“There’s nothing like watching pickleball in person. Watching on TV is fun, but to be in front of the sport and see how fast these players are playing, it’s electric.”

Those are words from New Jersey 5s co-owner Raquel Joseph.

Long before taking the helm of one of Major League Pickleball’s most iconic franchises, Joseph first experienced the magic of MLP live in 2023 at an event in Daytona Beach, FL.

For those who have been around pickleball for a while, that event might ring a bell; it’s where the pairings of Anna Leigh Waters/Lea Jansen and Andrea Koop/Maggie Brascia produced one of the most memorable and widely watched rallies in the history of the sport.

“We were sitting right there courtside, watching that point,” Joseph recalls of seeing the rally live with her husband Tom. “What other sport is as electric and so fast and right there in your face? It’s really amazing. That was my first experience with MLP, and at that point I was hooked. Tom and I both were invested, engaged, and wanted more.”

And three years later, she’s as invested and engaged in MLP as one can be: an owner of the New Jersey 5s.

Joseph’s decision to join New Jersey wasn’t random; it initially came about by way of her friendship with Mari Humberg, who played for the 5s in 2024 and 2025.

While cheering on Humberg and the 5s at the 2024 MLP finals in Orlando, Joseph spoke with PPA Tour founder and CEO Connor Pardoe about potentially buying one of two expansion franchises that were available at the time.

But another opportunity presented itself when Humberg introduced her to 5s owner and general manager Ryan Harwood.

Joseph says that the ensuing conversation, which ended with Harwood offering her the opportunity to join him and Gary Vaynerchuk as team owners, is what made her want to join the organization.

“Ryan’s passion for the 5s—he wasn’t talking about this like a passive investment. He talked about the players, the culture, the fans, and his determination to win,” she recalls. “It was personal to him. It was evident to me, watching his team play and his fan following, that this organization was like a family, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

From there, she officially joined the ownership group ahead of the 2025 season.

An accomplished portfolio entrepreneur, Joseph has led highly successful ventures across the marketing, automotive, hospitality, airline, and spirits sectors as president and CEO of Joseph Family Companies.

And now, she’s bringing her hands-on leadership style and an operator’s mindset to MLP team ownership.

“An operator’s mindset to me is turning a vision into something measurable and something we can repeat, not just for one season, but something we can repeat every year. We want to look beyond one event and ask if we’re building a sustainable organization,” she explained. “I don’t view sports ownership as a trophy, or even as a passive investment. I have a lot of passion for MLP, and I feel like we have a responsibility to the players and to the fans.”

That responsibility hasn’t come without its challenges in 2026, as the 5s have dealt with sky-high expectations after spending $800K to select Jorja Johnson, the No. 3-ranked female player in the World Pickleball Rankings, with the 2^nd overall pick in the draft.

They also made a blockbuster trade with the Orlando Squeeze to acquire Federico Staksrud, the No. 5-ranked male player in the World Pickleball Rankings.

That acquisition came just one week after the 5s had been swept by the St. Louis Shock in the final of the Mid-Season Tournament.

“Prior to the Mid-Season Tournament, we were sitting in the number one spot in the standings, and we believed that our team could beat anyone if we’re playing well. That loss gave us a little more useful information,” Joseph said. “The question wasn’t if we had a good team—we knew we did—but the question was more about whether we had an opportunity to make an excellent team even better. That wasn’t an easy task. And on top of that challenge, add in the fact that we wanted to retain both Will [Howells] and Noe [Khlif] because we didn’t want to disrupt what was already working.”

“We were doing a lot of things really right,” she continued. “When the possibility of acquiring Federico became real, we looked at it from every angle. How is he a competitive fit, and what flexibility would this give us? Not to mention the financial commitment, but more importantly, how would this affect all the other players on our team? We had Noe and Anna Leigh who were exceptional and are exceptional together. With Federico now, that gives us another elite mixed partnership with Jorja. It gives us versatility in men’s doubles, and on top of that, it adds potential in the DreamBreaker. Federico is proficient in all of these disciplines, so at that point, we knew this was a no-brainer and that we needed to make it happen.”

It’s a move that has paid off handsomely for New Jersey, as the 5s avenged their previous loss against the Shock at MLP Orlando to reclaim the top spot in the standings going into the playoffs.

And after winning their quarterfinal series against the Palm Beach Royals last week in Newport Beach, the 5s have now advanced to the final event of the season where they will compete for the 2026 title at the end of the month in Central Park.

But regardless of how the rest of this season plays out—whether the 5s leave New York with the trophy in hand or with thoughts of what could have been—Joseph has a clear vision for what she wants the organization to stand for.

“I want the 5s to represent competitive excellence with character,” she said. “Winning matters, and I’m not gonna pretend that it doesn’t, but it’s how we treat people and how we conduct ourselves on the court and on the sidelines. When we’re on the sidelines, those cameras are on us; we’re being watched, and we need to represent MLP and the 5s with character.”

It all goes back to that ‘operator’s mindset’ of building a lasting legacy in this sport.

“I want to support the growth of pickleball and give young players something they can imagine being a part of one day. I want them to look up to the 5s and dream about one day playing for us. And as a woman in professional sports ownership, I also take seriously the opportunity to demonstrate that women can have meaningful leadership and decision-making roles, not only as athletes or fans, but as owners and operators."

“If people see a 5s logo and think of competition, energy, respect, and above all, character, then we’ve built something much more meaningful than a successful team for just one season,” Joseph concluded. “We want to win the championship, but we’re also trying to build a franchise that matters long after any one trophy and any one season.”