The Ex–Tennis Stars Grinding It Out on the Pickleball Tour

If you were one of the estimated 40 million people who picked up a pickleball paddle in the U.S. in 2024 and wanted to catch a little inspiration by watching its top athletes dink their way to glory, you might have ventured to Dallas, Texas, to attend the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships with 55,000 other fans during the week of the U.S. presidential election. For something slightly scrappier, you could have jaunted over to Grand Rapids, Michigan, over the summer to witness the Major League Pickleball by Margaritaville’s Advil Targeted Relief Mid-Season Tournament. Or perhaps you simply tuned in to Pickleballtv, the 24-hour television network dedicated expressly to the cause.