Entrepreneur and investor Joe Pompliano recently reported that the United Pickleball Assocation (UPA) is in the early stages of a major capital raise targeting between $150 million and $200 million.

"This new fundraising round will enable the UPA to pay down its existing debt and add fresh capital to its balance sheet. But more importantly, as part of its capital raise, sources tell me that the UPA plans to create a private equity-style rollup, with billionaire Tom Dundon serving as the link," wrote Pompliano in his February 13 newsletter, Huddle Up.

"By combining its professional and amateur tournaments with Dundon’s media, commerce, software, and real estate assets, UPA believes it can create a single, vertically integrated business that generates more than $140 million in annual revenue," he added.

Pompliano indicated that the UPA generated $47 million in top-line revenue in 2024, $64 million in 2025, and expects to generate approximately $81 million in 2026.

Roughly 50% of this revenue is driven by sponsorships, and with over 300,000 fans attending PPA Tour and MLP tournaments last year, the UPA brought in another $10 million in ticket sales from its events.

"Given what I am hearing about this new fundraising round, the UPA isn’t trying to sell investors on its current growth rate. The UPA believes it can significantly enhance the value of its business by creating a diversified pickleball operating portfolio that vertically integrates all elements of the ecosystem into a single platform," explained Pompliano.

"Since Dundon is the largest shareholder in both companies, the UPA can merge its professional and amateur events with Dundon’s other investments. This includes Pickleball Central (the leading pickleball ecommerce platform), Pickleball Play Solutions (software and tech solutions for registrations, tournaments, and facilities), and Just Courts Construction (court construction and infrastructure services). Dundon also has minority investments in Picklr (the largest franchise operator of pickleball facilities) and DUPR (the leading global pickleball ratings and data platform)," he continued.

If Pompliano were at the helm of the UPA after raising growth capital, here’s how he would elevate the organization to the next level.

Media

Investing heavily in broadcast-quality production, expanding into streaming and international distribution, and building a robust content pipeline around live events and shoulder programming.

A real event calendar

Scheduling four or five flagship events per year — pickleball’s version of a Grand Slam calendar — could be the difference between remaining a niche broadcast product and becoming appointment television.

Grassroots integration

Owning the entire customer journey is what separates a sports league from a platform — and it’s the kind of structural advantage that will be nearly impossible for a competitor to replicate in the long term.

Facilities

Building and operating a network of dedicated pickleball venues would be capital-intensive and risky. But if it works, the new holding company can generate additional revenue from year-round programming while also activating in local markets by allowing its MLP teams to serve as hosts.

"If pickleball’s growth continues at anything close to its current pace, UPA is positioned to be the only company capturing the sport’s full economic value," concluded Pompliano.