PPA Tour Founder and CEO Connor Pardoe has been beaming with pride during the Jenius Bank Pickleball World Championships at Brookhaven Country Club.

With over 3,500 players in the field and 55,000 specators enjoying the festivities along Pickleball Boulevard, the tournament is pickleball's biggest celebration in every way. 

This particular event, however, is especially meaningful to Pardoe since it marks a major milestone as the 100th tournament in PPA Tour history.

Talk about coming a long way in a short time period.

There were 600 players and 2,000 fans at the inaugural PPA tournament in Mesa, AZ in February 2020, so the evoluation of Pardoe's creation in half a decade is simply extraordinary.

"Did I ever think we were going to get here? Absolutely. I was a big believer right from the beginning," said Pardoe, during a Pickleballtv interview on Saturday with Kamryn Blackwood and Matt Manasse. "I fell in love with pickleball like a lot of players, right? I started playing, started getting exposed to the game, loved it, wanted to play it as much as possible, and eventually had the vision of thinking, 'Hey, pickleball could become a professional sport.' But one thing's for sure, I didn't think that it was going to grow this fast, this quick, so five years has been pretty amazing."

No argument there.

And it's only fitting that reaching the century mark came at such a special tournament with so much on the line points-wise for pickleball's finest athletes, along with a party-like atmosphere for attendees that reigns supreme. 

"You look around and see this event that we do here, whether it was the first year or the third year, a couple times a day you kind of pinch yourself," mentioned Pardoe. "You take a look around and you go, 'Holy cow! This is something that's pretty cool.'"

Before joining Blackwood and Manasse, Pardoe addressed the fans on Natures Choice Championship Court to express his heartfelt gratitude for their unwavering support and encouragement.

It was a nice moment.

"I think we all knew where pickleball could head, but the fact that we got here so quick, everybody should be real proud. It's been a big team effort, and we're just really grateful to have all you guys here," shared Pardoe. "The game is just really special. It's something that you can do with everybody, whether you're playing with your father or I play with my six-year-old kids now. We feel like our job has just been like, 'How can we make the sport grow faster? How can we create a platform that is enjoyable for all you guys as fans?' I'm glad you guys have been able to join the journey with us, whether you guys were here from event one or now event 100. Our goal is to just get a little bit bigger and a little bit better every single week, and we'll keep celebrating tournaments with you guys."

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