Pickleball descends on Dallas to close out the fast-growing sport's biggest year yet

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For two weeks, Dallas, Texas has become the epicenter of the pickleball world. Players from around the country have descended upon The Brookhaven Country Club to compete in both MLP Dallas and the BiOFREEZE USA Pickleball National Championships, powered by Invited & The PPA Tour.

The two tournaments operate differently but will soon exist under one player-and-fan friendly umbrella. Major League Pickleball (MLP) has a co-ed league format with teams and six weekend events this year. The PPA Tour has a similar model to the ATP or WTA, where players compete for themselves. Realizing that a collective approach to this fast-growing sport would benefit all parties, a monumental merger was announced in September. It will align the schedules of the two organizations, with players competing in team events for MLP, while playing PPA Tour events as individuals.

The 2024 schedule will feature 34 total events and visit 18 states. The MLP portion of the regular season will consist of 15 total events, up from six. A new ranking structure will also be introduced, with Slams worth up to 2,000 points, Cups worth up to 1,500 points, and Opens worth up to 1,000 points. The easy-to-follow model is similar to the 250, 500 and 1000 level tournaments that the ATP and WTA utilize.

Following that same model, the PPA Finals in December will showcase the top eight in each division—men’s/women’s singles, men’s/women’s doubles, and mixed doubles—that qualified by virtue of ranking points earned.

MLP Dallas wrapped up this past weekend, with a rematch of September’s MLP Atlanta final—except on this occasion, the D.C. Pickleball Team earned a win over the Orlando Squeeze to secure the MLP Premier Level Championship. Former top-ranked junior tennis standout Christian Alshon, who just last year led the University of Chicago to an NCAA title as the No. 1 singles player, was named Premier Level MVP for his performance.

Other former and current tennis stars making splashes in the pickleball world are 17-year-old Quang Duong of Southern California and 24-year-old North Carolina native Collin Shick. (We’ll have more on each of them later on.)

That leaves the PPA side of this pickleball fortnight to play out: the USA Pickleball National Championships. Always looking to innovate, the PPA Tour will be employing a progression draw for the first time at the pro level this week in Dallas. Tennis fans will be familiar with this format in which competitors will only play one match per event per day, as opposed to the traditional schedule of all matches in a bracket being played on the same day, except gold medal matches on Championship Sunday.

Dave Fleming, the lead announcer for the PPA Tour, and Shick are both in favor of the new change.

“In general I don’t mind either way, I think there are obvious pros and cons to both,” Shick says. “I am in favor of the new progression draw format being introduced into the majors for pickleball though for next year, while the normal tournaments are staying the same. I think a Slam in the sport needs to feel different, and having it three out of five and in the progression draw format definitely accomplishes that goal.”

“Progression draw is great because it helps us build the storylines and identify key matchups in each bracket going into the next day,” Fleming says. “It also helps us pinpoint when the stars are playing so the fans can know exactly when their favorites are playing.”

While the pro events kick off on Wednesday, Tuesday will feature the Celebrity Pickleball Showdown with numerous Dallas sporting legends taking part. Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Romo, Jason Kidd, Tyler Seguin, Scottie Scheffler and John Isner will all be sharing the court with top pickleball players for some evening fun.

In addition to tournament action throughout the week, fans will also be treated to concerts and over 50 on-site vendors. Also of note is the facility’s Championship Court.

“Our Championship Court is simply spectacular,” PPA Logistics Director Sadie Osborne said in a press release. “With over 2,500 seats, plus a completely custom double decker VIP structure and 10 box suites lining each baseline, there isn’t a bad seat in the house.”

Live coverage of Tuesday’s celebrity exhibition as well as matches from Wednesday to Sunday will be available on TennisChannel.com, the Tennis Channel app, and Tennis Channel’s new PBTV (Pickleballtv), as well as on Tennis Channel from 4:30pm-8:00pm ET Wednesday-Saturday.