It’s quite evident that despite global challenges, the two existing professional pickleball tours have flourished since their inaugural year in 2020.
I’m referring to the APP (Association of Pickleball Professionals) and PPA (Professional Pickleball Association) tours.
For myself, having been “stuck” in Toronto, Canada since the start of COVID-19, dealing with the local challenges since March 2020, watching these tournaments on YouTube and Facebook has absolutely helped get me through the pandemic.
Let's dive in...
Photo credit: APP Tour and PPA
During a time when Canadian tournaments were being canceled or postponed and recreational play was minimal, I found myself watching the pros very closely. I’d look at the team pairings ahead of schedule, or make my predictions and would watch the matches live, whenever I could.
Those who talk to me about pickleball probably received way too much dialogue from me the last two seasons: “the ball seems to be playing super soft, don’t you think?” “Rob and Adam just made it to the finals!”, “I missed it - why did Irina withdraw from that singles match?”. Another one: “sorry, I probably just spoiled the ending for you”.
These tours have gone through their transformations, and I’ve certainly observed a lot of growth and change within their structure.
Both have already achieved what I can only presume is one of their main goals, to grow pickleball, and I don’t see either of them slowing down anytime soon. It’s exciting times for this sport, I think we’ve all felt the buzz for a while and will continue to do so.
Typically, both of these tournaments offer live pickleball on one court - the championship court - although sometimes they also have cameras set up on a second one and they alternate between the two. These qualifying and bracket matches are always available on Facebook and YouTube.
But here’s the thing, the tours are now showing most of their finals - and sometimes semi-finals - on regional and/or specific sports channels. I do get it. It’s about elevating pickleball to the next level, providing better exposure for the sport, and gaining viewership.
But on the other hand, for those of us not connected to these specific cable channels, it’s so anticlimactic when you spend hours watching these players fight their way to the finals only to have to wait a week after the tournament to watch the gold medal games as “past matches”.
Just a reminder, PPA also changed the standardized structure of pro finals to best of 5 games played on the final day of the tournament, giving players time to rest and strategize.
Typically, in a double-elimination pickleball tournament, the team coming up from the consolation draw must beat the winning team 2/3 games and then one game to 15. APP structures its tournaments the “traditional” way.
APP’s website lists ESPN+, Tennis Channel, and a few other channels as their viewing partners. PPA lists Fox Sports, CBS Sport, and others as their partners.
So, if you have cable, which many folks do not have these days (because it’s all about streaming networks) you have the option to buy these specialty stations like Fox Sports 2 for $5/month.
But who’s ever going to do that when the finals show up on YouTube days after the tournament, for free? The tours have unfortunately been set up in a way that excludes Canadians and some Americans from viewing the pinnacle point of each category: pro doubles, pro mixed, and pro singles.
By the way, shoutout to MLP (Major League Pickleball) for putting on the most entertaining pickleball event of 2021.
I’ve never been into sports drafts and did not get caught up in the MLP draft but the tournament was highly entertaining and fun to watch, largely thanks to the addition of player mics that changed the entire viewing experience.
Overall, it was an unbeatable combination of high-quality pickleball and engagement from the pros. All of the MLP matches were live-streamed on YouTube, including the finals. Given how fun 2021 was, I will watch the draft this year because I feel that it will enhance the overall experience.
Maybe I’m one of the few who does not have these channels as a part of my cable package and somehow most Canadians are watching the finals live. However, I have a hard time believing this is actually the case. I’d be really curious to know who out there in Canada is able to watch the two tours live, from start to finish?
With approximately 20 tournaments per tour this year, there is almost a tournament happening every weekend and sometimes APP and PPA events will overlap across one weekend.
With this in mind, I have definitely wondered how worth it it'll be to subscribe to one of the broadcasting channels, such as ESPN+, which has been advertised as the official pickleball channel, however, that said, up here in Canada we also have our own pickleball to focus on.
Canadian Nationals seem to be a go this year, which is great news. The province of Ontario has had the firmest restrictions in North America and with Nationals being hosted in Kingston, Ontario, this is such a positive sign of good things to come.
The tournament will be hosted at an indoor facility featuring 28 courts on a concrete surface. While it may not be broadcasted live on TSN, I’m sure a few players will live stream matches on their social media, and most of the hundreds of people participating will more than likely argue: why watch when you can play?
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