In recent years, pickleball is growing as a professional game. In 2019, according to the UPA (US pickleball association), more than 3 million pickleball players played across 20000 courts in the US.
And the number is growing and growing. The best part is, that professionals are making a handsome amount from it.
Have you ever wondered how much do pickleball players make?
Whether it’s only out of curiosity or you’re really good at this sport and thinking about making money out of it, this article covers pretty much everything related to it.
How Much Do Professional Pickleball Players Make?
In the United States, pro pickleball players make anywhere between 20,000 USD – and 250,000 USD. The average annual pay for a pickleball professional is $51,826. Let’s break it down a bit for more clear understanding.
On average, a pickleball player earns $143 per day and $4,319 in a month.
Unlike other sports, Pickleball players don’t earn much from professional tournaments, but they earn good amounts from gear sponsors.
How Much Money Do Pickleball Pros Make from Different Sources?
Now let’s take a look at the income sources of pickleball players and how much money do professional pickleball players make from those sources.
How Much Do Pickleball Pros Make from Tournaments?
As mentioned above, even though pickleball players don’t make much from tournaments, still it’s one of their earning sources. In tournaments, a pro gold medal single player will get between $2000 – $4000, whereas the pro doubles get between $9000- $15000.
The very recent USA national championship had a total prize money of 100,000 USD.
However, the total prize pool isn’t something that the winner takes home, it is divided into all players crossed the initial stages.
In that championship, the reward money for pro gold medal single was $3500, and pro doubles were $10,000.
Read More: Is Pickleball an Olympic Sport?
How Much Do Pro Pickleball Players Make from Brand Sponsors?
Not only in the case of pickleball, but most of the top-rated athletes also earn a good amount of money from brand sponsorships. But for that, athletes need to maintain their position on top. The higher the position, the more money sponsors offer to players.
Many pickleball players such as Ben John and Lucy Kovalova are regularly approached by a lot of brands for sponsorship. Not only pickleball-related brands, but they also get offers from general brands as well.
FILA has signed an agreement with Lucy Kovalova. For those who don’t know, Lucy is a professional player and ranked in the top bunch.
Then brands like Paddletek and Selkirk also sponsor a bunch of professional pickleball players.
It is hard to tell the exact amount of money players to get from brands. Different brands offer different amounts to players, depending on their ranking and popularity.
And the way the popularity of pickleball is growing, the day isn’t far when only tournament prize money alone will load the player’s bank accounts.
Read More: Why Do Tennis Players Hate Pickleball?
How Much Do Professional Pickleball Players Make from Camps/Coaching?
Pro pickleball players earn some amount from camps and clinics as well. Camp is where professionals teach the newcomers, especially on holidays. Professional Pickleball players work as a coach in pickleball academies as well. However, earning from coaching requires patience, effort, and time.
How Much Does a Pro Pickleball Player Make from Social media?
Athletes, actors, or businessmen, now everyone is on social media, and they make a good deal from that.
What happens in social media is that brands sign agreements with the athlete, and the athletes need to promote the sponsor’s product on their social media accounts.
Brands do make a good sale from this as well. Apart from sponsorships, athletes earn from YouTube ads as well, though the amount is usually small.
Prize Money of Pickleball Tournaments
Want to know how much money does a pro pickleball player make from tournaments?
In the United States, there are some associations and organizations that arrange pickleball tournaments every year. If you are new to pickleball and want to know how much the prize money was in different tournaments, the table below will help you get a clear idea.
| APP (Association of Pickleball Professionals) | |
| Name | Prize-Pool |
| Cincinnati | $30,000 |
| Delray Beach | $60,000 |
| Delray Beach | $60,000 |
| New jersey | $25,000 |
| Los Angeles | $35,000 |
| Punta Gorda | $40,000 |
| So Cal Classic | $35,000 |
| PPA (Pro Pickleball Association) | |
| Name | Prize-Pool |
| Orange Country Cup | $65,000 |
| Pro Players Cup | $38,250 |
| Atlanta GA | $65,000 |
| UNPC (USA National Pickleball Championship) | |
| Name | Prize-Pool |
| USA National Pickleball Championship | $100,000 |
| Other Tournaments | |
| Name | Prize-Pool |
| Rocky Mountain Championships | $50,000 |
| USA National Pickleball Indoor Championship | $25,000 |
Can You Make Living Playing Pickleball?
Professional pickleball players are making a good living playing pickleball. The tournament prize money might be small but not that bad, good enough to bring bread and jelly to your table.
Top-rated pickleball players who have a larger fan base get great deals from sponsors, and they lead a life full of luxuries.
But if you are just starting out, then you should not dream of earning money right away. If you will be chasing money, you will get frustrated, chase after building skills instead.
You might get a little from tournaments, but brands will come to you only when you are on the top, and have a big fanbase.
How Much Does Ben Johns Make Playing Pickleball?
Ben Johns is known as the best pickleball player in the world. And each year Ben Johns makes around $250,000 from pickleball.
Who is the highest-paid pickleball player in the world?
Ben John and Lucy Kovalova these are the twohighest paid pickleball players in the world right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are various ways to make money playing pickleball. Tournaments are a source for earning a decent amount of money. Then a professional pickleball player can earn from coaching, camps, and clinics, where they will be teaching the newcomers. YouTube and other social media is also a good source of income. Above all, pickleball players can earn a good amount of money from sponsors.
The very first thing you will need to become a pro pickleball player is a skill, so make sure you got that.
Then get yourself rated by either UPTPR or DUPR. Pickleball player rating shows how skilled the player is. For this, obviously, you will have to show them the skill set you got. And then they will rate you on a scale of 1 – 6.
After you get a good rating, which shouldn’t be less than 4, you can register for tournaments. It is always wise to start from the school tournaments. If possible, attend the camps organized by professional pickleball players where you will get a lot to learn.
Keep playing tournaments and keep performing better, which will help you climb the ladder fast. Once you gain enough experience and a good rating, then you can apply for APP or PPA, which will slowly make you a pro pickleball player.
In the United States, on average top pickleball players make $51,826 annually.
Conclusion
So, how much do pickleball players make depends on a lot of factors? Professional players who have a larger fan following will earn more from the sponsors. Some players have their own pickleball academy, they earn a great amount from there as well.
