Site MapPPA Launches Junior Tour, Set to Debut in 2024
PPA Is Starting a New Series of Youth Pickleball Tournaments For Kids Ages 8-16
YOUTH PICKLEBALL PLAYERS TRAINING AT A PPA CLINIC. PHOTO CRED: PPA
The future of professional pickleball is here – sort of. Starting in 2024, the PPA Tour will be holding a junior tournament circuit – aptly named the Junior PPA. The tour will be the first of its kind, offering the best youth players in the world a chance to develop their game.
In an interview with theTUNDRA, PPA Tour Tournament Director Jake Weinbach said the new junior circuit could do wonders for youth pickleball as it explodes in popularity across the country.
“They will be able to play where the pros play, they'll play on the same courts as the pros, and they'll play alongside the best professional pickleball players in the world,” Weinbach said. “It's just an excellent opportunity to grow the sport, to grow the younger demographic in pickleball and to create this platform for youth athletes to get a taste of what pickleball is at the highest level.”
Open to players ages 8-16, the junior tour will launch at next month’s PPA Masters in Palm Springs, CA. Tournaments will be open to all participants who meet the age requirement provided their skill levels are below a 5.0. Registration costs $25, along with a $5 “event fee.” Players will also receive grounds passes, giving them the chance to watch the pros up close.
How the Junior PPA Came About
KIDS ARE FLOCKING TO PICKLEBALL. PHOTO CRED: PPA
As pickleball continues to grow in popularity, the PPA has looked for ways to increase its reach. Weinbach said PPA had been experimenting with other youth competitions for years before deciding this was the best path forward.
“We've had junior PPA events in the past, to kind of play with [the idea]. And after doing a little bit more of it, we decided this could be the next big thing [with] the way that youth pickleball is taking off,” Weinbach said,
On the junior side of the Masters, 20 participants are already registered with more expected. So far, PPA has largely drawn on their existing relationships with youth players who have participated on the amateur side of previous tour events.
Growing the Sport: PPA Aims to Attract More Young Players to Pickleball
According to PPA, 21% of the sport’s participants are kids, and that number is expected to grow as more youth pickleball programs, like the PPA Junior Tour, are launched. The sport lends itself to youth participation thanks to its low barrier of entry and emphasis on camaraderie. Schools across the country have begun adding pickleball to their physical education classes.
The PPA isn’t just aiming to attract existing pickleballers though – the organization has its eye on youth athletes who perhaps haven’t been exposed to pickleball yet or weren’t aware of how many opportunities there are for juniors to play. According to Weinbach, the junior tour will help bring new players to the country’s fastest growing sport as well.
“We are all in on youth pickleball now,” Weinbach said. “I think a lot of other people [will] see these juniors playing and the way they get promoted and recognized alongside the top professional pickleball players in the world. It’s really going to generate that exposure and attract other young athletes that play other sports around the country to want to play pickleball and to want to get a taste of this experience themselves.”
16 Events, Youth Clinics and Community Outreach: Junior PPA in 2024
THE JUNIOR PPA TOUR BEGINS WITH THE MASTERS. PHOTO CRED: PPA
The PPA currently has 16 youth events planned over the course of the next year. Weinbach anticipates that these will help young players build friendships that go beyond the pickleball court as well.
“The community is a special part of pickleball – to create these relationships and make new friends,” Weinbach said. “So this aspect is also a big [component] of what we believe in with the Junior PPA Tour.”
Alongside the tour, PPA is launching a youth-focused community service initiative called “Junior PPA Serves.” Through the initiative, PPA will host a free youth pickleball camp at each tour stop, as well as programing focused on building character both on and off the pickleball court.
After the Masters, which runs from January 9-14, the tour will head to Mesa, AZ for the Arizona Open, before stops in Austin, TX and Charlotte, NC. Players can register through the PPA’s online portal.
About the PPA Tour
THE PPA TOUR RETURNS IN JANUARY. PHOTO CRED: PPA
The PPA Tour was founded in 2018 and has since become the leading professional pickleball tour. The advent of the youth tour comes at a time of turmoil for the PPA. They are currently in the middle of a merger with MLP, and much of its future remains up in the air. Just this weekend, news broke that some MLP players are growing frustrated with the merger process after they were asked to take 40% pay cuts. The PPA recently wrapped up 2023 tour with its Finals in San Clemente, CA, where Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns each took home three gold medals.
