Pickleball Aims to Become $1 Billion Platform

The United Pickleball Association plans a major capital raise to vertically integrate the sport's ecosystem.

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

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The United Pickleball Association (UPA), which operates the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and Major League Pickleball (MLP), is planning a $150-200 million capital raise to create a vertically integrated platform across the entire pickleball ecosystem. This would allow the UPA to merge its professional and amateur events with other pickleball-related businesses owned by its largest shareholder, billionaire Tom Dundon. The goal is to generate over $140 million in annual revenue by 2026 across sponsorships, media, ticketing, registrations, ecommerce, real estate, and software.

Why it matters

Pickleball is America's fastest-growing sport, with 19.8 million players as of 2023. The UPA's plan to consolidate the sport's key assets into a single platform could help it capture more of pickleball's economic value and accelerate the sport's growth as it transitions from a niche activity to a mainstream spectator sport.

The details

The UPA was formed in 2024 after a merger of the PPA and MLP, the two main professional pickleball organizations. In 2025, the combined entity generated $64 million in revenue, with half coming from sponsorships. The new capital raise will allow the UPA to pay down debt and add fresh capital to its balance sheet. More importantly, the UPA plans to create a private equity-style rollup, integrating Dundon's existing pickleball investments, including Pickleball Central, Pickleball Play Solutions, and Just Courts Construction.

  • The Carvana PPA Masters Championship averaged 791,000 viewers on CBS in January 2026, making it the most-watched pickleball event ever.
  • The UPA expects to generate approximately $81 million in revenue in 2026.

The players

United Pickleball Association (UPA)

The holding company that operates the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and Major League Pickleball (MLP).

Tom Dundon

A billionaire who is the largest shareholder in the UPA and owns various other pickleball-related businesses, including Pickleball Central, Pickleball Play Solutions, and Just Courts Construction.

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What’s next

The UPA plans to use the new capital to invest heavily in media production, build out a more robust event calendar, and further integrate its grassroots operations across the pickleball ecosystem.

The takeaway

The UPA's plan to create a vertically integrated pickleball platform could help the sport transition from a niche activity to a mainstream spectator sport, capturing more of the sport's growing economic value in the process.