to explain that pay cuts are required for the MLP and the PPA Tour to survive in 2024. Players’ “guaranteed annual compensation is proportionally reduced by 40%” in the new proposal for the MLP-PPA’s 2024 season. We’ve seen the email. Things do not look good. Our name, Pickleball Union, has never been so apt: pro players need to band together and determine their worth as pro pickleball continues to evolve. MLP players have been asked to reduce their next year’s salaries by 40%. PPA…

It took Lauralei Singsank a while to start taking pickleball seriously. She had initially considered it was a pastime for an older demographic, even older than her pickleball-loving parents, who were in their 50s! However, the sport and Singsank’s perspective have evolved significantly since then, and it was almost ironic that she should hit the winning shot at the DUPR Collegiate National Championship, securing the trophy and $15,000 prize for her team, the University of Virginia (UVA) Pickleball Club. Maui, Hawaii Singsank’s love of pickleball really started during the pandemic lockdown in 2020, when she started playing regularly in Maui,…

The Goodyear Blimp has been a prominent fixture at significant sporting events for over six decades now. As PPA events are most definitely “significant events” these days, one of these blimps is scheduled to grace the skies above the Life Time Rancho athletic resort in San Clemente, California, on 3rd December, marking its debut in providing aerial coverage for a professional Pickleball tournament.  Historic And Landmark Event This historic and landmark event officially marks both the sport and the PPA Tour as “Blimpworthy.” In celebration of this milestone, notable PPA Tour athletes Anna Leigh Waters, Catherine Parenteau, and Jay Devilliers…