APP Tour and Intersport Join Forces to Grow Pickleball
Global agency will navigate the growth of the country’s first pro pickleball tour
CHICAGO (January 20, 2022) – The Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP), the first sanctioned pickleball tour for amateurs and professionals in the United States, today announced a partnership with Intersport, a global leader in sports marketing.
The APP is the official pro tour partner of USA Pickleball, the sport’s national governing body. Intersport will employ its full complement of expertise in property development, sponsorship sales and marketing, broadcast and livestream production, distribution and event management.
“Pickleball’s ascension domestically is practically indescribable,” said Intersport Executive Vice President Drew Russell. “It is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States at both the amateur and professional levels, and we just fell in love with what APP founder Ken Herrmann has created and his vision for the sport.
“Intersport is excited to be working with Ken and his staff, and to integrate our areas of expertise into the APP and pickleball. We truly believe that there is no ceiling for growth.”
Herrmann, a former USTA High Performance professional tennis coach and player, established the APP Tour in June 2019. Along with a few trusted colleagues and the support of pickleball players from across the country, he built the tour from scratch. What started as a single tournament in 2020 has evolved into a robust schedule in 2022, with at least 30 domestic and international stops.
“I am incredibly proud of the foundation that we have built with the APP Tour,” said Herrmann. “There are so many people behind the scenes to thank for our early success.
“By joining forces with Intersport and leveraging its vast capabilities, we’re confident that we will achieve our vision of advancing the game of pickleball globally, supporting the careers of those who play it, and delivering an incomparable fan experience in person as well as on our various distribution channels.”
The new partnership will deliver an enhanced tour structure that elevates the prestige and stature of the APP. Namely, the tour will now feature The APP Elite Series, scheduled to include 13 stops in 2022, the APP Challenger Series, which is scheduled for 14 events, and the APP International Series that will include as many as five stops as part of the 2022 calendar.
More importantly, the partnership will focus on being accommodating and flexible to the needs of today’s pickleball athletes, both professional and amateur. Specifics of this effort include a larger prize pool that approaches $2 million, appearance fees and complimentary event entry will be provided to the top 10 professional men and women and the top five professional senior (50 and up) men and women – according to the World Pickleball Rankings – that compete in each APP Elite Series event, and additional investments ranging from athletic training and nutritional support to broadcast operations and distribution platforms.
Major League Pickleball (MLP) also has announced an increased prize pool for players, amplifying the shared commitment of the APP and MLP to support the careers of professional pickleball players as the sport continues its accelerated growth in the United States and globally.
The new APP appearance fee and lodging stipend financial structure for the top 10 ranked men and women competing in each APP Elite Series event can be found below:
The new appearance fee and lodging stipend financial structure for the top five senior men and women competing in each APP Elite Series event can be found below:
| Player Event Rank | Appearance Fee |
| No. 1 | $500 |
| No. 2 | $400 |
| No. 3 | $300 |
| No. 4 | $250 |
| No. 5 | $250 |
Finally, the partnership will prioritize the holistic competition experience for the athletes by, among other things, identifying new and historic tournament locations, upgrading existing tournament amenities and implementing quarterly counsel and feedback sessions for tour professionals through an APP Player Advocate Program.
The announcement comes in the midst of the season-ending APP Masters in Boca Raton, Fla. The event runs through Sunday. Thursday’s matches are being streamed online on the APPTV YouTube channel and Facebook page. Matches scheduled for the remainder of the tournament can be found on For the Fans (FTF), USA Pickleball YouTube page and ESPN+.
2022 APP Elite Series Schedule
Schedule Subject to Change
All events will be broadcast on the APPTV YouTube channel and Facebook page
Events in BOLD indicate National Championship Series
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse |
| March 15-20 | Delray Beach Open | Delray Beach, Fla. (Delray Beach Tennis and Pickleball Center) | $60,000 |
| March 30-April 4 | Legacy Open | Mesa, Ariz.
(Bell Bank Park – Legacy Sports Park) |
$60,000 |
| May 4-8 | St. Louis Open | St. Louis, Mo. (site TBA) | $100,000 |
| May 25-29 | New York City Open | New York, N.Y. (site TBA) | $125,000 |
| July 20-24 | Beer City Open | Grand Rapids, Mich. (Belknap Park) | $75,000 |
| Aug. 10-14 | New Jersey Open | Hamilton, N.J. | $50,000 |
| Aug. 31-Sept. 4 | Chicago Open | Chicago, Ill. (site TBA) | $50,000 |
| Sept. 7-11 | Atlanta Metro Open | Atlanta, Ga. (site TBA) | $60,000 |
| Oct. 20-23 | Austin Open | Austin, Texas (site TBA) | $50,000 |
| Oct. 26-30 | Hilton Head Open | Hilton Head, S.C. (site TBA) | $60,000 |
| Nov. 30-Dec. 4 | Casa Grande Open | Casa Grande, Ariz. (site TBA) | $50,000 |
| January, 2023 | Mesa Open | Mesa, Ariz. (site TBA) | $75,000 |
| January, 2023 | APP Masters | Boca Raton, Fla. (site TBA) | $75,000 |
2022 APP Challenger Series Schedule
Schedule Subject to Change
All events will be broadcast on the APPTV YouTube channel and Facebook page
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse |
| Feb. 23-27 | Punta Gorda Open | Punta Gorda, Fla. (Pickleplex) | $40,000 |
| March 2-6 | Plantation Open | Plantation, Fla. (Plantation Central Park) | $40,000 |
| April 6-10 | Prescott Open | Prescott, Ariz. (Espire Sports) | $40,000 |
| April 14-17 | South Carolina Open | Camden, S.C. (Tennis Center and Pickleball Plaza of Camden) | $40,000 |
| May 12-15 | Cincinnati Open | Middleton, Ohio | $35,000 |
| June 3-5 | Indianapolis Open | Indianapolis, Ind. | $35,000 |
| June 15-19 | So Cal Open | Encinitas, Calif. | $40,000 |
| June 23-26 | Los Angeles Open | Los Angeles, Calif. | $40,000 |
| July 27-31 | Pacific NW Open | Bend, Ore. | $25,000 |
| Aug. 25-28 | Philadelphia Open | Philadelphia, Pa. | $35,000 |
| Oct. 6-9 | Alabama Classic | Opelika, Ala. | $35,000 |
| Oct. 13-16 | Houston Open | Houston, Texas | $35,000 |
| Nov. 17-20 | World Pickleball Classic | Holly Hill, Fla. | $25,000 |
| Dec. 8-11 | World Pickleball Open | Port St. Lucie, Fla. | $25,000 |
2022 APP International Series Schedule
Schedule Subject to Change
All events will be broadcast on the APPTV YouTube channel and Facebook page
| May 5-7 | Guadalajara Open
(Amateurs Only) |
Guadalajara, Mexico (site TBA) | $35,000 |
| June 30-July 3 | English Open | United Kingdom (site TBA) | TBA |
| Aug. 25-28 | French Open
(Amateurs Only) |
France (site TBA) | TBA |
| Sept. 1-4 | Spanish Open | Spain (site TBA) | TBA |
| Dec. 9-11 | Cancun Open | Cancun, Mexico (site TBA) | $35,000 |
Combined 2022 APP Series Schedule
Schedule Subject to Change
All events will be broadcast on the APPTV YouTube channel and Facebook page
Events in BOLD indicate National Championship Series
| Date | Series | Tournament | Location | Purse |
| Feb. 23-27 | Challenger | Punta Gorda Open | Punta Gorda, Fla. (Pickleplex) | $40,000 |
| March 2-6 | Challenger | Plantation Open | Plantation, Fla. (Plantation Central Park) | $40,000 |
| March 15-20 | Elite | Delray Beach Open | Delray Beach, Fla. (Delray Beach Tennis and Pickleball Center) | $60,000 |
| March 30-April 4 | Elite | Legacy Open | Mesa, Ariz. (Bell Bank Park – Legacy Sports Park) | $60,000 |
| April 6-10 | Challenger | Prescott Open | Prescott, Ariz. (Espire Sports) | $40,000 |
| April 14-17 | Challenger | South Carolina Open | Camden, S.C. (Tennis Center and Pickleball Plaza of Camden) | $40,000 |
| May 4-8 | Elite | St. Louis Open | St. Louis, Mo. (site TBA) | $100,000 |
| May 5-7 | International |
