When JOOLA and the PPA partnered to launch and promote the 2025 PPA Challenger Series, the idea for a companion content series was born.

How could we truly capture the essence of the tour? How could we highlight the stories of aspiring pros and the vibrant local communities that host each stop?

The solution: full immersion. We sent two pickleball novices and one pro to experience the Challenger Series firsthand—both behind the scenes and in front of the camera—to offer fresh, dynamic perspectives on the action, atmosphere, and culture of select tour stops.

What we found wasn’t what we expected—and that made it even more exciting to document and share.

After you watch, as a bonus, Corey, Isang, and Josh will be sharing their takes on everything Challenger, Portland.

Isang, Digital Strategy Manager, DUPR: 0

Aside from relying on Corey to drive us safely to and from the Picklr, few things exemplify trusting the process better than what I saw at the PPA Challenger series. 

So…Portland. No, the other Portland. Maine. There wasn’t too much happening outside at any given time. But for three days, the last section of parking lot in a seemingly run-of-the-mill shopping center was absolutely packed. Behind the blacked out windows of a building that was a grocery store in its previous life, there was a lot of pickleball going on. Like…a lot. 

Planes, trains, and full-on trailers carried pickleball players ranging from age 8 to 55+ to the courts, and hopefully to the podium. All they had to do was sleep, eat, train, play, recharge, play some more, and do it all better than the person across the net. Easy, right? The day before the tournament, I remember googling lobster roll spots while watching players arrive a day early just to practice. I just kept thinking “who does this”. Fortunately I was literally there to find that out. 

We interviewed so many players that weekend. A lot of Agassi paddles and pickleball shirts with tiny logos. “I played tennis in college” was probably the most common and least surprising back story to hear. That’s cool. But what raised my eyebrow every time was when someone said “I’m balancing this with my day job” or “I just started playing a year ago”. Something about that had me wondering if I could be better than them in a year. Maybe not…but also maybe. In hindsight, that “maybe” has to be the battery that most of these players have in their back. How much better can I get before the next tournament? How much closer to my goals can I get with each subsequent match? I get it.

No matter what a players personal goal is, there is room on the Challenger to strive for it, earn some points towards a greater goal, and do it all again in a new city soon after. I’m looking forward to the next tour stop. Might bring a paddle this time. 

Also, Josh was there.

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