APP Tour Finals, HPL Champions, and Asia’s 2026 Pickleball Surge

Good morning, pickleballers.

I hope you all got some good time on court yesterday, and have plans to do the same today.

Here's some pickleball news to kickstart your Sunday.

New Champions and First-Time Triumphs Define the Action at GEICO APP Tour Championships

United States – The courts at the GEICO APP Tour Championships ignited with high-stakes drama this week, crowning new champions and celebrating breakthrough performances across multiple divisions. In a tournament defined by grit and precision, Ryler DeHeart surged to the top of the podium, capturing the gold medal in the men’s professional singles final. His victory highlighted a weekend of intense competition where established pros and rising stars battled for supremacy.

On the women’s side, Seone Mendez etched her name into the history books by securing the women’s professional singles title. The victory marked a significant career milestone, serving as her first-ever APP Tour professional gold medal. The women’s singles podium also saw a stellar performance from Kat Stewart, who battled her way to a silver medal, while Bobbi Oshiro claimed the bronze to round out the top three.

Oshiro’s success wasn't limited to singles; she teamed up with Daria Walczak in the women's pro doubles to "dance their way" to a bronze medal, showcasing exceptional chemistry and footwork. The mixed pro doubles division saw the dynamic duo of Megan Fudge and Jack Munro add another accolade to their collection by securing the bronze.

The men’s bracket featured its own share of firsts and hard-fought victories. Tristian Dussault celebrated a major personal achievement, taking home the bronze in men's pro singles—his first-ever APP Tour pro medal. In the doubles category, the tandem of Mark Dancuart and Casey Diamond proved their mettle, battling through a tough field to clinch the bronze. As the season culminates, these results at the GEICO APP Tour Championships signal a shifting landscape in professional pickleball, with new talent aggressively challenging the established order.

The Dundon Dynasty: How a Private Equity ‘Rollup’ Conquered Professional Pickleball

Dallas, USA – In the rapidly expanding universe of pickleball, one investment group has quietly executed a strategy to own nearly every corner of the sport. While pickleball courts have been popping up in vacant lots and parks across America, behind the scenes, billionaire Tom Dundon and his firm, Dundon Capital Partners, have orchestrated a massive consolidation of the industry’s most valuable assets.

Dundon, the owner of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, has built a vertically integrated empire that controls the sport's retail, media, and professional infrastructure. His portfolio now includes the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), the sport’s leading e-commerce site Pickleball Central, the registration hub PickleballTournaments.com, and the central media platform Pickleball.com. According to Samin Odhwani, commissioner of Major League Pickleball (MLP), Dundon’s strategy was explicitly designed to "corner the market" to achieve economies of scale and cross-promotion.

The financial stakes are skyrocketing. The global pickleball market was valued at $2.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to surge to $9.1 billion by 2034. To capitalise on this, Dundon’s PPA Tour merged with MLP in 2023, with Dundon and other investors injecting $75 million into a new umbrella organisation, the United Pickleball Association. This "ecosystem play," as described by Zubin Mehta, chief investment officer at Dundon Capital Partners, is unique in the sports world, allowing a single entity to control fragmentation that typically plagues other leagues.

While some legal experts question whether such consolidation constitutes a monopoly, others argue the sport is too nascent for antitrust claims to stick. For now, Dundon remains the undisputed kingpin of a sport that has evolved from a backyard hobby into a private-equity powerhouse.

Mavericks Win Thriller in Tie-Breaker to Claim Inaugural Hyderabad Pickleball League Title

Hyderabad, India – In a finale that organisers described as capturing the very essence of intensity and community, the Credicon Mavericks have been crowned the first-ever champions of the Hyderabad Pickleball League (HPL). The title match, held at The League in the Financial District, unfolded before a passionate crowd of nearly 2,000 fans who witnessed the Mavericks edge out the All Stars in a heart-stopping 4-3 victory determined by a tie-breaker.

The victory earned the Mavericks a winner’s purse of Rs 6 lakhs, while the runners-up, All Stars, took home Rs 3 lakhs. Yashwanth Biyyala, Co-Founder of the HPL, praised the atmosphere, noting that the dramatic finish marked the "beginning of a strong sporting legacy for pickleball in Hyderabad".

Beyond the team triumph, the league celebrated individual brilliance. The prestigious Most Valuable Player (MVP) award went to Sameer Varma of the All Stars for his consistent impact throughout the season. "This league has given players a professional platform to compete at a high level," Varma said, describing the MVP honour as "extremely special".

Other standouts included Nikhil of the Teramor Titans, who was named Best Male Player, and Niharika from The Raptors, who took home Best Female Player honours. The league also recognized up-and-coming talent, awarding Rising Star titles to Vijay Tej and Veda. The event marked a significant milestone for the sport in the region, proving that pickleball has found a vibrant new home in Telangana.

WPC Asia Unveils Massive 2026 Tour Schedule Spanning Five Nations

Bangkok, Thailand – The World Pickleball Championship (WPC) Series has officially announced its ambitious schedule for the first half of 2026, promising to bring high-level competition to major cities across the continent. Branding itself as "Asia’s biggest pickleball tour," the organisation revealed a circuit that will take athletes from the tropical courts of Thailand to the bustling metropolises of China and Korea.

The season kicks off in earnest with the WPC Masters China, a Tier 5 event scheduled for January 5–10, setting the tone for a busy year. Following the opener, the tour heads to Thailand for back-to-back major events: the WPC Thailand Open (Tier 3) in late January and the WPC Asia Pickleball Open (Tier 4) in mid-March.

The tour continues its aggressive expansion into Southeast Asia with the WPC Grand Slam Philippines in late March, followed immediately by the WPC Grand Slam Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur in early April. These Tier 4 events offer players significant opportunities to earn ranking points and "make history" on the regional stage.

The first half of the year will conclude with a return to Thailand for WPC Bangkok in May, followed by events in Korea and a major Grand Slam in China in June, with specific dates for the latter two still to be announced. Organisers are urging athletes to save the dates and begin planning their seasons now, as the comprehensive schedule offers a mix of Masters, Opens, and Grand Slams designed to test the best players in Asia.