What I Learned About Major League Pickleball


Recently, my wife and I attended the MLP Tournament in St. Louis.

We had attended a PPA tournament before, but this was our first visit to an MLP tournament. 

I thought I would share with you some things I learned from attending.


 1.  The MLP does a great job of marketing. This event was a "home" event for the St. Louis Shock.  And, they made their players very accessible to the public.  Over the 4 days of the tournament, the Shock's top players each signed autographs and had photos taken with fans. And the lines were long.  But that's what the public wanted. And the Shock didn't disappoint. There were fans of all ages getting photos, having hats signed, paddles signed, shirts signed, etc. There was also plenty of team logo merchandise available to purchase.  And many fans did.

 2. Pickleball is continuing its tremendous growth. There were probably somewhere between 1000-1500 fans present on Saturday of the tournament.  Lots of the fans present included families, meaning there were many 8-15 year old's there. And it was clear they had not been dragged there by their parents. They were excited to be there and often led in cheers for the their team and their favorite players.  They wore team shirts. They had signs. They held Fathead photos of their favorite players. And that was despite the fact that the top two players, Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters, were not playing in that tournament. Yes, pickleball is still very popular in all age groups.

 3. The pro players are extremely talented.  They make amazing shots. They make difficult shots look easy. They are in great shape. They have great footwork. They are extremely competitive. Some of the rallies lasted 25 - 35 shots before a point was scored or a side-out occurred. Of the four matches on Saturday, three of them went to a dreambreaker tiebreaker. And the crowd loved it!

 4.  The cost of a seat at an MLP tournament is a great value! Our seats were not VIP, but also were not general admission. We had the middle-tier priced seats which were really good, assigned seats for less than $100 per seat. Now, I was born in Alabama and have been an Alabama Crimson Tide fan my whole life. As you can imagine, we have paid substantially more for a seat at a Crimson Tide football or basketball game than this MLP tournament cost. However, for that high cost of a Crimson Tide event, we saw only one game.  Yet, at the MLP St. Louis, we saw four amazing matches! We were there watching pickleball for 9 hours.  So, for under $100 per seat, that's a great value!  I'm sure with the growth of the sport, it won't stay that way for long. Once the big TV contracts happen, the advertisers will flock to the pickleball audiences, and it will all get more expensive. So, enjoy it while you can at this cost.

And here are some closing thoughts on what I learned.

I learned that the MLP team format is fun to watch.

I also learned that the sport of pickleball is in great hands. There are smart people behind the scenes making great decisions that are enhancing the growth of the sport. 

And I learned that, even though many of the top players are still teenagers, they are great ambassadors for the sport!

I encourage you to attend a PPA or MLP event sometime soon.

You'll be glad you did! 


Ben Holt
​CEO, Pickleball Living