Browsing: Pickleball News

Today, the famous YouTube channel Dude Perfect announced that their beloved mascot will now be used for a new official Major League Pickleball (MLP) team: The Frisco Pandas. The team, currently known as the Frisco Clean Cause, will be moving its headquarters to Frisco, TX, under the ownership of Dude Perfect and star NFL quarterback Dak Prescott. Frisco has been dubbed Sports City USA, as it is also home to many other famous Texas teams, such as the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Stars, and FC Dallas, as well as the headquarters of the PGA of America. Dude Perfect is proud to…

Twenty-nine-year-old Jaume Martínez Vich, 19th seed (yes, 19th!) at the PPA Texas Open, earned his first shot at a final, cutting a swathe through the world’s top pickleballers on his way to the final at the Texas Open championships currently being held at the Oasis Pickleball Club in Rockwall. Check out this article to read a preview of the PPA Texas Open. Rafael Nadal’s Former Hitting Partner Martínez Vich was Rafael Nadal’s former hitting partner back in Spain before becoming a tennis teacher and a full-time pickleball player in Hawaii. As he says: “I’m just a Spanish boy living in…

Rockin’ Rich Lynch is a Nashville-based independent recording artist known for songs such as “Keep Swinging,” an ode to America’s greatest pastime – baseball, and “Ow, A Bad Singer’s Pony Rent,” a Rolling Stones-esque song about the cost of seeing Bruce Springsteen on Broadway. One day while strolling through Green Hills Mall, Lynch stumbled upon a pickleball court and was inspired to write a song about the idea of playing pickleball at the mall. Pickleball at the Mall by Rockin' Rich Lynch Lynch’s most recent release, aptly named “Pickleball at the Mall,” delves into the complex issues involved with the…

With about 1,500 registered players, the PPA Selkirk Texas Open is the largest tournament in PPA Tour history. All your favorite pros make their way to the beautiful Oasis Tennis Club just outside of Dallas in Rockwall, TX. Anna Leigh Waters is on the hunt for the first ever PPA Triple Triple, as she’s triple-crowned her last two tournaments, JW Johnson has a shot at defending his first gold medal in men’s singles, and the Newman siblings are back together in mixed. There’s a lot to get excited about, so let’s break down each event! View this post on Instagram…

Major League Pickleball (MLP) has reached an exclusive agreement with ESPN2 and Tennis Channel to stream June’s Showcase Challenger Level Super Finals on Sunday and Monday, June 18 and 19, from San Clemente, CA. Premier And Challenger Level Super Finals MLPYT – The official MLP YouTube channel, Tennis Channel Streaming, and T2 will also provide coverage, which includes the Super Finals of the Premier and Challenger Levels from Season One and Two in June and December, respectively. They will also cover all the action from each championship Sunday. The Super Finals are the climax to the Premier and Challenger Level…

Major League Pickleball (MLP) has started its new format’s inaugural season strong and is gearing up for the third and final event of Season One: MLP San Clemente. After San Clemente wraps up on Sunday, June 18th, the following Monday, the 19th, will be what the MLP is dubbing the Super Finals. Because the 2023 MLP tournament schedule is broken up into two seasons, they’ve decided to hold two final championship matches to determine the winning teams, in both Premier and Challenger Levels, for both seasons. Based on the Total Event Points gained during the season, the top two teams…

Memorial Day weekend was full of pro pickleball action thanks to The Boca Raton 2023 New York City Open. Over 1,100 pros and amateur players came out to compete in this Golden Ticket Qualifier event, held at the legendary USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, NY. As has been true for the APP recently, Championship Sunday saw a fair mix of new and old faces in the finals. From the incredible comeback victory for 18-year-old William Sobek in men’s pro singles to Simone Jardim and Parris Todd’s continued reign in women’s pro doubles, there’s a lot…

As we recently discussed in our article about the UK’s number one female player coaching in the community, the sport is certainly catching on over in the United Kingdom. Scotland is the latest country to announce a new national competition. Judy Murray Scot Judy Murray, mother of tennis grand-slam winner Andy, is a recent convert to the sport of pickleball, after trying it out while visiting South Carolina. Judy commented, “The sport has exploded in America. I can see the same thing happening here because it’s so much more accessible than any other sport. As an older tennis player, I…

After Stu Upson announced that he’d be stepping down from his CEO position with USA Pickleball (USAP) at the beginning of the year, many wondered who would pick up where he left off. Today, USAP announced that longtime sports executive Mike Nealy will take over as CEO starting in mid-June. Upson was the first-ever CEO of USAP, having started the position in December 2020. During his time with the organization, Upson was essential to its success by helping grow the organization and leading them through pickleball’s spike in popularity. View this post on Instagram A post shared by USA Pickleball…

At 91 years old, Leurene Hildenbrand is an active participant in pickleball, playing an amazing four times a week. Her teammates admire her remarkable athleticism and find it hard to believe she only began exercising in her mid-50s. An Inspiration To Those Around Her Leurene dedicates three days to playing with adults and reserves another day to teach pickleball to children aged 11 to 18. Her commitment to fitness and late start serves as an inspiration to those around her. “A lot of people come to me and say, ‘You must have been doing this all of your life,'” Hildenbrand…