For the second time this year, the debut of a professional pickleball league in India has been delayed.

The league was supposed to launch in January but was then delayed to Mar. 17-23.

It was announced on Thursday that the event had been delayed once more, with no future date set.

The news doesn’t get any better from there.

According to a source, the league is backed by a $10 million investment from The Times Group, an Indian media conglomerate. The same source says most of that money has already been spent, and that PWR founder and CEO Pranav Kohli has spent millions on personal expenses, including travel, parties, and penthouses.

Those who are impacted the most here, however, are the players.

Over 30 players (including Jack Munro, Will Howells, Erik Lange, Megan Fudge, Jill Braverman, and Emilia Schmidt) were announced to have signed with PWR in December, likely drawn in by promises of over $15 million in prize money for 2025. Sources now say that a number of players have not been paid, and that concerns are only growing with these postponements.

It was back in September of 2024 that Pickleball World Rankings (PWR) announced the formation of the PWR DUPR Indian League, which would feature 60 pro players competing on four teams with a format comparable to Major League Pickleball.

The prize pool was announced at a hefty $540 thousand, with PWR guaranteeing at least a $15 thousand appearance fee for every player drafted into the league.

Smaller PWR World Tour events with markedly smaller payouts have still been happening, with the Skechers PWR Masters 700 Tournament taking place in Japan just last week. It’s worth noting, however, that the PWR World Series event in Dubai that was scheduled for February and advertised as having a $1.5 million payout has not happened.

Here’s the bottom line: if PWR fails or doesn’t deliver on its promise of never-before-seen payouts in the sport, it will create a huge sense of mistrust towards international pickleball.

That only makes it more difficult for the sport to continue its rapid growth, especially as the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball make headway internationally.