Pickleball league unveils first tournaments outside USA for 2025

LONDON (Agencies): The pro tour for pickleball, the popular paddle sport similar to tennis, table tennis and badminton, will make its first foray outside the U.S. with events in Australia, India, Canada, Asia and Europe next year, organizers said on Thursday. The U.S.-based Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) tournaments will mark the first time ranking points will be awarded to players competing internationally as organizers look to replicate the explosive growth of the sport overseas. The inaugural international event will be held in Melbourne beginning on Jan. 29 before heading to Mumbai in early February and Toronto in September. Tournaments in Asia and Europe at locations yet to be announced will follow, all leading up to the World Championships in Dallas in November. The hottest names on the PPA Tour are 17-year-old women’s world number one Anna Leigh Waters, world number one in doubles and mixed doubles Ben Johns, and top men’s singles player Federico Staksrud of Argentina. The fast-paced paddle sport using a perforated plastic ball was invented in 1965 and interest in it has skyrocketed in recent years.