The PPA Challenger Series, Powered by JOOLA, will provide aspiring pros a pathway to the Carvana PPA Tour and bring more amateur pickleball opportunities all around the country. 

With a commitment to fostering growth and development within the pickleball community, the introduction of the PPA Challenger Series aims to nurture emerging talent, encourage participation, and ultimately elevate the sport at all levels. Spanning the country with more than a dozen tour stops in 2025, the series will feature amateur and aspiring professional pickleball players battling for victory and chasing their dreams.

Challenger Series PRO Division Details:

• To be eligible to play, a player cannot be ranked in the Top 20 on the PPA Tour at the close of entry. Any pro player outside the PPA Top 20 is eligible to play.
• The top 16 Challenger Series pro events played count toward a player’s Challenger Series leaderboard ranking.
• Each Challenger Series pro event winner can choose one PPA Tour Open event for entry into the main draw (max of two Challenger winners per draw, per tournament).
• Challenger Series pro division points count in the Carvana PPA Tour rankings but ranking points earned on the PPA Tour do NOT count toward Challenger Series standings. 
• Points Structure:
  • Winner - 125 points
  • Finalist - 100 points
  • Third - 75 points
  • Fourth - 50 points
  • Quarterfinals - 25 points
  • Round of 16 - 12 points
  • Round of 32 - 6 points
  • Round of 64 - 3 points
• Each Challenger Series stop will feature a $10,000 prize purse for the pro divisions 

PPA Challenger Showdown in Dallas 2025

Top 4 finishers in the 2025 Challenger rankings in each discipline battle for a Tour Contract.

Singles

• top 4 qualify
• Semis: 1 plays 4, 2 plays 3
• Finals: two winners
• All matches best 2 out of 3

Mixed Doubles

• top 4 men and women qualify.
• #1 male plays with #1 female, #2 male plays with #2 female, 3 and 3, 4 and 4.

Men’s/Women’s Doubles

• One match, best of 5
• #1 picks a partner of 2, 3, or 4.
• The other two are the second team.

For the showdown, you must choose one path, meaning if a player qualifies across multiple disciplines, they can only play in one of the Showdown draws, moving up the #5 players. The player will make that choice on the Monday after the final Challenger Event.

PPA Tour Challenger Series events will be played out in a traditional format with each discipline taking place on one day. 

“Our primary charge at the PPA is to grow the game. By creating more opportunities for amateur players as well as developing a structured pathway to the Carvana PPA Tour for aspiring professionals, the PPA Challenger Series powered by JOOLA is another avenue through which we can further this mission,” says Connor Pardoe, the Founder & CEO of the Carvana PPA Tour. “This new series will serve to inspire and motivate amateurs in their pickleball journey and bring the PPA Tour’s brand of electric pickleball action to more communities across the country.” 

The schedule for most PPA Challenger Series events will be Friday through Sunday, with amateurs playing on the same schedule as professionals. Singles will play on Fridays, with doubles on Saturday and mixed doubles on Sunday.

Below is the tour calendar, with registration links, where applicable. To learn more about the new Challenger Series, click ppachallenger.com for more dates, locations, and live registration links.

Ticketing for the PPA Challenger Series will be powered by TIXR. All pro and amateur players will receive a grounds pass with their event registration. There will also be grounds pass tickets for sale to friends, families and fans.

Hotel blocks around the venues will be available for participants and attendees. Further details will be found at the tourism websites for each tour stop.

Each tournament is sponsored by JOOLA and will be streamed in its entirety LIVE on the PPA Tour YouTube Channel.

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