Pickleball Inc. projects $140 million revenue as pro leagues drive growth

Pickleball Inc. said it is headed for $140 million in revenue in 2026, with about $80 million expected from its pro leagues, a split that shows the tournament side of the sport has become the engine inside a much larger commercial machine.

That machine took shape in 2022, when Tom Dundon teamed with PPA Tour founder Connor Pardoe to acquire the tour and fold assets into Pickleball Inc., a holding company that now stretches across retail, media, facilities, software and professional leagues. The structure tightened further on Feb. 29, 2024, when the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball completed their merger under the same parent company.

The money kept coming in 2026. In May, Apollo Sports Capital led a $225 million investment that valued Pickleball Inc. at about $750 million and lifted total investment in the company to $315 million. Pickleball Inc. said the fresh capital came after its newly merged business verticals generated more than $140 million in 2025 revenue on a combined basis. Pardoe said the deal would allow the company to fully integrate professional pickleball, consumer goods, technology and media under “a single, unified platform.”

For amateur players, the real question is whether that capital reaches more than the top of the pyramid. USA Pickleball’s 2025 growth report said Pickleheads added more than 2,300 new locations last year, bringing its database to 18,258 locations nationwide and 82,613 total known courts. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association said U.S. participation rose from about 4.2 million players in 2020 to more than 24 million in 2025, making pickleball the fastest-growing sport in the United States over the past three years.

That growth gives Pickleball Inc. more room to build around the game itself. With professional leagues driving roughly 57 percent of the company’s projected 2026 revenue, the business is no longer just selling tournament dates. It is trying to control the places people play, the platforms they use and the path from a public court to the sport’s biggest stages.