By Joe James
The Professional Pickleball Association’s (PPA) proposed changes for the 2025 season have caused backlash in the community amid accusations of profit being prioritised over sporting growth.
Decisions such as the ending of free streaming on YouTube and player prioritisation policies are behind the controversy.
For the 2025 season, all non-championship matches will be moving to a subscription-based model via Pickleball TV which will cost $5.99 monthly or $59.99 annually.
Player prioritisation policies allow for signed players to bypass qualifying rounds over other unsigned, higher ranked players, making the sport less about ability and more about money.
These issues have brought into question the integrity, inclusivity and accessibility of the sport.
On the surface, pickleball’s appeal lies in its accessibility with minimal equipment, public courts and a welcoming atmosphere that invites all kinds of people to get involved.
Data from the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) in 2023 found that 48.3 million adults in the United States had played pickleball at least once in the 12-month period of their study.
In the report, Tom Webb, Chief Marketing Officer of the APP, said: “Over the past few years, we have seen this sport spread at an unprecedented rate – from recreational play in driveways, schools and clubs, to competitive leagues and tournaments, to the elite players at the professional level.
“That growth has brought a remarkable influx of players nationwide - they are younger, more diverse, and can be found in more places than anyone ever thought.”
However, as the professional leagues seek bigger audiences and more revenue, fans are being left to wonder if the soul of the sport is being sacrificed in favour of profit.
The Recap
With an upcoming year that promises to further expand pickleball as a global sporting entity, a wave of criticism towards one of its leading professional organisations is not a good look.
There is a strong sense of community and that feeling wains when the sport becomes clouded in paywalls and premium content.
The player prioritisation policy also starts to veer towards a pay-to-win sentiment which is another factor the PPA do not want to have bouncing around their game.
The 2024 PPA Tour saw its most popular year to date, with a 40% rise in event attendance and The Kitchen found Pickleball TV recorded over one billion minutes of content watched across the year.
CBS, Fox and ESPN all broadcasted the sport which shows there is a demand from a very passionate audience.
In terms of global reach, the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating system (DUPR) found that countries such as India, Thailand, Venezuela, China and the Philippines are some of the fastest-growing nations for pickleball participation.
There is money to be made, and it is an inevitable that with sponsorships and bigger audiences, a lot of profit will be generated, but fans fearing that the heart of the game may vanish have valid concerns.
The PKLBull Verdict
There are benefits to be had with the growth of pickleball as increased visibility and investment can help the sport reach new audiences, fund player development, and cement the future of the game.
Within this lies a reasonable debate on the sacrifices that come with a sport becoming more lucrative and more globalised whilst trying to maintain the same authenticity and community spirit that appealed to players in the beginning.
The PPA, along with the rest of the professional pickleball world, have millions of eyeballs across multiple broadcasters and streaming platforms, but the key to the maintaining the long-term successes of the sport will not lie on the number of zeroes, but the amount of people that feel the love of game in an accessible and inclusive way.