Events Upcoming
New Members
Springfield, IL, November 20, 2024 - The Professional Pickleball Association is proud to bring the inaugural season of the PPA Tour Challenger Series to Springfield, IL, on June, 13, 2025 for the Route 66 PPA Challenger Powered by JOOLA. The electrifying tournament will be held at the Premier Pickleball Center in Springfield, and will provide a showcase of the very best that central Illinois has to offer to players and visitors.
Bringing together the power of the PPA Tour brand with the grassroots energy and passion of amateur pickleball players, the PPA Tour Challenger Series will create an avenue for players across America to break into professional pickleball and earn their way onto the Carvana PPA Tour. Spanning the country with over a dozen tour stops in 2025, the series will feature amateur and aspiring professional pickleball players battling for victory and chasing their dreams. With a commitment to fostering growth and development within the pickleball community, the introduction of the PPA Tour Challenger Series aims to nurture emerging talent, encourage participation, and ultimately expand the sport into new frontiers.
CHALLENGER SERIES RULES:
Pro Players cannot be ranked in the Top 20 in PPA Tour at the close of entry.
The top 16 Challenger events played count toward your Challenger leaderboard ranking.
Each Challenger event winner can choose one PPA Tour Open event for entry into the main draw (max of two challenger winners per draw per tournament).
Challenger Series points count in the Carvana PPA Tour standings but PPA points earned do NOT count in Challenger standings.
“We have been excited to create more grassroots opportunities for amateur players as well as a structured pathway to the Carvana PPA Tour for aspiring professionals for a long time and we have done just that with the Challenger Series Powered by JOOLA,” says Connor Pardoe, the Founder & CEO of the Carvana PPA Tour. “This new tour will not only elevate the level of play but also inspire and motivate amateurs to reach new heights in their pickleball journey while bringing the PPA Tour’s brand of electric pickleball action to new levels of intensity.”
Premier Pickleball Center, located at 3400 Constitution Drive, Springfield, IL 62711, is a facility boasting 10 indoor and 5 outdoor courts inclusive of the top lighting and playing surface in the sport.
The estimated economic impact this event will have on the Springfield community is over $240,000.
Between 300 and 700 players are expected to participate in each tour event. Amateur registration is OPEN TO ALL and we encourage everyone interested in playing in the Route 66 PPA Challenger to visit https://www.ppatour.com/. People seeking to play are advised to continually stay tuned for the latest information as it becomes available.
The schedule for PPA Tour Challenger Series events will be Friday through Sunday, and professionals will run on the same schedule as amateurs.
Friday - Men's and Women's Singles
Saturday - Gender Doubles
Sunday - Mixed Doubles
Ticketing for the PPA Tour Challenger Series will be powered by TIXR. All pro and amateur players will receive a grounds pass with their fee to participate in the event. There will also be $15 grounds pass tickets for sale to friends, family and fans.
Championships Court action from each tournament will be streamed LIVE on the NEW Tennis Channel App and the PPA Tour YouTube Channel.
The Route 66 PPA Tour Challenger Powered by JOOLA promises to be an exhilarating experience for amateur players, offering them an incredible opportunity to take their game to the next level alongside aspiring professionals seeking to join the ranks of the world’s preeminent pickleball tour. With its enthusiastic grassroots approach and commitment to growing the sport, the PPA Tour Challenger Series is set to make a lasting impact on the central Illinois pickleball community
