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The gentle thup thup of community pickleball games will turn decidedly more competitive for 11 days this autumn at Brookhaven Country Club.
The United Pickleball Association (UPA) announced the return of the UPA World Championships and the Major League Pickleball (MLP) Playoffs as well as the DUPR Collegiate National Championships to Farmers Branch Nov. 1-10 at a press conference Wednesday, May 8, at Brookhaven Country Club.
Connor Pardoe, CEO of the UPA’s Professional Pickleball Tour, kicked off the announcement relating the growth of pickleball globally and the speed of growth of the UPA.
Pardoe said the 2023 event, which was the first championship pickleball competition, was a learning experience as well as a success.
Last November, Pickleball Boulevard at Brookhaven hosted more than 50,000 fans and 3,500 competitors from 49 states.
“We really didn’t know what to expect last year, and this event was such a boon to not just Farmers Branch but the entire local economy,” said Mayor Terry Lynne.
The event was found to have brought an estimated economic impact of $14 million to Farmers Branch and the surrounding area.
The 2024 pickleball competitions will include professional divisions and an amateur competition open to all skill and age groups and finals of the state championships where winners of state events across the country will compete in championship brackets.
“Building on the incredible success from last year, we are absolutely thrilled to bring the world’s biggest pickleball party – the Lapiplasty UPA World Championships – to Dallas,” Pardoe said.
Lapiplasty, a flagship procedure by Treace Medical Concepts used to correct bunions, was named the new title sponsor of the UPA World Championships.
“The region has become the epicenter of pickleball,” said David Pillsbury, CEO of Invited Clubs, which was previously known as ClubCorp and owns Brookhaven Country Club. “We went from a few thousands of people to tens of thousands.”
The MLP playoffs will start the championships Nov. 1-3 and will feature about 100 pickleball athletes and a coed team format that includes two levels of competiton.
MLP features live events as well as the competitions. The league is backed by team owners including LeBron James, Heidi Klum, Tom Brady and Drew Bees. Two challenger teams that advance will be promoted to the premier level in 2025.
The DUPR Collegiate National Championships, which will award $20,00 in scholarships to the top athletes, also will take place Nov. 1-3.
Following a block party, the world championships take place Nov. 3-10.
A celebrity pickleball showdown will feature a yet-to-be-announced line-up. Last year’s celebrities included Scott Scheffler, Dirk Nowitzki, Luka Doncic, Tony Romo and Jason Kidd.
“It’s really an alignment of the stars like we’ve never seen,” said Andrew Dockrill, director of business development for the Dallas Sports Commission. “You don’t even have to like pickleball and you’ll have a good time.”
Registration to compete is open to all players across all skill levels and ages. Tickets are also now on sale.
“We welcome you and can’t wait to see you out here on the courts,” Pillsbury said.
Visit upaworlds.com to buy tickets and register to play.
