Private equity is moving into pickleball at scale. Pickleball Inc. Said Friday it raised $225 million from Apollo Sports Capital and Tom Dundon’s Dundon Capital Partners. The infusion brings total outside investment to $315 million and, according to a person familiar with the matter, values the combined business at $750 million. The deal folds retail, tournament software, court construction and two pro leagues into a single platform meant to link casual players to the pro game.

Big-money round for an emerging sport

Private equity is moving into pickleball at scale. Apollo Global Management’s newly formed sports fund, Apollo Sports Capital, led the round alongside Dundon Capital Partners, which is run by Tom Dundon. Dundon already owns stakes in major sports franchises and was an early backer of pickleball.

The funding round adds $225 million to Pickleball Inc.’s balance sheet. That brings total outside investment into the company to $315 million. A person familiar with the matter provided the valuation of $750 million and asked not to be named.

Pickleball Inc. Has taken on several assets previously held by Dundon.

Those include Pickleball Central, a longtime retail and equipment site. The package also includes PickleballTournaments.com, the software used to run thousands of events, and Just Courts, a company that installs courts.

The company said the merged verticals generated more than $140 million in revenue in 2025.

Roll-ups are common in sports when private equity tries to stitch together media, events and consumer products. Pickleball Inc. Is doing that now. The company says the goal is a single, connected ecosystem for the sport.

Revenue and sponsorship growth

Professional pickleball has become a money-making operation. The MLP and PPA Tour, the two pro circuits now under the Pickleball Inc. Umbrella, pulled in $30 million in sponsorship revenue in 2025, the United Pickleball Association said. This two leagues delivered about $60 million in combined top-line revenue that year. They project combined revenue of $74 million in 2026.

Those figures show why investors are interested. League revenue is one source of cash. Consumer goods and court services add separate revenue streams. Tournament software and ecommerce bring recurring payments and user data. Put together, they offer multiple ways to monetize growth in participation.

Mastheads

Pickleball’s domestic player base is expanding fast. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association reported more than 24 million U.S. Players in 2025. That made pickleball the fastest-growing sport in the country over the prior three years. For private investors, a large and growing base of casual players can translate into steady demand for equipment, lessons, facilities and events.

Ownership and governance after the deal

Tom Dundon and the Pardoe family, who run the MLP and PPA Tour, will remain majority shareholders after the investment. That preserves existing management control while bringing in deep-pocketed institutional capital. The combination of an experienced league operator and a private-capital partner is a common structure in sports deals.

Pickleball Inc. Is positioning itself as both an operator and a platform. That dual role means the company will manage pro competitions while selling equipment and services to amateurs. The ability to control both the professional product and the consumer side gives the company a wider set of commercial levers.

Investors often pay for that kind of control. They also seek efficiencies across units. Consolidating back-office functions, tech platforms and marketing can lower costs. It can also create cross-selling opportunities, such as promoting branded equipment at tournaments or offering court construction services to clubs that host events.

Where the money will go

Pickleball Inc. Said the capital will fund integration across its newly combined businesses. That means bringing tournament software, retail, court construction and the pro leagues onto shared systems. The company framed the move as building a cohesive customer experience from amateur to pro.

Integration could involve technology work, marketing, product development and operations. PickleballTournaments.com already runs thousands of events, so folding that software into a single platform can standardize how tournaments are delivered. Pickleball Central brings a large ecommerce presence and supply chain relationships. Just Courts adds a physical infrastructure capability.

For private equity, those pieces can be repackaged as a single growth equity story. Investors look at revenue growth, recurring customer relationships and the potential to expand into adjacent markets. The company says the merged business model generated more than $140 million in revenue in 2025, a figure that helped attract the new capital.

Playing field economics matter in sports. A fragmented market with many small operators is often ripe for consolidation. Pickleball has many local clubs, tournament operators and independent retailers. By combining several well-known brands and platforms, Pickleball Inc. Is trying to reduce that fragmentation.

Institutional investors have been targeting live events, media rights and consumer-facing sports companies in recent years. The aim is to capture steady cash flows from sponsorships and ticket sales, and to sell products to large participant bases. Pickleball Inc.’s mix of pro events, ecommerce and services fits that template.

Still, the company will need to translate participation into repeat customers and reliable revenue growth. Sponsorship deals, ticketing and broadcast arrangements will be key to professional-league profitability. At the same time, equipment sales and court installations will need to scale to match rising interest in playing the game.

Apollo Sports Capital is a new fund from Apollo Global Management focused on sports. Its entry signals private equity interest in the sector.

Dundon Capital Partners, led by Tom Dundon, brings both capital and industry experience. Dundon owns stakes in major sports franchises and was an early investor in pickleball, giving him a governance role and domain knowledge.

The mix of a deep-pocketed institutional fund and an owner-investor is notable. Institutional investors tend to bring scale and deal execution.

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Executives said the capital will fund integration across the merged businesses, which together generated more than $140 million in revenue in 2025.

This article was created with AI assistance.