Federico Staksrud hits a forehand.
Federico Staksrud competing for the Orlando Squeeze at MLP Orlando. Major League Pickleball

LIVE BLOG: The latest news and updates from MLP Orlando

The 2025 Major League Pickleball season kicks off this week at MLP Orlando, where all 16 Premier teams will be in action across four days at the USTA National Campus.

This is the first of ten regular season events that will take place between April and August, and each team will play a total of 25 matches during the regular season before the playoffs.

Broadcast coverage will be available on the Pickleballtv app, which is available for download in the Apple and Android app stores, starting at 11 ET.

Stay tuned for live updates throughout the day.

6:10pm ET: Mad Drops overcome slow start, defeat Miami in regulation

The Los Angeles Mad Drops began their 2025 campaign with a 3-1 victory over th Miami Pickleball Club.

Things got off to a bit of a rocky start when Catherine Parenteau/Jade Kawamoto suffered a stunning defeat to Miami's Milan Rane/Mya Bui in women's doubles, but Quang Duong/AJ Koller got LA back on even ground with 11-3 victory over Noe Khlif/Jay Devilliers in men's doubles.

The Mad Drops kept the momentum from there, as Parenteau/Duong and Kawamoto/Koller both earned mixed doubles wins to secure the triumph.

 

As reported earlier, Koller is filling in for Hunter Johnson for the Mad Drops' three bouts in Orlando. 

He—and the team—are off to a winning start.

LA will take on the New Jersey 5s and Orlando Squeeze on Sunday, while Miami will finish with a clash against the Columbus Sliders.

5:25pm ET: Brooklyn Pickleball Team v. Orlando Squeeze: Starting lineups and matchups released

The Brooklyn Pickleball Team will face the Orlando Squeeze in Saturday's final match on Toray Championship Court.

This bout is also the inaugural edition of Saturday Night Pickleball, which features premium matchups and special edition jerseys for teams.

Both Brooklyn and Orlando earned regulation victories earlier in the day; the Squeeze defeated the Utah Black Diamonds to improve to 3-0 on the year, while Brooklyn took down the Miami Pickleball Club for its first win of the season.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

5:10pm ET: New Jersey dominates doubleheader, cruises past Atlanta, Phoenix

The New Jersey 5s continued their red-hot start to 2025 with a pair of regulation victories against the Atlanta Bouncers and Phoenix Flames Saturday afternoon.

Both wins came via a 3-1 score line, as Anna Leigh Waters/Will Howells won both of their mixed doubles matches to avoid going to a DreamBreaker.

 

These results bring New Jersey to 4-0 on the year. The 5s will look to remain perfect in Orlando when they face the Los Angeles Mad Drops and St. Louis Shock on Sunday.

4:50pm ET: Miami Pickleball Club v. Los Angeles Mad Drops: Starting lineups and matchups released

The Miami Pickleball Club will face the Los Angeles Mad Drops in Saturday's final bout on Grandstand Court.

This will be the second match in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader for Miami, who will look to rebound from a regulation loss to the Brooklyn Pickleball Team. Los Angeles, on the other hand, will be playing its first match of the season.

The Mad Drops will be without Hunter Johnson for this matchup, so AJ Koller will enter the starting lineup as an on-site alternate.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

4:35pm ET: Brooklyn defeats Miami for first win of 2025

The Brooklyn Pickleball Team secured its first win of the season with a 3-1 victory over the Miami Pickleball Club.

The pairings of Rachel Rohrabacher/Jackie Kawamoto and Dekel Bar/Riley Newman took wins in gender doubles to give Brooklyn a sizeable advantage going into mixed doubles.

Milan Rane/Noe Khlif scored a comeback victory over Rohrabacher/Bar in the first mixed match to get Miami on the board, but Kawamoto/Newman took the second over Mya Bui/Jay Devilliers to close out the encounter in regulation.

 

Both squads have one more match to play on Saturday in the Sunshine State; Miami will take on the Los Angeles Mad Drops, while Brooklyn will face the Orlando Squeeze in the first-ever edition of Saturday Night Pickleball. 

3:35pm ET: New Jersey 5s v. Phoenix Flames: Starting lineups and matchups released

The New Jersey 5s will take on the Phoenix Flames in the second match of their Saturday afternoon doubleheader.

New Jersey is fresh off a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Bouncers early Saturday afternoon, while Phoenix will be looking for its first win of the season after falling to the Orlando Squeeze in a DreamBreaker on Friday.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

3:00pm ET: Orlando improves to 3-0 with regulation victory over Utah

The Orlando Squeeze kept their perfect record intact with a 3-1 victory over the Utah Black Diamonds.

After Lacy Schneemann/Samantha Parker earned the women's doubles point for the Squeeze, Utah's Connor Garnett/Tyler Loong evened the match with an 11-9 victory over Federico Staksrud/Dylan Frazier in men's doubles.

Orlando buckled down from there, though, as the pairings of Parker/Frazier and Schneemann/Staksrud both went on to win their mixed doubles matches to give the Squeeze their third victory to open up the season.

 

Orlando will next face the Brooklyn Pickleball Team in the inaugural edition of Saturday Night Pickleball, while Utah's next match will be on Sunday against the Columbus Sliders.

2:55pm ET: Miami Pickleball Club v. Brooklyn Pickleball Team: Starting lineups and matchups released

The Miami Pickleball Club will face the Brooklyn Pickleball Team Saturday afternoon. Miami is 2-0 after DreamBreaker victories over the SoCal Hard Eights and Utah Black Diamonds, while Brooklyn is 0-2 after losses to the Texas Ranchers and New Jersey 5s.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

2:25pm ET: Koller to replace H. Johnson for Mad Drops

AJ Koller will replace Hunter Johnson on the Los Angeles Mad Drops roster for the team's three matches this weekend.

The Mad Drops drafted Wes Burrows as their third male player, but he is not with the team this week in Orlando. Koller, an on-site alternate, will fill in instead.

He will join Catherine Parenteau, Jade Kawamoto, and Quang Duong in the starting lineup.

LA kicks off its 2025 campaign Saturday afternoon against the Miami Pickleball Club.

1:55pm ET: New Jersey 5s v. Atlanta Bouncers: Starting lineups and matchups released

The New Jersey 5s will put their 2-0 record on the line when they face the Atlanta Bouncers on Saturday.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

1:10pm ET: Utah Black Diamonds v. Orlando Squeeze: Starting lineups and matchups released

The Utah Black Diamonds will take on the Orlando Squeeze early Saturday afternoon.

Utah is searching for its first win of the season, while Orlando comes into the contest with a 2-0 record after wins over the SoCal Hard Eights and Phoenix Flames and Friday.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

1:05pm ET: Mixed doubles propels Sliders to victory over Ranchers

The Columbus Sliders defeated the Texas Ranchers 3-1 in what might go down as the match of the week in the Sunshine State.

After teams split the gender doubles matches, Columbus took both tightly contested mixed doubles contests to secure a regulation victory over what is expected to be one of the top teams at the Premier level.

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This gives the Sliders their second straight regulation victory after dropping their first two matches in Orlando.

Both teams will next be in action on Sunday, with Columbus set to face the Utah Black Diamonds and Texas scheduled to take on the Chicago Slice.

11:55am ET: Carolina Hogs v. Dallas Flash: Starting lineups and matchups released

The Carolina Hogs will look to secure their first win of the season when they face the defending Premier level champion Dallas Flash in Saturday's first match on Toray Championship Court.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

11:40am ET: Todd, Jansen win epic women's doubles match for Columbus

Parris Todd/Lea Jansen gave the Sliders an early advantage over the Texas Ranchers with a thrilling 13-11 victory over Etta Tuionetoa/Tina Pisnik.

It looked like they would cruise to the win when they had match point at 10-3, but Tuionetoa/Pisnik reeled off eight points in a row to earn match point at 11-10.

Not deterred by losing the lead, Todd/Jansen got the serve back on their side and went on to close out the epic encounter a few minutes later.

This gives Columbus a 1-0 advantage heading into men's doubles.

10:55am ET: Columbus Sliders v. Texas Ranchers: Starting lineups and matchups released

The Columbus Sliders and Texas Ranchers will kick off Saturday's action at the USTA National Campus with a match on Grandstand Court.

The Ranchers bring a perfect 2-0 record into the matchup, while the Sliders are fresh off their first victory of the season over the Carolina Hogs.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

Saturday's Order of Play released

Here is the Order of Play for the eight matches being played on Saturday:

 

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