PPA Tour spring season posts record revenue, audience and engagement growth

The PPA Tour’s spring slate ended in San Clemente with more than a trophy on the line. From January through May, the 10-tournament run posted record results that point to where pickleball travel demand is concentrating now: at venues that can turn a pro weekend into a destination, not just a bracket.

The biggest jumps were commercial. Ticket revenue rose 58% year over year. PBTV event coverage climbed 23% year over year to 473 million minutes viewed. Social media followers increased 37%, impressions jumped 72% and engagement surged 124%. On CBS, the Jan. 18 Carvana Masters averaged 791,000 viewers and later peaked at 1.047 million, while the May 2 Atlanta broadcast averaged 570,000. Those are not soft signals. They show that the pro game is pulling a larger audience into the same events that fill seats and move sponsor dollars.

The spring finale, the Toys “R” Us PPA Finals, was held at Life Time Rancho San Clemente, 111 Avenida Vista Montana, San Clemente, California. That is the kind of venue setup retreat operators and tournament-adjacent resorts are watching closely: one place where players can compete, spectators can watch, and travelers can build a weekend around the event rather than around open play alone. San Clemente now looks like a template for the next wave of pickleball trips, especially for players who want court time with a real pro-tour atmosphere.

The bigger picture is even harder to ignore. Apollo Sports Capital led a $225 million structured investment in Pickleball Inc., the new parent company of the Carvana PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball. CNBC reported that the fresh capital brought total investment in Pickleball Inc. to $315 million and valued the company at $750 million. At the same time, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association said pickleball remained America’s fastest-growing sport for the fifth straight year, with about 24.3 million U.S. players in 2025, up 22.8% from 2024 and 171.8% over three years.

That mix of audience growth, capital and participation says the same thing from every angle: the tour is no longer chasing attention, it is concentrating it. With new 2026 stops in Canada and Italy and top-20 athletes from 17 countries, the best retreat and travel opportunities are likely to cluster where the pro circuit already proves it can draw people in, keep them there and make the trip feel bigger than the play.