Latest news with #pickleball
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vulcan V-PRO FLIGHT Named Official Ball of DUPR
DELRAY BEACH, Fla., July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating) announced today that the Vulcan V-PRO FLIGHT is now the Official Ball of DUPR across all its verticals and events, including High School Pickleball, Collegiate Pickleball, Minor League Pickleball (MiLP), as well as more than 8000 DUPR clubs and facilities all over the world. Vulcan V-PRO FLIGHT Named Official Ball of DUPR This new partnership sets a standard across the sport, as all DUPR events and events operated by DUPR's partner leagues, tours, clubs and event organizers will be required to use the Vulcan V-PRO FLIGHT pickleball. This reinforces DUPR's commitment to consistency, quality, and the highest level of competitive integrity. "DUPR is built on accuracy and trust. We only align with partners who meet that standard," said Tito Machado, CEO of DUPR. "Vulcan has proven to be the best ball in the game, and this partnership raises the bar for every player who steps on the court." Vulcan's V-PRO FLIGHT technology is regarded as best-in-class, delivering elite performance, durability, and accuracy. Already trusted as the Official Ball of Major League Pickleball (MLP), Vulcan now strengthens its position as the leading brand in pickleball ball technology. "We're proud to become the Official Ball of DUPR," said Jeremy Nef, President of Vulcan Pickleball. "DUPR is the backbone of competitive pickleball, and this partnership reinforces our commitment to supporting players at every level — with the most advanced ball on the market." Together, DUPR and Vulcan are shaping the future of competitive pickleball. About Vulcan Vulcan Pickleball is the premier equipment brand in pickleball and the creators of the V-PRO FLIGHT pickleball. The V-PRO FLIGHT is the official ball of DUPR, High School Pickleball, Collegiate Pickleball, Minor League Pickleball, and Major League Pickleball. Trusted by recreational players and professional pickleball players alike, the V-PRO FLIGHT is "The Official Ball of Pickleball". Learn more at About DUPR DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating) is the premier global pickleball rating system and technology platform, trusted by the world's leading clubs, tournaments, leagues, and players. DUPR's dynamic rating system unifies pickleball across age, gender, and location by analyzing match results to accurately evaluate all players across a 2.000 - 8.000 scale. DUPR is the official pickleball rating of leagues, tournaments and clubs around the world, including United Pickleball Association (UPA), PPA, Major League Pickleball (MLP), Life Time, The Picklr, National Team Pickleball League, National Pickleball League. It also owns and operates Minor League Pickleball and Collegiate Pickleball, two of the biggest amateur leagues in the sport. Players and operators can visit to sign up and learn more.
CBS News
a day ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Highland Park hosting biggest pickleball lesson in hopes of breaking record
Highland Park is hosting what's being called the biggest pickleball lesson in the hopes of breaking a world record on Monday. The Park District of Highland Park is hosting over 400 pickleball participants at Danny Cunniff Park. The park district is partnering with the Chicago Slice professional pickleball team and Mark Miller's Munchkin Programs for the world record attempt. Miller set the world record of 300 pickleball lesson participants in Scottsdale, Arizona, back in 2023. In 2024, Miller set a record for The World's Largest Tennis Lesson, gathering 400 kids. "We're going to do it, 444 kids today," Miller said. "It's a record." "The Park District is excited to be a part of this historic event to break a world record and promote youth involvement in the game of pickleball," said Nick Baird, Director of Recreation for the Park District of Highland Park. "We are seeing a huge increase in youth and young adult participation in our own pickleball lessons and programs. Pickleball is a great sport for kids because it is a fun, active game that promotes fitness, coordination, and teamwork."
Reuters
3 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Top-ranked Waters shines at ESPYs as pickleball steps into the spotlight
LOS ANGELES, July 19 (Reuters) - Pickleball phenom Anna Leigh Waters became the first athlete from her sport to attend the ESPY Awards, marking what she called a "super cool" milestone both for herself and the rapidly growing game. "It's amazing for me to be here, but also for the sport that I'm able to be here and represent pickleball," Waters told Reuters at the annual event that was held on Wednesday to celebrate the best in sports. "I'm the first pickleball athlete to be at the ESPYs, so it's an honor." Waters, 18, has emerged as one of pickleball's brightest prospects as the sport surges in popularity across the United States and beyond. She believes the game's accessibility is fuelling its rapid growth. "Everyone can play it," she said. "I say it's easy to learn, hard to master. Any age, anywhere around the world, people just love to play pickleball. So I think that's why it's so popular. Everybody can play with everybody." Waters, who turned pro at 12 years old, is on a 69-match winning streak in singles and has won 163 gold medals in her career, making her arguably one of the most dominant athletes in the world. She said she is on a mission to prove pickleball is more than just a backyard pastime for retirees. "What we're trying to show people is that it's a much younger sport and that it can be very competitive," she said. With pickleball's expansion into mainstream sports culture, Waters is already setting her sights on a bigger stage. "I hope pickleball will be in the Olympics. A lot of people are saying Australia," she said, referring to the 2032 Summer Games in Brisbane. "I'll be 25, so hopefully I'll be able to compete. That would be amazing. So looking forward to Australia for sure." As she mingled with some of the biggest names in sports, Waters reflected on pickleball's meteoric rise. "It's definitely blowing up. It is starting to snowball," she said. "Seeing it rise and being able to rise with it has been an experience I won't forget." Pickleball - a hybrid of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong - has exploded in popularity in recent years, experiencing 311% growth over the past three years, with attendance, sponsorships, and revenue all reflecting that remarkable surge.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Northallerton first tennis team lose at home to Boston Spa
Northallerton's first team suffered another defeat this week when they lost at home to Boston Spa. There were some really tight games, but the visitors had the edge. (Image: Supplied) After too many weeks of windy weather, we were blessed with blazing sunshine and calm conditions on Thursday evening when we ran a free pickleball session on our courts that now benefit from permanent bright yellow lines. We were pleased to welcome some new faces along with others who had enjoyed our previous open court sessions that ended at the end of June. Some tennis members also took the opportunity to have a go at the game, and everyone enjoyed the evening. (Image: Supplied)
Forbes
6 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
On The Ground In Grand Rapids At The Beer City Open
An aerial drone shot of championship court at Grand Rapid's Belknap Park shows just how packed the ... More grandstands were for the event. Earlier this year, someone asked me the following question: 'If you could go to just one pro event all year, what would it be?' My immediate answer: The Beer City Open. My reasoning at the time (I had never attended before in person) was simple: Major League Pickleball's Mid-Season tournament being held at the 2025 Beer City Open is a throwback to the early days of the league, where every weekend crowned a winner and every match was on a knife's edge in terms of pressure and excitement. Win and move on, lose and your chances of breaking a profit for the weekend were badly damaged. However, now that I've been in Grand Rapids and seen the facility and witnessed the excitement, I've only doubled down on my answer. The Beer City Open is the best pro event I've been to, and I can't wait to go back. I met with a slew of people connected to the tournament, the host club, and those who sponsored the event this weekend and came away with a distinct opinion that Grand Rapids is a fabulous pickleball town that's only getting better. While in Michigan, I had the chance to catch up with some of the key operators of the Pickleball scene in Grand Rapids; here's what I found. I arrived at Belknap Park straight from the airport at 11am on a Thursday and the place was packed and already rocking for the tournament's first pro matches. Every one of the remaining courts were filled with players, those who were among the 1,100 lucky amateurs who won the lottery to get entry into the event. There was a large food truck garden with good (and cheap) alternatives, easy access to facilities, and the pro player's lounge was a spacious business across the street from the park that the players loved. The popularity of the tournament is obvious, and there's high demand for entry. 'Our registration process is a lottery and it's open for just three days. Before that, it would sell out in 20 minutes; If you had a problem with your computer you weren't getting in,' says Paul Richards, the co-founder of the Beer City Open and the long-time tournament director. Andrea Koop, who is an event co-founder, full-time attorney and full-time Pickleball Professional, talks about the event's origins. 'We started this event in 2018. We had just ten courts at the time. Over the years, we've gone from 400 players in 2018 to just under 1,100 amateurs this year. We have 21 dedicated courts now. The Beer City Open is responsible for, along with the Grand Rapids Pickleball Club, over a million dollars of improvement to the park. All of the proceeds from the event go back into the Belknap Enhancement Club." These funds have more than doubled the number of courts on site, built stadium courts, and most recently built an 'Owner's Box' permanent two story structure that overlooks the two stadium courts (which, on non-tournament weekends, hosts the 4.5-5.0 'King of the Court' play every night). The event predates the 'pro tours' that we're now familiar with, and over the years has been affiliated with all three major pro institutions in the sport. In its early days, it was a pre-pro tour stand-alone event that began drawing players nationally for a pittance in prize money. It was an APP-affiliated event in 2021 and 2022, then pivoted to being a non-sanctioned but tacitly PPA-affiliated event in 2023 (it wasn't an official pro event, but the PPA, notoriously jealous of its exclusivity clause, gave approval for its contracted players to play, which led to a very PPA heavy pro draw). In 2024, the event changed direction and played host to a new MLP construct; the mid-season tournament, a relationship that continues today. Tournament Director Andrea Koop pulled double duty this weekend, competing for her MLP team and ... More running the event. Koop comments, 'Those [affiliation] decisions are driven by relationships with those particular organizations, and we're friendly with everybody. So we don't play favorites, Whatever's best for the pickleball community in West Michigan, if they're willing and interested in coming, we're happy to have them. And even the ones we don't deal with anymore, we're still good friends with them, and they may come back at another time.' Irrespective of pro tour affiliation, the pros like coming to this event. The hotels are close by in downtown Grand Rapids, and are practically walkable. There are multiple excellent hotel options. There's a slew of eating options walkable from whichever hotel you choose. For those not interested in a walk to downtown after playing, the preferred method of travel is a massive fleet of Lime electric scooters that can get you from door to door inside of 10 minutes. I made good use of the scooters while there, saving a ton of money on Ubers and managing not to crash once, even when I had to pull my suitcase along for the ride. Fortunately, I was fast enough that none of the PPA staffers at the coffee shop I cruised by had enough time to snap a photo as they doubled over in laughter. My uber for the weekend was actually a Lime e-Scooter, which proved quite handy getting me to and ... More from the hotel to the park. Says Michelle Esquivel, who won the APP Pro Singles title here in 2021 and who has been coming since the event's beginning, loves the event and says she'd come even if it wasn't sanctioned. 'This place feels like what Pickleball should be. It's community based, and we're in the community park. We're not playing at some bourgeois country club; we're playing at a park like pickleball used to be. Plus, the people here are so welcoming. I love coming here.' The 'people' of the Grand Rapids Pickleball Club come out in force to support this event, supplying more than 500 volunteers to help staff the event and make sure that the event runs smoothly. Says Susie Williams, a volunteer and amateur player who was a constant presence at the Media entrance this weekend, gave me a bit of background. 'The membership to the club and to play at these courts is just $35 a year. You don't have to pay it, but everyone pays it to support the courts." The club was started in 2012, relatively early in the pickleball boom. Says Richards, 'Early club founders Keith Wolverton and John Schowalter did all the groundwork for us. We just worked to expand it and fortunately we got a great relationship with the City of Grand Rapids. The city's Parks and Recreation department lets the Grand Rapids Pickleball Club run 100% of the pickleball activities out of this park. So when people ask us how do you do it, it's years worth of building relationships with the City and proving to them what you're doing is of the best interest in the pickleball community and the City as a whole.' I can attest to this directly; it was the city of Grand Rapids who reached out to me to discuss this story, wanting to highlight the great work of the club and the tournament directors. Edward Jones managing director and event title sponsor Becky Anderson chats up the tournament ... More co-founder Paul Richards in-between the courts. In a nod to how close-knit the pickleball community in the area, Williams turned out to be the sister of Becky Anderson, General Partner and onsite representative of Edward Jones, the title sponsor of the weekend's tournament. Anderson was on double duty for the weekend, serving as both fan and corporate representative, excusing herself at one point to don an Edward Jones logo shirt so as to present the Las Vegas Night Owls their winner's check on behalf of her employer. Dinks and Dingers uses these repurposed conex shipping containers as two-story dining areas in a ... More cool feature alongside its brand new courts. Anderson then turned out to be the husband of entrepreneur Andy Anderson, who just this week is opening up a brand new indoor pickleball facility just outside of the Grand Rapids airport titled Dinks and Dingers. Grand Rapids may have a fabulous outdoor park, but it also has Michigan weather and a lack of indoor court availability, something this brand new eatertainment-focused facility hopes to fulfill. With six courts now, another six on the way, and enough land to build another dozen outside, this facility should be popular soon. Not only that, but it has quite the unique feature: the country's first indoor Whiffle-ball field (hence the name 'Dingers' to go along with Dinks). Public Relations lead Denise Kolesar was kind enough to give me a sneak peek on my way out of town (along with a lift to the airport), and pickleball fans will be big fans of this facility. All in all, it was a fabulous weekend with great competition, great people, and clearly a great pickleball community.
