Last month, the PPA Challenger Series announced that it would be introducing a narrower court for pro singles matches at four of its upcoming events.

The first of those events—the Houston PPA Challenger—has come and gone, and the new singles courts were the talk of the tournament in South Texas.

The new court dimensions bring in the sidelines 1.5ft on each side, which reduces the total court width from 20 feet to 17 feet.

Several singles players gave their thoughts on the new lines throughout the weekend:

•             “I’m a big fan of the new singles courts here. I think especially for the women’s game, it gives us the ability to showcase some more creativity, some more shot selection. We definitely have some of those longer points that we used to see in pickleball before the game sped up a lot.” – Zoey Weil
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•             “It’s a lot more fun for me because I’m more of a doubles player, so it’s a little bit more cat and mouse than the regular singles is now, so I’m enjoying it. I’m definitely getting used to some of the passing shots and have been the doubles alleys a little bit too much, but overall, it’s fun.” – Christopher Crouch
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•             “The lines are a lot tighter now, so it’s not allowing people to kind of want to hang back and do that kind of singles tennis style. I think this is actually encouraging the ladies to even get up and play more of that traditional kitchen game in singles, which I think is really interesting, seeing that change.” – Alli Phillips
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•             “It was definitely interesting. I definitely couldn’t play my best and how I’m used to. Some of my shots couldn’t work, especially because passing is very hard on this court because you lose a lot of space. I wouldn’t want it for the future.” – Jada Bui
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Despite mixed reviews from players and fans, PPA Challenger Series Vice President Tanner Groff says that testing out experimental rules like this lies at the heart of what the Challenger Series was made for.

“With a focus on honing and elevating the game of pickleball at all levels, the PPA Challenger Series is the perfect stage to test new ideas,” he explained last month. “Game innovation is crucial for all sports to continue to hone rules and regulations. Just as the Next Gen ATP Finals and Minor League Baseball are laboratories for game modifications in tennis and baseball, the PPA Challenger Series is that laboratory for pickleball.”

The modified singles lines will remain in use at the 2026 AdventHealth Tampa Bay Challenger, which will run from Mar. 6-8 in Tampa, FL.