The US Open Doesn’t Need the Pros Anymore

Once the centre of the professional calendar, the US Open is now thriving on something entirely different. That shift is quietly changing what matters in pickleball — and who holds the power.

The US Open continues to scale without most top contracted professionals
Participation and experience, not elite competition, are driving demand
The definition of “relevance” in pickleball is shifting away from the pro game

The US Open just proved something uncomfortable.

It doesn’t need the best players in the world to work.

This year’s event in Naples delivered everything you would expect from the sport’s biggest gathering. Around 3,500 players on site. More than 7,000 registrations. Courts full from morning to night. Ticket demand strong enough to require a lottery.

What it did not have was most of the sport’s top contracted professionals.

And yet, nothing about the event felt diminished.

Two Markets, One Sport

That disconnect sits at the centre of where pickleball is right now.

“There are effectively two different markets inside pickleball right now, and they don’t overlap as much as people may assume,” said Melissa McCurley.

Her view reflects what the US Open is already showing in practice.

On one side sits the professional game, increasingly structured around contracts and closed tours such as the PPA Tour, where the strongest fields are concentrated. On the other sits the wider community, driven by participation, atmosphere and shared experience.

The US Open now belongs firmly to the second.

“Even without most of the top contracted pros, the event is still packed… that tells you the draw isn’t primarily about seeing the absolute best players in the world,” McCurley said. “It’s about being part of something big, social, and meaningful within the community.”

If you’re following how the global game is shifting week by week, the World Pickleball Report breaks this down every Wednesday.

What Fans Actually Value

For years, the assumption has been simple. Elite players are the product. The presence of the best defines the value of the event.

The US Open is quietly dismantling that idea.

Most attendees are not there to track the professional landscape in detail. Many would struggle to list the top ten. The absence of contracted players does not land in the way it would in more mature sports.

There are exceptions.

“Someone like Anna Leigh Waters transcends the sport and provides a recognisable anchor for casual fans,” McCurley noted.

But beyond a handful of names, the professional layer is no longer the primary driver of engagement at events like this.

That creates a tension the sport has not fully addressed.

If this continues, then the tours are not controlling the sport in the way they think they are.

A Shift in Power, Not a Decline

This is not a story about decline.

It is a story about repositioning.

The US Open is no longer the tournament that defines the top of the professional game. That role now sits with the tours.

But in losing that function, it has gained something else.

“I think it’s more accurate to say its role is evolving,” McCurley said. “It may be the event that best represents the heart of the sport right now.”

That reframing matters.

Because if one side of pickleball owns elite competition, and the other owns scale, participation and experience, then the balance of power is no longer straightforward.

The assumption that control of players equals control of the sport starts to weaken.

And once that assumption goes, everything from scheduling to sponsorship to long-term strategy becomes less certain.

The tours may still decide who is best. But the US Open is starting to decide what the sport actually is.

For a clearer view of where the sport is heading each week, you can join the World Pickleball Report here.

The US Open Doesn’t Need the Pros Anymore

Two Markets, One Sport

What Fans Actually Value

A Shift in Power, Not a Decline

Further Reading