Latest news with #WPBL
News18
12 hours ago
- Business
- News18
World Pickleball League Launches 'WPBL On Tour' Across Six Cities In India
Last Updated: The World Pickleball League launched 'WPBL On Tour,' off-season events in six franchise cities in India. The World Pickleball League (WPBL) announced the launch of 'WPBL On Tour' – a series of off-season events including a unique multi-city tournament bringing together the League and its franchises in a shared vision to grow the sport across the country. This off-season initiative of franchise-led tournaments and events is aimed at expanding the community engagement of India's fastest-growing sport, as evidenced by the resounding success of Season 1 of WPBL. WPBL on Tour will be held in the six franchise cities over a span of four months with 20+ days of on-ground engagement. Each WPBL franchise will play host to a city-based tournament in their home territory, which shall see the League assist with strategic, marketing, and financial support. The World Pickleball League will enable the franchise to organise tournaments that will be open to local pickleball players and enthusiasts, and offer an unparalleled opportunity to them to compete under the banner of their city's team. They will also have a chance to experience the high-octane and inclusive energy of WPBL first-hand. Gaurav Natekar, Co-founder & CEO, World Pickleball League, said, 'From day one, our vision for WPBL has been to unlock maximum value for our franchises, players, partners and all our stakeholders keeping fan engagement at the heart of all initiatives. We were extremely humbled witnessing the success of season 1, especially the interest shown by fans and partners, encouraging us for more Pickleball action. 'WPBL On Tour' is our way of empowering our franchises to grow their local presence, build loyal communities, and embed pickleball into the cultural fabric of their cities with a year-round engagement. Along with this six-city tournament, WPBL will soon announce innovative and pioneering activations, programs and partnerships that will further elevate the game in India." With WPBL On Tour, WPBL is thus aiming to set a new benchmark for how leagues can harness meaningful connections with fans and communities throughout the year – a first for any Indian professional league to develop a 360° sporting ecosystem beyond the primary tournament window. Registration details and other information for each tournament will be announced by the WPBL and the respective franchise on their social media handles in due course. With Season 2 of the World Pickleball League set to unfold between January 24 – February 8, 2026, WPBL On Tour serves as the perfect build-up to India's biggest sportainment spectacle. First Published: June 25, 2025, 17:41 IST
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ayami Sato makes Canadian baseball history becoming the first woman in a pro men's league
Ayami Sato's first pitch marked a lot more than the start of a baseball game — it also opened a new chapter in Canadian baseball history. The 35-year-old Japanese pitcher is the first woman to play in a professional men's league in Canada. She made her debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday as they played against the Kitchener Panthers in the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) of southern Ontario (certainly not the only Leafs vs. Panthers match to watch out for this weekend). The league is more than a century old, with Sato's arrival breaking boundaries for women in Canadian baseball. Young girls walked up to her ahead of the game, baseballs in hand, asking if she could sign them. "Baseball is the kind of sport that anyone can play regardless of their age, gender. So by playing more with this team, I wanna make sure everyone's more encouraged to play baseball and enjoy it," Sato told reporters via a translator after the game. WATCH | Ayami Sato will break gender barrier in Canadian baseball: Sato struck out one batter without allowing anyone on base in the first two innings. Despite high hopes, the Leafs ended up losing to the Panthers 6-5. Sato moved to Toronto from Japan, where she helped its national team win world championships and was crowned MVP three times. Sato said she was a little bit sad about Sunday's loss, but that didn't spoil the joy of her debut. "When I was on the mound and just looking at all the crowds, the big crowds cheering, that was a very memorable memory for me," she said. Keith Stein, a Toronto businessman who is one of the Maple Leafs' owners, is working on a Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) with American baseball trailblazer Justine Siegal. "We think the WPBL is going to be the catalyst for the creation of a whole new baseball ecosystem and culture for women, not only in the United States but throughout the world," he previously told CBC News. The league is set to start with six U.S. teams in 2026, with hopes of potentially expanding it up north.
New York Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Women's Pro Baseball League strikes media deal with Fremantle
The Women's Pro Baseball League is teaming up with Fremantle, the production company behind shows like the global Got Talent franchise (such as 'America's Got Talent') and Family Feud, to help grow the league. The partnership announcement comes on the heels of the WPBL's recent news that global women's sports investor Assia Grazioli-Venier has joined the league as chair. Grazioli-Venier's Muse Sport — the sports advisory arm of her firm, Muse Capital — has also joined the league as an official advisory partner. Advertisement 'We're not interested in just documenting games. We're documenting the rebirth of a sport, and the pioneers who are making it happen,' Grazioli-Venier told The Athletic. 'From draft day to the locker room, the training grind to the business decisions, there's a generational story unfolding here — and Fremantle is the perfect partner to help us tell it.' Fremantle, part of European entertainment conglomerate RTL, will manage everything from producing and distributing game broadcasts to creating original content, securing sponsors, marketing the league globally and helping the league sign a national broadcast partnership. The company will also develop shoulder programming (such as pre- and post-game shows, for example) and documentaries. 'We're taking inspiration from storytelling formats like 'Welcome to Wrexham,' but the story of women's baseball deserves its own narrative arc,' Grazioli-Venier said. Grazioli-Venier, who was an early investor in the NWSL's Washington Spirit, isn't the only seasoned sports investor behind the league — she's part of a broader group that includes sports operators as well as strategic investors from media, tech, and culture. Co-founded by former baseball player and trailblazing coach Justine Siegal, along with attorney and Pro Padel League founder Keith Stein, the WPBL has brought on advisors including legendary Japanese pitcher Ayami Sato and captain of Team USA Alex Hugo. The league is set to debut in spring 2026 with six teams. The league will have a national footprint and will consist of a regular season, playoffs and championship throughout the summer of 2026. In the lead-up to its inaugural season, the league will hold a nationwide tryout. Following the tryouts, WPBL will host its inaugural player draft in the fall, followed by a high-profile showcase all-star weekend. According to the league, 400 athletes from around the world have already registered for tryouts and draft consideration. Advertisement The WPBL isn't the first attempt at a professional women's baseball league in the U.S. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) ran from 1943 to 1954, founded by Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley to keep ballparks alive during and after World War II. More than 600 women from the U.S., Canada, and Cuba played in the league before it folded due to declining attendance and revenue. One of its former stars, 97-year-old pitcher Maybelle Blair — who helped inspire the 1992 film 'A League of Their Own' — now serves as the WPBL's honorary chair. (Blair is pictured in the photo at the top of this story.) Now, nearly 80 years later, women's pro ball — both baseball and softball — is getting a modern revival. The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), a new professional league in the U.S., is set to debut in June. The AUSL is part of Athletes Unlimited, Jon Patricof and Jonathan Soros's multi-disciplinary women's sport league, and will feature four teams playing a 30-game season in a traditional team format. ESPN, a longtime AU broadcasting partner, will be the AUSL's founding broadcast partner and will air at least 18 games exclusively across its main channels — ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU — when the league launches in 2025. In April, the AUSL announced the hiring of longtime MLB front-office executive Kim Ng as its commissioner. Meanwhile, Grazioli-Venier said fan interest in the WPBL is high, and 'that's before a single pitch is thrown.' According to a consumer polling conducted by Hart Research, 19 percent of respondents said they were 'very' or 'somewhat' interested in the league, putting the WPBL on par with results related to the WNBA (21 percent) and women's college basketball (21 percent). 'After investing early in the Washington Spirit before the NWSL boom, and helping grow global leagues like SailGP, it was clear to me that baseball was next,' Grazioli-Venier said. 'The player talent is there, the demand is rising, and the commercial infrastructure is finally catching up. What drew me in now was the chance to do more than invest — I wanted to help build. We know this can be more than a game and are honoring the responsibility that comes with this opportunity.'
