🔊 Private Equity Puts $225M Behind The Pickleball Boom

This week, Pickleball Inc., the parent company of Major League Pickleball (MLP) and the PPA Tour (PPA), announced $225 million in new funding, valuing the company at $750 million.

This latest investment round was led by Apollo Global Management’s newly created sports fund, Apollo Sports Capital, and Dundon Capital Partners, owned by billionaire Tom Dundon.

Dundon is the majority owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, the new owner of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, and an early investor in pickleball.

The fresh funds bring the total investment in Pickleball Inc. to $315 million as capital continues to flow into emerging sports properties.

Why This Matters

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the US, and it’s not even close.

According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, over 24 million Americans played pickleball in 2025, a 171% increase over just three years.

The average player age has also dropped from 41 in 2020 to under 35 today, with younger people now driving the majority of new participation.

In other words, pickleball is attracting major appeal and interest from all demographics.

But participation numbers aren’t the only thing driving Apollo and Dundon to write a $225 million check.

What’s also driving it is the structural opportunity, or more specifically, the lack of structure, and the commercial upside that it can create.

Until now, pickleball's professional landscape has been fragmented.

Over the past few years, MLP and the PPA Tour have competed for sponsors, media deals, and fan eyeballs.

That competition kept both leagues smaller than they should be.

It’s hard for a league to attract a broadcast partner or high-profile sponsors when it can't answer the basic question of “Which league is the real one?”

We saw something similar happen with the NBA-ABA merger in 1976 and the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.

And it’s exactly why we’re seeing this rollup happen now.

It also goes beyond just merging the two leagues.

Pickleball Inc. can also own and control the full ecosystem:

Combined, these assets generated over $140 million in revenue in 2025.

MLP and the PPA Tour combined for $30 million in sponsorship revenue and $60 million in total revenue in 2025, with projections of $74 million in 2026.

Imagine what happens when you have a unified brand and story.

Apollo and Dundon aren't necessarily in this because they love the sport.

They simply recognize a fragmented market with revenue, a growing fanbase, and underdeveloped media rights.

This is exactly the kind of opportunity institutional capital is built to capitalize on.

As MLP Commissioner Samin Odhwani put it, "Pickleball is no longer an emerging sport, and is instead quickly becoming the next tier one sport in America."

In other words, the bet isn't really on pickleball itself.

It's on what pickleball becomes when it finally has real structure and intentionality behind it.

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This week’s guest on the Vetted Sports podcast is Sam Morton.

Sam Morton is the Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer of Atlético Dallas.

Atlético Dallas is a new expansion soccer club in the USL Championship that will make its debut in 2027.

In this episode, we discuss:
‣ Why him and his partners want to bring a new soccer team to Dallas
‣ The importance of branding and getting the details rights
‣ Some of their long-term plans for the team

Check out the full episode here: Apple | Spotify | YouTube