Edwardsville, IL - December 10, 2024 — The Professional Pickleball Association is proud to bring the inaugural season of the PPA Challenger Series to Edwardsville, IL, on August 1-3, 2025 for the Edwardsville IL PPA Challenger Powered by JOOLA. The tournament will be held at the Plummer Family Park in Edwardsville and will provide a showcase of the very best that central Illinois has to offer to players and visitors.

Bringing together the power of the PPA Tour brand with the grassroots energy and passion of amateur pickleball players, the PPA Challenger Series will create an avenue for players across America to break into professional pickleball and earn their way onto the Carvana PPA Tour. Spanning the country with over a dozen tour stops in 2025, the series will feature amateur and aspiring professional pickleball players battling for victory and chasing their dreams. 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 expand the sport into new frontiers.

CHALLENGER SERIES DETAILS:
● To participate in a Challenger Series event, a Pro Division Player cannot be ranked in the Top 20 in PPA Tour at the close of entry. Any pro player outside the PPA Top 20 is eligible to play.
● The top 16 Challenger Series events played will count toward a player’s Challenger Series leaderboard ranking.
● Each Challenger Series 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 points count in the Carvana PPA Tour rankings, but ranking points earned on the PPA Tour do NOT count toward Challenger Series standings.
● The points structure is as follows:
○ 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

For further information, please visit the PPA Challenger Series website or click here.

“We have been excited to create more grassroots opportunities for amateur players as well as a structured pathway to the Carvana PPA Tour for aspiring professionals for a long time and we have done just that with the Challenger Series Powered by JOOLA,” says Connor Pardoe, the Founder & CEO of the Carvana PPA Tour. “This new tour will not only elevate the level of play but also inspire and motivate amateurs to reach new heights in their pickleball journey while bringing the PPA Tour’s brand of electric pickleball action to new levels of intensity.”

Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau is providing funding to the City of Edwardsville and PPA Tour to bring this inaugural Challenger event to the State of Illinois with grant funds from the Illinois Office of Tourism and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity as part of a new incentive fund program to attract new events to Illinois.

“We are thrilled to bring this exciting new sporting event to Southwest Illinois. This is the first professional pickleball event in Illinois with the PPA, and it’s an incredible opportunity to showcase top-tier talent and bring the energy of this rapidly growing sport to the Edwardsville community,” says Cory M. Jobe, President & CEO-Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau. “We look forward to welcoming participants and spectators from near and far, and we are confident that this event will become an annual tradition that Edwardsville can be proud of.”

Excitement for the event has even risen to the mayor’s office, with Mayor Art Risavy providing comment, saying, “We are incredibly proud for Edwardsville to be one of the tour stops for the inaugural PPA Challenger Series. Our Plummer Family Park is a popular destination for the area’s enthusiastic community of pickleball players and fans. We’re excited to show off our terrific courts and our beautiful city.”

The Edwardsville IL PPA Challenger Series event is estimated to bring in around $800,000 of revenue to the Edwardsville area with the lodging, retail and food and beverage categories providing the highest local economic impact.

In addition to the competitive interest and appeal, each PPA Challenger event will have a $10,000 prize pool. Participants in the Edwardsville IL PPA Challenger are encouraged to continually stay tuned for the latest information as it becomes available. Registration and hotel information will be made available soon. Amateur registration is OPEN TO ALL and we encourage everyone interested in playing in the Edwardsville IL PPA Challenger to register TODAY!

Hotel blocks around the venues will be available for participants and attendees to take advantage of. There will also be a shuttle service provided for attendees to safely and efficiently arrive at the facility. Special accommodation rates are available at surrounding hotels.

The schedule for PPA Challenger Series events will be Friday through Sunday, and professionals will run on the same schedule as amateurs.

Friday - Men's and Women's Singles
Saturday - Gender Doubles
Sunday - Mixed Doubles

Ticketing for the PPA Challenger Series will be powered by TIXR. All pro and amateur players will receive a grounds pass with their fee to participate in the event. There will also be $15 grounds pass tickets for sale to friends, family and fans.

Championships Court action from each tournament will be streamed LIVE on the NEW Tennis Channel App and the PPA Tour YouTube Channel.

For further event information, media credentialing, interviews with players and tour executives, or anything else under the sun, please email Nathan Boschult.

The Edwardsville IL PPA Challenger Powered by JOOLA promises to be an exhilarating experience for amateur players, offering them an incredible opportunity to take their game to the next level alongside aspiring professionals seeking to join the ranks of the world’s preeminent pickleball tour. With its enthusiastic grassroots approach and commitment to growing the sport, the PPA Challenger Series is set to make a lasting impact on the western Illinois pickleball community.

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Media Contacts:

PPA Tour:
Nathan Boschult
Communications & PR Manager, PPA Tour
n.boschult@ppatour.com 512.348.5226

Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau:
Cory M. Jobe
President & CEO, Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau
cjobe@riversandroutes.com 217-622-9630

About Carvana PPA Tour:
Founded in 2019, the Carvana PPA Tour is where pickleball’s top athletes go head-to-head to determine the best male and female players in the world. The Carvana PPA Tour organizes and conducts tournaments at world-class facilities across the country, establishes player rankings, and showcases the world’s best pickleball week in and week out. Inviting amateur players to also compete and “play where the pros play,” the Carvana PPA Tour offers divisions for every age group and skill level. Characterized by a uniquely festive and fun atmosphere, Carvana PPA Tour events deliver unparalleled experiences for fans on-site, including pro player meet-and-greets, clinics, food, beverages, live entertainment, giveaways, games, shopping, and VIP upgrades. For more information, go to www.ppatour.com, and follow us on social: Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn.