Pickleball's changing succession plan

This week’s issue is about what happens after a boom becomes too big to run on momentum alone.

From youth tours and junior academies to national recognition in New Zealand, pickleball’s next phase is starting to look less like spontaneous growth and more like infrastructure.

→ This Week: Youth pickleball goes global | New Zealand makes it official | The noise solution is layered

For most of pickleball’s boom, the youth story was more promise than structure. Kids were playing. Teens were entering tournaments. College clubs were multiplying. But the path from one level to the next still felt loose.

That is changing.

In the U.S., Arizona recently held its inaugural high school championships, with 145 athletes from 25 schools competing in Mesa. DUPR is now trying to scale that idea nationally through a Spring 2026 High School Tour that aligns directly with its Collegiate Pickleball Tour and leads into a first-ever High School National Championship.

The college side is growing up, too. DUPR promoted its 2026 Nationals as the largest college tournament yet, with 800+ athletes, while its recap described 700+ players from 64 schools and 112 teams. It has also added formal eligibility rules around enrollment, credit hours and a five-season timer.

Vietnam: The strongest non-U.S. “ready now” case. The Asia Pickleball Junior Open 2025 drew 246 junior athletes, up from 80 the year before, while D-JOY’s 2025 junior series reached nearly 3,000 participants. Its Ho Chi Minh City academy now has 63 courts, dorms, training facilities and scholarship support.

Canada: A strong school-entry model. Pickleball BC’s youth initiative introduced pickleball to 11,000 K–7 students in Phase 1, with 20,000 planned in Phase 2.

India: The biggest long-term ceiling. The country has more than 382 million people ages 10–24, and its national federation now has official government recognition.

England and Japan: England is prioritizing schools and a junior development pathway in 2026, while Japan is recruiting U12–U18 national-team players for the 2026 Asia Junior Open.

Participation created the boom. Youth infrastructure will decide whether it lasts.

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India has more than 382 million people ages 10–24.

That does not make it a pickleball power yet, but it does explain the ceiling. If India builds real school, club and tournament pathways, it has one of the largest youth-player pools in the world.

Interesting tidbits from within the pickleball community:

Can you guess where we’re headed? Respond to this email with your guess. First one to get it right will receive something nice!

Here’s a hint:

The most interesting part of pickleball’s youth story is no longer that kids are playing. Of course they are. The more important question is whether the sport can give them somewhere to go next.

That is why this week’s main story feels bigger than a high school tournament or a junior academy. Those are individual data points, but together they show a sport beginning to build its own ladder: school entry, junior competition, college pathways, national teams and governing-body support.

Do not hesitate to email Adam or connect with him on LinkedIn with questions, concerns, or story ideas!