It has been a BIG, no… a HUGE….no, it’s been a MONUMENTAL week for Pickleball in Australia. With plenty of action on and off the court. There is no doubt this week was the biggest news week in Australian Pickleball History. This is fantastic and very, very exciting! Read on to get the latest.
This week, we look at the Official Australian Pickleball Paddle. And we report on Partnerships Galore with the PAA and PPL and MLP joining forces just in time for the Pacific Pro 23′ Event in Brisbane and lots more. The Bros break down the news and tell you why this week is the biggest in Aussie Pickleball History. Onwards!
Australian Pickleball News
Australian Pickleball has an Official Pickleball Paddle
It’s official. Engage Sporting is now the official paddle of Pickleball Australia… officially. The Bros. used that same joke the other week when they reported on Franklin Sports being the official Ball of Pickleball Australia. On a serious note, it’s great to see these partnerships flourish in Australia.
Engage Sporting’s signature paddle “The Pursuit” is now the official paddle. And no doubt you will see more of these on courts across the land. Engage paddles are already used by big names like Sarah Burr, and they look really cool. Check out the Engage Pickleball Paddles here.
Read the press release as Engage Sporting becomes the official Pickleball Paddle in Australia.
PPL and PAA Partnership? Lock it in Eddie.
Then the next big news domino fell. The Pacific Pickleball League (PPL) announced its partnership with the Pickleball Australia Association (PAA). This means that the PPL is the official Professional Pickleball League of Australia. This partnership is really important as It creates alignment between the Pickleball organizations. And they can work together to promote, grow, and improve Pickleball in Australia.
Read the PPL and PAA Pickleball Partnership Announcement here.
Major League Pickleball (MLP) partners with PPL
And then things got CRAZY.
Major League Pickleball announced a partnership with the PPL. This announcement was completely unexpected. And it marks the first international expansion for the MLP organization. This announcement is important, as it brings tiny little Australian Pickleball to the World stage. Further aligning with the MLP, the Premier Pickleball organization in the US, is a fantastic move. The MLP has a lot of energy and partnering with the PPL is amazing news for Pickleball in Oz.
But what does this mean for Australian Pickleball today? Well, the four PPL teams (Sydney Smash, Melbourne Mavericks, Brisbane Breakers, and Gold Coast Glory) will rebrand as MLP teams. These teams will also align with the MLP format. It has a simplified scoring system to provide a faster, more dynamic game. However, the Pacific Pickleball brand will be maintained for open and masters events in the traditional tour format.
This news was released in the lead-up to the Pacific Pro 23′ event in Brisbane. And the MLP partnership kicked off the event, making it the first, official Major League Pickleball Event in Australia. Huge news, but we haven’t even covered the Pacific Pro yet. Let’s talk about that next.
Click here to read the MLP and PPL Pickleball Partnership here.
Pacific Pro Brisbane 23’ Wraps up
The Pacific Pro ’23 Event was held over the weekend (Sep 8-10), and it was the first Pickleball Pro event in Brisbane. It introduced Brand new teams and format along with $50,000 total prize money. Players from all over Australia traveled to Brisbane to compete. For those that couldn’t attend, the matches were streamed on YouTube:
- The MLP Matches were streamed and available to watch on the MLP YouTube channel here.
- The remaining matches were streamed and are available to watch via YouTube by the Australian Pickleball Association.
It would have been fun to attend in person, but watching these matches live was fantastic. And it was a great opportunity to see the best Australian players battle it out. The MLP Gold Medal Match was EPIC and when you see that level of play, you understand how the partnership with the MLP makes sense. It’s really worth watching and congratulations to the Brisbane Breakers who took home the gold.
If you missed this event, don’t worry. Sydney hosts the next event on OCT 20-22 is up next and it is sure to be even bigger. The Bros are excited and you should be too dear reader!
Pickleball Boom in Yeppoon, Queensland
And finishing up with a nice, grassroots pickleball story. The Yeppoon Tennis Club in Coastal Queensland was in trouble in 2020. Enthusiasm and memberships were dwindling and the club was under financial strain. Then pickleball was introduced, and guess what happened?
The club memberships doubled and it became financially viable again. Pickleball now accounts for 60% of the club’s revenue. And 14 purpose-built pickleball courts have completed construction. So if you want to visit a beautiful location that you know has pickleball on tap, Yeppoon could be the place to go. It’s a nice story and worth a read.
Read about the Yeppoon Pickleball Boom right here:
Final Thoughts
The Bros weren’t joking when we said it was a HUGE week for Aussie Pickleball News. Exciting times for Pickleball in Australia, indeed. We will see you all again next week with the latest in Pickleball News. Delivered weekly with love.
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Pickle On!
The Aussie Pickleball Bros.