(PLO)-The Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament will welcome one of the world’s fastest growing sports when it hosts the first AO Pickleball Slam.
The AO Pickleball Slam will take place in the final week of the Australian Open Grand Slam, with a cash prize of $100,000.
Invented in 1965 by a group of American friends, pickleball is a fast-paced sport similar to tennis and badminton, but played on a smaller court using a perforated plastic ball that has grown in popularity in recent years.
From 24-26 January 2025, Melbourne Park’s Court 3 will become a pickleball hub, attracting a host of international players to compete for the championship.
Tennis Australia director Tom Larner said: “Pickleball is a sport for everyone. Its rapid growth globally highlights its unique ability to connect people of all ages. By bringing pickleball to the Australian Open Grand Slam, we are embracing the future of racket sports and delivering a great experience for both players and fans.”
Pickleball will also be part of the Miami Open (starting in March 2025) and will be featured at the French Open in June 2025.
Some fans see the convergence of the two sports at mainstream tournaments as tennis’s attempt to ensure that advertising dollars are not diverted to pickleball. That hasn’t stopped pickleball from continuing its expansion plans.
In July, the US-based Professional Pickleball Association announced it would host its first international ranking tournaments in 2025, with stops in Australia, India, Canada, Asia and Europe.
The governing body of this sport, the American Pickleball Association (PPA), also revealed that pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the “land of the stars and stripes”, with a 52% growth in the number of participants from 2022-2023.
Major League Pickleball – a professional league co-owned by NBA star LeBron James – believes pickleball could reach 40 million players by 2030.
The sport is also attracting the attention of many former tennis players and world-famous artists such as Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Tom Brady, Taylor Swift and George Clooney.
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