Palm Beach Royals Join Major League Pickleball for 2026 Season at $16M

Hyperspace Ventures acquired a Major League Pickleball expansion franchise for $16,000,000, launching the Palm Beach Royals as MLP’s 23rd team and pledging a 2026 debut that will begin play in May. Co-owner Zach Hunter said, “Palm Beach is ready for its first major pro team. We're building the Royals to compete at the highest level and to become a team that defines the next era of Major League Pickleball. Just like Palm Beach itself, the Royals will embody prestige, energy, and a world-class brand that makes this community special.”

The ownership core is a group of UNC-Chapel Hill alumni and tech entrepreneurs who call themselves Hyperspace Ventures, led by former Tar Heel tennis players Zach Hunter, Taylor Meyer, Alex Rafiee and alumnus Peter Fox. The minority ownership list reads like a cross-sport networking roster: Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, former UNC stars Tyler Hansbrough and Marvin Williams, Indianapolis Colts Pro Bowler Kenny Moore II, and founders Mitch Heath, Jeff Keswin, Lance Pillersdorf and Scott Scherr.

Hyperspace’s bet on the sport is already measurable on paper: the group invested $5,300,000 in Pickleball Inc. and has put more than $21,000,000 into pickleball ventures to date. The Palmbeachroyals site cites local reporting that labeled the transaction “the priciest” in league history, a characterization the team describes as both “a bold statement, and in many ways, it’s a powerful promise.”

Operationally the Royals face a two-season rhythm. The team’s permanent home court in Boca Raton is under construction and won’t be ready until 2027, so the club will compete in a tour-based format across the country in 2026 and will participate in the MLP draft on Feb. 27. The Royals have already signed top-ranked player Sofia Sewing, who is listed as APP No. 1 and fresh off a triple crown in women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles at an APP event in Malaysia. Sewing’s own recollection of her first reaction to pickleball: “You're crazy. I would never do that.”

League context frames the move: MLP emerged from a 2024 merger that left the circuit with 20 teams coast to coast, and organizers say the 2025 season posted record growth in attendance, broadcast reach and sponsorships. Match play in MLP will continue under the format Rick Robb outlined: men’s doubles, women’s doubles and two mixed doubles matches worth one point each, with a tied 2-2 score settled by a DreamBreaker single game to 21 with rotating singles.

Community plans are explicit: the Royals intend to host matches, youth clinics and countywide pickleball festivals and partner locally with Boca Paddle by CityPickle for events and merchandise. The team’s stated mission reads, “The Palm Beach Royals were founded to create a world-class franchise that embodies the prestige, energy, and community spirit of Palm Beach” and to “elevate pickleball to new heights while building a lasting legacy both on and off the court.”

Next steps for the club are concrete and near-term: finalize draft picks after Feb. 27, clarify the home facility’s exact location and construction timeline for 2027, and confirm the financial structure behind the $16,000,000 figure as the Royals move from announcement to first serve in May.