Alright folks, this is probably what we’ve all been waiting for! The US pros coming to Australia, that is.
This event has been talked about for months and months leading into 2025, making history as the first international stop for the PPA (US) tour. Up until now, the US PPA tour has been confined to the continental United States, so it was a great privilege to host some of the biggest names in Pickleball all the way in Australia.
I feel like it’s a massive testament to how far pickleball has come here and a result of years of effort by Pickleball Australia, the PPA Australia Tour and local clubs all around the country making this sport what it is today.
It was an impressive, well-run event by the PPA to kickstart the 2025 tournament season and a unique opportunity bringing PPA US and Australia together to co-host it all. Massive shoutout to the PPA Australia crew for working tirelessly to run an event bigger than anything we’ve seen in Australia to date. You could just feel a different, exciting energy coming from everyone involved, and what a way to showcase pickleball.
Had the AO pickle slam not happened the week previous, this would have been the largest crowd at a pickle event in Aus. Maybe the largest crowd for a dedicated pickleball-only event. Having been to a couple of PPA/APP events in the US before we moved to Australia, it felt like we were transported right back to any one of those tournaments.
The stands were packed, the branding all along LED screens was insane, the crowds were electric and the social media engagement that came from it was top notch.
The event was held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, and I was told this was actually the first sporting event ever to be held within these walls! Having the tournament inside the convention centre meant weather was not an issue (which is lucky as Melbourne went from freezing to boiling within a matter of days/hours), although the artificial lights and acoustics can start to take a toll on you after a few days of being around it all for hours on end.
Luckily, there was plenty of sunshine outdoors and a short stroll out of the venue to soak up the rays was pretty life-giving.
For the first time ever, there was a real contingent of non-playing spectators at the event. After so long of mostly seeing friends, family, and players in the stands, this is a hopeful shift in pickle. It may be unlikely to continue in future PPA Australia events as it seemed like most of the crowd was there to see the US pros, but let’s hope!
For Joey, it was a bit of a snap back to reality after being the stars of the show at AOPS then taking a back seat to the real pros and the fan love they received. Maybe one day soon, Jojo.
On that note, I was personally quite shocked at just how packed the stands got, particularly because with a PPA US event came PPA US entry fees. Per day, tickets were on sale for $35USD for general entry + championship court pass, or $20USD for general entry (without championship court access, but could access Grandstand). In Aussie dollars, this meant spectators were paying close to $170 for a weekend of full access.
Where PAA struggled to charge folks $10AUD for entry into championship court just a few months ago at the Australian Pickleball Championships held at Gold Coast, it says a lot about who fans value paying to watch at the moment.
I’m curious to see when PPA Australia tournaments start implementing regular entry fees, as well as what turnout looks like at the next few tournaments following such a wild start to the year. My biggest hope is that Australian athletes get the recognition (appreciation?) they deserve! I can’t speak for the majority of the folks there, but there were a few Aussie spectators I spoke to who weren’t familiar with any of the top Australian pros.
I met some people who had traveled from places like Hawaii and New Zealand just for a chance to see the US pros with unfortunately no clue who the Aussie pros were (based on who was getting most of the attention and cheering). Hopefully they came away seeing the incredible talent that’s brewing here as well.
Not surprisingly, all it took was watching a few hands battles between Danni and Jay Devilliers to get people asking her name!
Overall, this was an incredible opportunity for the Aussies to test themselves against some of the best US players, and I think they showed talent levels here are not all that far behind. A special mention to Somer Dalla-Bona on her Championship Sunday appearance and getting oh so close to that gold medal. I heard multiple* times from different US pros how incredible her backhand is, and on a personal note I can’t believe she does it all with a smile on her face. What a weapon.
Another special mention to Andie Dikosavljevic who had a great run and also landed on the podium, taking bronze in women’s singles, knocking out the #2 seed along the way. Yeah the girlsss! I’m hopeful for a few more non-US pros on the podium next year if this becomes a regular tour stop.
(Extra extra special mention to the honorary #bags of the tour – Tom and Dario who were the best sideline support to Somer and Selina. Yeah the boysss!)
Beyond the spectacle that was championship court, there were some incredible matches taking place in the split age, 4.0-4.5 and below divisions, moneyball, and more! There were 13 courts fitted around the venue which meant there was always a game happening and it was easy to watch a few games at once.
While it may be a while before anyone catches me competing, I just love how much everyone loves being on court! You can tell there’s a real hunger to keep improving, every single point counts, and having a bit of sideline support can give someone the little pump up they need.
Special shoutout to some standouts here – Adam Hall (aka Mr. Slam Jam) and Colin Kugler (aka Coach K) who took out the bronze in the 35+ men’s dubs 4.0-4.5 div; Moneyball winners Simon Pilt & Tommy Lashford 💰 and bronze medalists Robbie Manzano (aka Mr. Pickleball Canberra) and Aaron Johnson.
And in typical BTC fashion, we did get up to a bit more than just slapping balls on the court 🙂 My mornings were spent boiling & peeling eggs for the easiest high-protein breakfast and putting together a snack bag for the day.
In between matches, I was also able to sit down for a chat with a few special guests who you might catch on the blog soon (hehe), soaked up plenty of time out in the sun and, as part of my #wagduties, ventured out for lamb gyros & tikka masala to fuel my lil athlete before he lost to Gabe and Tyson. Womp womp. You can read more about our other Melbs adventures in my next recap 🙂
It’s been an insane start to the 2025 tournament season! Between the PPA tour, PWR events and NPL league, pickle is booming in Aus and we’re just getting started.
You can read a bit more about some of the results via pickleball.com’s recap here and some Championship Sunday standout stats posted by the PPA tour here as well as daily recaps via the Slam Jam Instagram.
So, what do we think? Did we love having the US pros in Melbourne? Was it good exposure for the Australian scene? Anything that could have been done differently? Spill your secrets!!
xo,
Tati
