Welcome to Episode 59 of The Future of Pickleball show! In this episode, Paul Olson welcomes Karen Mitchell, co-founder of Pickleball England. Karen talks about the early days of pickleball in England and how it has evolved over the years, growing from a few thousand in the early days to more than 35,000 today. She also highlights the success of the English Open, which saw an impressive increase in participation, and the challenges of organizing such a large tournament. Pickleball England has a goal of gaining recognition from Sport England and potentially making pickleball a professional sport.

Welcome to Episode 57 of the Future of Pickleball show! In this episode, Paul Olson welcomes Ace Rodrigues, founder & CEO of Pickleball Kingdom. Ace shares his journey of discovering pickleball and turning it into a successful franchise business with more than 350 locations. Pickleball Kingdom is run by five value statements: that life is better with pickleball; competition is fun; playing pickleball is good for physical, social, and spiritual well-being; community is pickleball's greatest asset; and pickleball players should respect their teammates and everyone they come into contact with. Pickleball Kingdom focuses on both open play and reservations to accommodate different player preferences. The franchise is expanding internationally, with plans to enter the Middle East, Canada, and Australia.

Welcome to Episode 57 of The Future of Pickleball show! In this episode, Paul Olson welcomes Todd Boss, a writer for the Forbes Sports Money blog. Todd has a background as a database specialist and specializes in analyzing pickleball data, which has helped him understand the importance of technology in the sport of pickleball, including: match statistics, line challenges, and court management systems. Todd also talks about his racquetball background and how that prepared him for writing about pickleball, as well as the future of professional pickleball and the potential for global rankings and tournaments.