The Professional Pickleball Association announced the creation of the PPA Challenger Series powered by JOOLA on Tuesday.

The PPA Challenger Series is a grassroots tour designed to provide aspiring pickleball professionals a pathway to the Carvana PPA Tour, and represents another opportunity for amateur players, regardless of age or skill, to play alongside the pros and elevate their game to new heights.

The introduction of the PPA Challenger Series aims to nurture emerging talent, encourage participation, and ultimately elevate the sport at all levels. Spanning the country with more than a dozen tour stops in 2025, the series will feature amateur and aspiring professional pickleball players chasing their dreams.

“Our primary charge at the PPA is to grow the game. By creating more opportunities for amateur players as well as developing a structured pathway to the Carvana PPA Tour for aspiring professionals, the PPA Challenger Series powered by JOOLA is another avenue through which we can further this mission,” said Connor Pardoe, the Founder & CEO of the Carvana PPA Tour. “This new series will serve to inspire and motivate amateurs in their pickleball journey and bring the PPA Tour’s brand of electric pickleball action to more communities across the country.”

CHALLENGER SERIES DETAILS FOR PRO DIVISIONS:

1. To participate in a Challenger Series Pro Division, a player cannot be ranked in the Top 20 in PPA Tour at the close of entry. Any pro player outside the PPA Top 20 is eligible to play.

2. The top 16 Challenger Series pro events played will count toward a player’s Challenger Series leaderboard ranking.

3. Each Challenger Series pro event winner can choose one PPA Tour Open event for entry into the main draw (max of two challenger winners per draw per tournament). 

4. Challenger Series pro division points count in the Carvana PPA Tour rankings, but ranking points earned on the PPA Tour do NOT count toward Challenger Series standings. 

5. The points structure for the pro division is as follows: Winner (125 points), Finalist (100 points), Third (75 points), Fourth (50 points), Quarterfinals (25 points), Round of 16 (12 points), Round of 32 (6 points), Round of 64 (3 points)

6. Each Challenger Series stop will feature a $10,000 prize purse for the pro divisions

The schedule for most PPA Challenger Series events will be Friday through Sunday, with amateurs playing on the same schedule as professionals. Singles will play on Fridays, with doubles on Saturday and mixed doubles on Sunday.

Each tournament will be streamed in its entirety LIVE on the PPA Tour YouTube Channel.

Visit ppachallenger.com for the tour calendar and live registration links.