Ahead of the first Slam of the year set to take place next week in Palm Springs, the new year is starting off with plenty of fireworks away from the 20x44.

PPA Tour CEO Connor Pardoe issued a response Friday morning to a series of Tweets made by Jill Braverman alleging serious financial challenges facing the United Pickleball Association (UPA) going into 2025.

Braverman writes that the 2024 merger between the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball that resulted in the creation of the UPA has put the merged entity in a tough spot financially and could be threatened by competitors Pickleball World Ranking (PWR) and the APP Tour.

More specifically, she reports that the UPA "needs an emergency bridge loan of $10mm by January 15 to meet its financial obligations," all while claiming to have had its best year yet in 2024.

Her post, which can be read in its entirety on Twitter/X, corresponds with the latest episode of her My Pickleball Life podcast.

Pardoe responded Friday morning, condemning Braverman for ‘spreading misinformation’ and offered statistics of his own to paint a vastly different, much healthier picture of where pro pickleball stands in the first week of the year.

“The health and trajectory of professional pickleball have never been better,” he wrote in a series of lengthy Tweets. “The combined PPA Tour and MLP generated over $50M in revenue last year and are on track to exceed $65M in 2025. That’s without [MLP] team sales, by the way. Sponsorships are nearing $35M, ticket sales are at $10M, and event registrations are hitting $9M. These numbers don’t lie, and they reflect a sport that’s growing, thriving, and building toward a $1B enterprise.”

“Sure, merging MLP and the PPA Tour wasn’t without its challenges. Growth never is. But we’re incredibly proud of what this organization has accomplished. From a talented staff to the professional players, and a supportive ownership group, everyone is working tirelessly to elevate the sport we all love. Your narrative, however, doesn’t reflect reality. It’s full of half-truths and sensationalism aimed at tearing others down rather than lifting the game up. If your goal is truly to help pickleball, spreading misinformation isn’t the way to do it.”

Samin Odhwani, who recently joined the UPA as Chief Strategy Officer, also weighed in and backed Pardoe’s message.

“I moved my wife and newborn to Dallas yesterday because, after meticulously reviewing the financials and financing strategy, I know this league will be a $1B business,” he asserted. “Here’s the reality: The league did $50M in revenue last year—right on plan, which is a miracle in a merger year and a testament to [Connor], our operating team, and ability to execute.”

He went on to address Braverman’s aforementioned report on the bridge loan and added some crucial context.

“You clearly have the email about the bridge loan, but did you just invent the word ‘emergency’? It’s not in there. What you didn’t mention is that the $10M is already funded by existing investors, showing how committed our team owners are to our growth.”

We’re only on the third day of 2025, and the drama is already fierce.