Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story is a film about the rising popularity of pickleball, and stars Billy Bush and John McEnroe, among others.

The film premiered late in May 2024, at the San Francisco Documentary Festival. It was available for a limited time thereafter, but is now going to be made available to the public via truTV, on April 11th.

Turner Sports' truTV and Maxhave acquired the film, and in addition to its spot on April 11th, will be available for streaming via the Max app.

Directed and Co-Produced by Ashley Underwood, Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story, explores the meteoric rise of pickleball and the race to seize opportunities from its explosive growth in popularity.

Writer and Co-Producer of the film, Craig Coyne, played a young Swofford in the 2005 film, Jarhead.

John McEnroe, on set of *Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story*

The film’s executive producers include Robert Benun, Giselle Rodriguez, and Isabelle Thomas. Marcella Serrano edited the film. Cinematography was done by Sara Kinney. Dave Palmer composed the score.

Celebrities like LeBron James, John McEnroe, Tom Brady, Billy Bush, Eva Longoria, and others, make appearances in the film.

Reviews of Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story

Bill Arceneaux - Moviegoing with Bill

Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story is absolutely “a lot,” most of which is made up of behind-the-scenes corporate back and forth that’s less relative to the game itself and more of a neurotic breakdown involving money and status. For a roughly ninety-minute story of athletes who might as well be portrayed as social media influencers, as told by a video blogging hippie who lives in a yurt, expectations of what a sports documentary ought to be should be left behind. Too oddball to know how best to be presented, but too interesting to be unattractive, Dreambreaker is a strange and compelling film. About people who just want to play and have fun, about businessmen getting in over their heads, and about self-branding and representation.

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Alan Ng - Film Threat

As the popularity of the sport mushroomed during the Pandemic, savvy businessmen found a way to monetize the sport and make it professional with the formation of Major League Pickleball (MLP) led by Steve Kuhn and the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) purchased by Thomas Dundon both in 2021.

At the start, the difference between the two was that MLP felt more like an open league where anyone would compete versus the PPA, which signed the best players in the U.S. to player contracts with non-compete clauses. From the start, there was a minor war between the two leagues to attract the best and elevate the sport to the levels of the NFL, NBA, and MLB.

What’s fascinating about Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story is that this documentary is not necessarily about the game of pickleball but shows us this microcosm of the business of professional sports. What we’re seeing is how a professional league is put together and how two competing leagues both help and hinder the sport’s overall growth potential.

Again, Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story will be available on truTV and the Max app, starting April 11th, 2025.