Last Updated on May 4, 2026 by Drew Pierce
We just witnessed something historic: pickleball became a $225 million business, five members of the Amarillo Pickleball Club died in a plane crash on their way to a tournament, and the PPA Tour crowned champions in Atlanta to close out the 2025/26 season.
Five Pickleball Players Died in a Texas Plane Crash Thursday Night
Date: Thursday, May 1, 2026, 11:00 PM
Location: Wimberley, Texas (40 miles southwest of Austin)
Victims: Justin Appling, Hayden Dillard, Brooke Skypala, Stacy Hedrick, Seren Wilson
I need to start with this because nothing else this week matters more.
On Thursday night, a Cessna 421C carrying five members of the Amarillo Pickleball Club crashed in a wooded area on Round Rock Road in Wimberley, Texas. All five people on board were pronounced dead at the scene.
They were flying to the Cranky Pickle tournament in New Braunfels, about 30 miles northeast of San Antonio. A second plane carrying other club members was traveling to the same event at the same time. That plane landed safely.
According to air traffic control audio, the pilot of the second plane radioed that he hadn’t heard from the first plane. A controller responded: “He started to move erratically, and now his track is disappeared from the scope. So, we want to make sure everything’s all right with him.”
At least one pilot in the area confirmed the troubled plane’s locator emergency device had emitted a distress signal. The controller called 911.
It was mostly cloudy in the New Braunfels area shortly before the crash. There was a thunderstorm two hours later. Federal authorities are leading the investigation.
The Tournament Was Canceled
The Cranky Pickle tournament in New Braunfels canceled Friday’s events. Martin Robertson, head pro at the venue, told reporters: “We’re very heavy-hearted, heartbroken from this. Everybody knows everybody.”
That’s the thing about the pickleball community. It’s not big enough yet for anonymity. When a plane carrying five players crashes on the way to a tournament, everybody knows somebody who knew them. It ripples through the entire sport.
Dan Dyer, president of the Amarillo Pickleball Club, said he’d played many games with four of the five people who died.
“We’re focusing on those closest to the five and to lift these families up in prayer. It’s going to be a long road ahead. But there’s a lot of love and support from everyone that knew these people.”
Pickleball Inc. Raises $225 Million—The Biggest Investment in the Sport’s History
Announcement Date: Friday, May 1, 2026
Investment: $225 million structured investment
Investors: Apollo Sports Capital (lead), Dundon Capital Partners (Tom Dundon)
Impact: MLP and PPA Tour merged under Pickleball Inc. parent company
Twenty-four hours after five pickleball players died in a plane crash, Pickleball Inc. announced the largest investment in the sport’s history: $225 million from Apollo Global Management’s newly created sports fund, Apollo Sports Capital, and billionaire Tom Dundon’s Dundon Capital Partners.
The timing feels off. But business doesn’t pause for tragedy, and the announcement was already scheduled.
Here’s what it means:
The Deal
Pickleball Inc. is now the parent company of:
- Major League Pickleball (MLP)
- Carvana PPA Tour
- Pickleball Central (leading equipment retailer, founded 2006)
- PickleballTournaments.com (software powering thousands of tournaments)
- Just Courts (pickleball court installer)
Combined, these business verticals generated over $140 million in 2025 revenue. The MLP and PPA Tour alone had $30 million in sponsorship revenue and $60 million in combined top-line revenue in 2025. They’re projecting $74 million combined in 2026.
More than 150 signed pro players are now part of Pickleball Inc. The sport’s best players can earn over $1 million annually through appearance fees, prize money, and sponsorship deals. The average player earns about $260,000 per year, though most earn far less and hold part-time jobs.
What This Means
MLP Commissioner Samin Odhwani:
“This capital raise will allow us to expand our focus into new and scalable opportunities like content, media, and the development of infrastructure to support our fast-growing events. The continued and dynamic year-over-year growth data has proven without doubt that pickleball is no longer an emerging sport, and is instead quickly becoming the next tier one sport in America.”
PPA Tour CEO Connor Pardoe:
“This investment allows us to fully integrate the sport into one cohesive ecosystem—uniting professional pickleball, consumer goods, technology, and media under a single, unified platform.”
Al Tylis, CEO of Apollo Sports Capital:
“Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, appealing to players and fans of all ages, and we are excited to be making this structured investment.”
Translation: Pickleball just became big business. The amateur/professional divide is getting wider. The sport is consolidating under fewer, more powerful entities. And Tom Dundon—who’s been criticized for cutting costs on his Portland Trail Blazers NBA team—just poured hundreds of millions more into pickleball.
The Tom Dundon Angle
Tom Dundon is the primary majority shareholder of Pickleball Inc. He’s been a prominent figure in pickleball for years, owning the PPA, Pickleball Central, and PickleballTournaments.com.
But the timing of this announcement is raising eyebrows in NBA circles. In the weeks since Dundon’s purchase of the Portland Trail Blazers became official, he’s been criticized for cost-cutting measures:
- Not bringing two-way players to road playoff games
- Ensuring the team avoided late-checkout fees at hotels
- Not gifting fans free t-shirts at home playoff games
- Likely not retaining interim head coach Tiago Splitter
Bill Simmons nicknamed him “El Cheapo.”
And now Dundon just contributed to a $225 million investment in pickleball while cutting costs on an NBA team. The optics are… interesting.
PPA Atlanta: Championship Sunday Results
Event: Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships
Date: April 27 – May 3, 2026
Location: Life Time Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Significance: Final event of the 25/26 PPA season, 2,000 points (Slam status)
While the $225 million announcement dominated business headlines and the Texas plane crash dominated national news, the PPA Tour closed out its 2025/26 season in Atlanta.
Over 1,700 players competed. CBS aired the mixed doubles semifinals on Saturday at 12:30 PM Eastern. And on Championship Sunday, the usual suspects took home gold.
Men’s Singles: Chris Haworth Wins as #1
Final: Chris Haworth def. Tama Shimabukuro 11-5, 11-1
Chris Haworth claimed his first title since becoming the top-ranked men’s singles player on the PPA Tour. He dominated Tama Shimabukuro in straight games, continuing what’s been an incredible rise from a #52 seed in his first tournament last September to #1 in the world.
Haworth is now 3-0 in finals in 2026. He’s proven that his ranking isn’t a fluke—he’s consistently beating the best players in the world.
The men’s singles battle between Haworth, Federico Staksrud, and Hunter Johnson is one of the best storylines in pickleball right now. Only three players have won men’s singles titles in 2026 across eight events. That’s dominance.
Women’s Singles: Anna Leigh Waters Extends Her Streak to 698 Days
Final: Anna Leigh Waters def. Kate Fahey 12-10, 11-5
Anna Leigh Waters entered Atlanta with a 698-day unbeaten streak in main draw women’s singles. She left with it intact.
Fahey pushed her in the first game, taking it to 12-10, but Waters adjusted and closed out game two 11-5. This was Waters’ 61st women’s singles title.
At 19 years old, Waters is the most dominant player in pickleball—male or female, singles or doubles. She doesn’t lose. She rarely loses games. And when someone does push her (like Fahey did at the Greater Zion Cup, taking the first game 11-8), Waters adjusts and wins anyway.
Men’s Doubles: Johns/Tardio Stay Undefeated in 2026
Final: Ben Johns/Gabe Tardio def. Connor Garnett/Roscoe Bellamy 11-5, 11-7, 11-2
Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio are undefeated in calendar year 2026. They haven’t lost a match together since the Pickleball World Championships in November 2025.
This was their 15th gold medal together. They’re not just the best men’s doubles team in the world—they’re in a tier by themselves. The gap between them and everyone else is massive.
Connor Garnett and Roscoe Bellamy had a great run to the final, but when they faced Johns/Tardio, it wasn’t close. 11-5, 11-7, 11-2. Dominant.
Women’s Doubles: Waters/Bright Continue Their Streak
Final: Anna Leigh Waters/Anna Bright def. (opponents not specified in sources)
Waters and Bright continued their winning ways in Atlanta, maintaining their unbeaten streak in 2026. This is their 15th title together.
Waters now has 61 women’s doubles titles overall. She’s lapping the field.
Anna Bright said after one of their recent wins: “It’s really impressive the level of dominance that she’s maintained.”
That might be the understatement of the year.
Mixed Doubles: Waters/Johns Win Gold
Final: Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns def. Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin 11-4, 11-5, 11-4
Waters and Johns dominated the mixed doubles final against Bright and Patriquin in straight games. This was their fourth win in five meetings against Bright/Patriquin this season.
After losing to Bright/Patriquin at the Mesa Cup earlier this year, Waters and Johns have won three straight titles. They’ve dropped only one game across 12+ matches since that loss.
Waters walked away from Atlanta with three gold medals. Another triple crown. Another weekend where she proved she’s the best player in the sport.
What the $225 Million Investment Actually Means for Players
Let’s talk about what this consolidation means for the average pickleball player—not the pros, but the 24 million people who played pickleball in 2025.
Short-term: Nothing changes. You’ll still show up to your local rec center, book courts on PickleballTournaments.com, and buy paddles from Pickleball Central. The amateur game is unaffected.
Medium-term (1-3 years):
- More professional events with bigger prize pools
- Better media coverage (the Partners reality show drops Monday, May 5)
- More infrastructure investment (courts, facilities, technology)
- Potential consolidation of regional leagues under the Pickleball Inc. umbrella
Long-term (3-5 years):
- Pickleball becomes a “tier one sport” with sustainable professional leagues
- The gap between amateur and professional widens significantly
- More corporate sponsorships, more TV deals, more mainstream attention
- Possible conflict between player interests and corporate interests
The question nobody’s asking yet: What happens when a $225 million investment demands returns? When Apollo Sports Capital wants to see profit growth? When the focus shifts from growing the sport to extracting value from it?
I don’t have answers. But I’m watching closely.