Major League Pickleball — or MLP — is a professional coed team league where city-based franchises compete for a national championship.
If you’ve been curious about what is Major League Pickleball and how it’s different from regular pro tournament play, the short answer is this: it brings the energy of franchise team sports directly to a pickleball court. Think NBA structure, but with dinking.
Overview
The Origins
MLP was founded in 2021 by Steve Kuhn, a former Wall Street hedge fund manager who wanted to bring franchise-based professional pickleball into the mainstream sports conversation. The league launched its first events in 2022 and grew fast — attracting high-profile investors like NBA star LeBron James and pulling in serious media attention along the way.
The league eventually merged with the PPA Tour to consolidate professional pickleball under one roof. Today MLP runs 20 city-based franchises across a full season stretching from late spring through summer, making it the premier team competition in the sport.
Format
This is genuinely unlike anything else in professional racket sports. It’s coed, it’s team-based, and every single match has a built-in tiebreaker that can flip the whole thing on its head in a matter of minutes.
Match Structure
Every team match consists of four games played in this exact order:
- Women’s doubles
- Men’s doubles
- Mixed doubles (first)
- Mixed doubles (second)
All doubles games are played to 11 points using side-out scoring — meaning you only score when your team is serving — and you need a two-point margin to win the game. A team wins the match by taking three of the four games. If it ends 2-2, that’s where it gets genuinely wild.
The DreamBreaker
A tied match triggers the DreamBreaker, MLP’s signature tiebreaker and honestly the reason a lot of fans keep watching. It’s a singles relay — two players from each team alternate playing singles, rotating partners every four points, all the way to 21 under rally scoring. Rally scoring means a point is earned after every rally, not just when the serving team wins it.
Here’s the twist: the home team has to lock in its lineup first, giving the away team a strategic counter-pick advantage. It’s basically chess at a hundred miles an hour.
Teams
MLP currently operates 20 city-based franchises spread across the United States. Each roster carries six players — three men and three women — and all six can now be deployed in a single match, giving coaches real lineup flexibility.
Current Rosters
Among the major league pickleball teams currently active in the league, you’ll find franchises representing a wide spread of US markets, including:
- Atlanta Bouncers
- Chicago Slice
- Dallas Flash
- Florida Smash
- Las Vegas Night Owls
- New Jersey 5s
- Texas Ranchers
The full 20-team field also includes clubs like the Brooklyn Pickleball Team, Los Angeles Mad Drops, Miami Pickleball Club, Orlando Squeeze, Phoenix Flames, and Utah Black Diamonds, among others. Team ownership ranges from private sports investors to celebrities, and rosters regularly feature top-ranked pros — names like Ben Johns, Anna Leigh Waters, and JW Johnson.
Season
MLP’s season runs from late spring through summer. It’s built around nine regular season events across the country, a Mid-Season Tournament, and three weekends of playoffs — 13 total events on the calendar.
Standings Points
Not every team plays every event. Each franchise competes in five of the nine regular season stops plus the mandatory Mid-Season Tournament. Standings points aren’t earned per match — they’re awarded based on your overall finishing position at each event.
An event win earns 25 points, while finishing 9th or 10th earns just 1 point. It’s structured a lot like Formula 1 championship scoring, where showing up consistently matters just as much as winning.
At each event, teams split into round-robin groups competing Thursday through Saturday, with the top teams advancing to Sunday cross-group matchups where the actual standings points get decided.
The Playoffs
The top 12 teams from the regular season earn a spot in the playoffs, which now runs across three weekends. It moves through a first round, then quarterfinals, then semifinals and a championship final. The top four seeds in the regular season standings receive first-round byes — which means there’s real pressure to perform consistently all season long, not just peak at the end.
Watching
On TV
Catching MLP is genuinely easy right now. Here are your main options:
- Pickleball TV (live Championship Court matches)
- MLP’s official YouTube channel (free, Championship Court and Grandstand matches)
- Live event attendance via Tixr or Ticketmaster depending on venue
Championship Court matches stream on both Pickleball TV and MLP’s YouTube simultaneously. Grandstand matches are YouTube-only. No cable subscription required — you can watch the whole season for free if you want to.
Live Events
If you’d rather be courtside, MLP events travel across US team markets — cities like Dallas, New York, Chicago, Newport Beach, St. Pete, and even Walt Disney World. Most event tickets are sold through Tixr, with certain venues like St. Louis and the Disney World stop using Ticketmaster exclusively. Attending in person is a different experience entirely, especially if a DreamBreaker is on the line.
FAQs
How is MLP different from the PPA Tour?
The PPA Tour is an individual tournament circuit where players compete for themselves. MLP is a team league where city-based franchises compete collectively. The two organizations merged but MLP events specifically focus on the team format rather than individual rankings.
Who owns Major League Pickleball teams?
MLP team ownership includes a wide mix of private sports investors, celebrities, and entrepreneurs. The league has attracted well-known investors from the NBA, NFL, and entertainment world, which has helped accelerate its visibility and growth since launching in 2022.
Can I record myself without a partner or help?
Absolutely. A tripod set up behind the baseline handles solo filming without any issues. Fence-mount accessories like the Swing Stick are popular hands-free options that keep the camera stable and properly elevated throughout the session.
Do the same players always play on the same team?
Not necessarily. MLP uses an annual draft and free-agency system, so rosters change from season to season. Players are under UPA contracts, and teams can trade, keep, or draft players through a structured offseason process each year.
What happens if a match ends in a tie?
If both teams split the four doubles games two apiece, the match goes to a DreamBreaker. This is a singles relay tiebreaker played to 21 under rally scoring, where players alternate every four points. It’s the signature moment of every MLP event.
How do MLP playoff seedings work?
The top 12 teams by regular season standings points qualify for the playoffs. Seeds 1 through 4 receive first-round byes and enter at the quarterfinal stage. From there, teams compete in a bracket format through semifinals and a championship final held in New York City.
