APP Tour Signs Megan Fudge, Emilia Schmidt, Three More from IPBL 2025

The APP Tour confirmed on March 3 that it signed five international professionals who featured at the inaugural Indian Pickleball League, held in December 2025 at the K. D. Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi. Among the five names sealed to APP contracts are Megan Fudge, Emilia Schmidt, Roos van Reek, Shelby Bates and Jack Munro.

All five players took part in the IPBL’s December event at K. D. Jadhav Indoor Hall, with organizers and results from that tournament placing Megan Fudge at the center of the league’s awards list. The APP Tour’s announcement follows continued international play from those athletes, with several appearing at the APP Tour’s Kuala Lumpur Open in February as they maintained competitive schedules after the IPBL.

Megan Fudge, a 38-year-old American, was the most detailed individual credential in the signings: she led the Hyderabad Royals to the IPBL final, was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, and finished the event runners-up to the Mumbai Smashers. A photograph from the New Delhi event shows Fudge standing next to Emilia Schmidt, captioned, From left to right: Megan Fudge and Emilia Schmidt at the Indian Pickleball League in New Delhi. Photo: Special Arrangement.

The APP Tour is a U.S.-based developmental circuit that hosts year-round tournaments for both amateur and professional players; consistent performances on the APP often lead to contracts on the Professional Pickleball Association Tour, which represents the highest professional level of the sport in the United States. For players such as Fudge, Schmidt, van Reek, Bates and Munro, APP contracts represent a formal stepping stone toward PPA-level competition and broader exposure on North American stages.

The move has been described within league communications as an Asia-facing development with broader pro implications and underscores pickleball’s rapid global rise as a sport. The APP confirmation on March 3 and wider reporting by March 7, 2026, mark the latest movement of talent between Asia-based events and U.S. developmental circuits, and highlight how performances at a December 2025 New Delhi showcase are translating into transcontinental career opportunities.

With five IPBL alumni now on APP rosters, the signings create a clearer pathway linking the K. D. Jadhav Indoor Hall showcase to APP stops such as the Kuala Lumpur Open and, potentially, PPA fields later in the year. Media and tour calendars will watch whether these contracts result in immediate APP starts or lead to PPA bids for the newly signed internationals during the 2026 season.