How Much Money Can Professional Pickleball Players Make?

Pro pickleball earnings vary enormously, and exact figures are rarely published. The sport is still professionalizing, and players earn from tournament prize money, sponsorships, endorsements, coaching and media. A small group of top pros earn well, but most players earn far less. Figures in this article are from 2019 to 2023 and may be out of date.

Understand What the Pro Tours Offer.

The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) runs the PPA Tour, one of the main professional tours, and provides a platform for players to compete with each other. (The sport's national governing body is USA Pickleball, and other pro circuits, such as Major League Pickleball and the APP Tour, also exist; the tour landscape has changed several times since 2023.) The PPA’s goal is to help professional pickleball players make money, develop sponsors, and gain notoriety by organizing tournaments and increasing exposure of the game. Through their events and rankings system, they have helped some pros create viable earning potential from playing pickleball.

Understand How Professional Pickleball Tournaments Work.

Professional pickleball tournaments are structured in a series of pools, or divisions, which players progress through until they reach the finals. Each tournament offers prize money based on how far a player advances in each pool. The more you advance, the larger the rewards. Understanding how these tournaments work and staying up to date with where the best opportunities for prize money lie is critical for any pro pickleball players wanting to increase their earning potential.

How much do top pickleball pros make?

One thing to keep in mind is that pickleball is still a relatively new sport, so there aren't as many big tournaments or sponsorships as there are in more established sports like tennis or golf. This means that the prize money at pickleball tournaments is generally not as high as it is in other sports.

That being said, some of the top players in the world are able to make a decent amount of money through tournament winnings and sponsorships. Exact figures are not published, but the very top male and female players can earn well into the tens of thousands of dollars, and in some years considerably more, through prize money alone.

Social media, sponsorships, and media appearances can boost this number substantially.

How much does the average pickleball player make?

But again, it's important to note that these are the top players in the world. Most professional pickleball players don't make anywhere near that amount of money. In fact, many players who compete in pro divisions have to work another job or coach in addition to competing in tournaments.

These players are good, but they are effectively just serious hobbyists hoping to grow it into a career. As pickleball expands and their skills improve, maybe they can break into the top tier and make it a full time career.

Tournament Prize Money Rising?

Most professional players must rely on income from outside tournament play because the prize pools for tournament victories remain low.

But prize pools have been trending up year over year. Figures from earlier reporting that we have not independently verified: the total prize pool for the 2019 USA Pickleball National Championships was reported at about $80k, with singles champions receiving only a few thousand dollars.

By 2022 the reported Nationals purse for pro divisions had grown to about $150,000, and the pro circuit had grown to dozens of events with a much larger combined prize pool. Prize money has kept changing since then, so check current tour sites for up-to-date numbers.

U.S. Open Tennis Championships vs U.S. Open Pickleball

A total pickleball prize pool of $150,000 is certainly nothing to scoff at. Whereas, how does that total prize purse stack up against the US Open Tennis Championships?

So glad you asked! Each singles winner at the 2019 U.S. Open Tennis Championships took home $3,850,000, while each men's or women's doubles winning team took home $740,000. The total purse at the tournament was over $57 million.

Tennis prize money took decades to reach those levels: the total purse at the first U.S. Open in 1968 was about $100,000, so pickleball may still have room to grow.

Explore Potential Corporate Sponsorships for Professional Players.

Professional pickleball players can make extra money by exploring potential corporate sponsorships. With the rise in popularity of the sport, many companies are now jumping on board as sponsors, offering endorsement deals and support to professional players. It’s important that professional pickleball players remain open minded when it comes to sponsorship opportunities and not limit their options. Find out what brands are associated with pickleball and talk to those companies about possible sponsorships to get more money.

Paddle companies such as Selkirk have offered incentive pools and bonuses to their sponsored players, though the amounts are not always publicly confirmed.

New paddle companies can mean more money for top players. For example, Ben Johns, the sport's top-ranked player for years, moved to Joola in 2022 after previously playing with other brands.

If you're a pro looking for gear sponsorships, companies active in the sport include Onix, Gamma, Joola, Paddletek, Selkirk, Engage, Gearbox and many others.

Pursue Other Opportunities in the Pickleball Industry Such as Broadcasting and Media Appearances.

Pro pickleball players don’t just have to chase prize money from tournaments. They can also explore job opportunities outside of their playing responsibilities in the media and communications sector. Working closely with digital streaming services and other media platforms, pickleball pros can lend their expert knowledge, skillsets and storytelling abilities to help grow the profile of the sport as a whole. Furthermore, working with broadcasters in order to make sure that international events are filmed and broadcasted on TV can result in an increase in viewership and can provide additional income for professional players.

Using social media can be a powerful tool for increasing your pickleball profits. By building a strong online presence and engaging with your followers, you can expand your reach and attract new sponsors and supporters. It's also a great way to keep your fans up-to-date on your latest matches and achievements, which can help generate excitement and interest in your pickleball career. Additionally, you can use social media to promote any merchandise or products you may have, such as pickleball gear or instructional materials. With a little bit of effort and creativity, social media can be a valuable asset in helping you make more money in the

world of pickleball.

Coaching

Coaching is an important career path for those who are not at the top of the pickleball pyramid. If you want to combine playing and coaching as a career, you can obtain certification from an organization such as Pickleball Coaching International.

The following is a rough estimate of a coach's salary, with the understanding that it will vary greatly depending on the coach's location.

Group lessons are often priced per person (commonly somewhere around $10 to $30 an hour, depending on the area and group size), with court time and equipment costs coming out of that income.

Private coaching, which may result in more frequent lessons for coaches at a higher rate, and specialized or advanced pickleball instruction are both more expensive.

Pickleball Coaching Online

This fits with the times we live in, when professional pickleball players go online and set up blogs or YouTube channels to teach new players or even intermediate players.

We know of pickleball coaches who give away free coaching tips in their written and video content and make money from ads and selling other people's products.

Some well-known instructors build careers online by posting free lessons on a blog or YouTube channel and earning from ads, sponsorships and paid coaching.

Income from this route varies widely and is rarely disclosed.

Find common pain points that your students have and you can create a course to solve it for them.

These methods will help you diversify your income on your path to becoming a full time pickleball pro.

Conclusion

In conclusion,the answer to the question of how much pickleball players can make is that it really depends. Some professional athletes may see huge paychecks, while others may only see a fraction of that. However, no matter the amount, pickleball provides a great opportunity for athletes to follow their dreams and make money doing something they love. Organizations such as USA Pickleball and the professional tours are also helping to increase the popularity of the sport, which could potentially lead to more opportunities for athletes to make money.

How Much Money Can Professional Pickleball Players Make?