Brick Wall: The Future of Pickleball?
14 months ago in Boynton Beach, Florida, with top players from both the PPA Tour and APP Tour in attendance, a new professional pickleball system was born. Brick Wall Pickleball quickly developed a reputation in Florida as the most player-friendly pro events, focusing on an affordable registration fee, high payouts, and an improved player experience from start to finish.
With this traction, Brick Wall launched a second region shortly after. By mid-July, less than 7-months post-launch, they were in four major US cities (Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta).
At each event, players compete for points which contribute to their ranking. Each region’s ranking is separate and at the end of the season, the top-32 individual players compete in a big Regional Final. The best teams from each region then come together to compete in the Brick Wall National Championship.
This past November at the first-ever Brick Wall National Championship, some of the best players in the world competed for $15,000. Oscar Serra (Europe #12) and Sanil Jagtiani (Asia #14) prevailed over Richard Livornese (North America #18) and Andreas Siljestrom (Europe #13) in a thrilling 12-10, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6 final.
Brick Wall Pickleball rebranded in the offseason to the Brick Wall Pro Series and added women’s and mixed divisions. Across the first two events, four of the World Top 20 in women’s doubles medaled at Brick Wall Florida as Megan Fudge and Bobbi Oshiro both collected multiple golds. In the Mid-Atlantic region, World #26 Aibika Kalsarieva remains unbeaten.
But to founder Cody Sivan, it’s not just about the big-name pros. He takes pride in the accessibility of Brick Wall. With a registration fee of just $100 per player, Brick Wall comes in at just 45% of the cost of the PPA Challenger Series. Despite this, Brick Wall still averages a higher per-event payout, higher player DUPR, and a higher minimum number of games.
Opportunity, Sivan says, is the most important thing. “Accessibility is everything, but opportunity makes the accessibility mean something.” In 2025, with no financial backing or sponsors, Brick Wall paid out north of $90,000. In 2026, with a few sponsors but still no financial backing, they expect to break half a million dollars. “We’re working on some really exciting stuff,” says Sivan. “Come 2027, we expect many players to be able to make a living competing at Brick Wall.”
What’s next in the meantime? A Southern California launch planned for June and a Texas launch soon after will complete Brick Wall’s westward expansion. Beyond that, who knows? The PPA has the first-mover advantage and a billionaire owner. The APP has largely pulled out of the US instead choosing to invest resources into the youth and Asia markets. Dozens of major pro pickleball tours and tournaments have launched all over the world over the past half decade and more are coming still.
Brick Wall’s advantage lies in being recognised as the most player and community-friendly organisation. They will have to double down on that and then some, as well as rely on partner support. After inking a national partnership with DUPR last fall, things seem to be moving in the right direction. “We’re extremely excited to be working with the team at DUPR; they see the vision and share our passion for shaping the future of pickleball,” stated Sivan.
In January, shortly before the Brick Wall season launched in Baltimore, Cody was named a Keynote Speaker at PickleCon — the premier pickleball convention and festival in the US. “I’m really amped about that one,” said Cody. “It’ll be a great platform to share what we’re building and our vision.” Brick Wall will be hosting their inaugural Futures Game as well on Championship Court on opening night, showcasing some of the top young talent in the game.
David vs Goliath has happened in pro sports before. The AFL (American Football League) and ABA (American Basketball Association) both revolutionised their sports and forced landmark mergers with the incumbent NFL and NBA, respectively. The NBA had an 11-year head start over the ABA, and the NFL had been around four decades before the AFL launched. Professional baseball’s Wild West era featured countless pro leagues and barnstorming teams over the course of 35 years before the American League and National League came together for the first-ever World Series in 1903.
Only time will tell what the future of pickleball looks like, but one thing is for sure, Brick Wall will play a role in shaping it.
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Chris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine. Chris follows the global game closely, reporting on the latest news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball Podcast, interviewing people at all levels of pickleball. Chris is also an avid player, currently struggling to make the breakthrough from 4.0 to 4.5.