Pickleball Club

What Pickleball Club does

Pickleball Club is a private, for-profit indoor pickleball facility operator founded in 2019 and headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, with 11-50 employees. The company runs physical venues offering court access and rentals, and its core product is the venue infrastructure itself, typically multi-court indoor facilities sometimes co-located with golf simulators, table tennis, pro shops, in-house restaurants and bars, and (in affiliated venues) co-working and wellness amenities. Underlying technology is conventional sports facility infrastructure rather than proprietary software, with no disclosed AI, digital platform, or booking-software differentiation in the source data.

The business model combines recurring membership and court-rental revenue, transactional tournament entry fees across singles/doubles/mixed and multiple age categories, hardware sales from on-site pro shops (paddles and balls), and food and beverage service at larger locations. GTM is community-led, relying on WhatsApp groups, charity and community events, and word-of-mouth to drive organic player acquisition; partnerships with tennis federations (Catalan, Aragonese) and foundation sponsors (Wayne Gretzky Foundation, Special Olympics) support competitive circuit positioning. Customer segments span recreational and competitive pickleball enthusiasts across age groups, with senior players (65+) as a notable persona.

The available data also raises material continuity concerns: the company's domain (thepickleballclub.us) is expired and parked by GoDaddy, and the operating-status field is logged as 'closed.' This contradicts firmographic indicators of an active 11-50 employee private business and a $31.8M funding round dated January 2, 2024. Several referenced facilities (Hamilton, Austin, Chennai, Sabadell, Madrid) appear to be distinct pickleball operators aggregated into this profile rather than owned locations of Pickleball Club itself, which further limits confidence in the consolidated picture. Leadership comprises founder/CEO Brian McCarthy, co-founder/CFO Matthew Gordon, and co-founder/COO Valerie McCarthy.

Name

Pickleball Club

Website

https://thepickleballclub.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pickleball Club is a private indoor pickleball venue operator founded in 2019 in Sarasota, Florida, serving recreational and competitive pickleball players through memberships, court rentals, tournaments, pro shop sales, and food and beverage service, with a community-led go-to-market approach.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recreational Sports Facilities

NAICS

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (71394), Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940), Amusement Arcades (71312)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Tennis & Racquet Sports Clubs (Tennis, Padel, Pickleball, Squash) (MPAKABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pickleball Equipment & Accessories Retail (CRAMAFAB), Coin-Operated Entertainment (Pinball, Crane/Claw, Jukebox, Darts/Billiards) (MPAEAJAF)

Keywords

• Indoor pickleball facility
• Recreational sports membership
• Pickleball tournament hosting
• Multi-sport venue rental
• Community sports club

Headquarters

HQ city

Sarasota

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Facility Memberships: Venues generate revenue through membership fees for court access and facility usage
2. Tournament Entry Fees: Competitive events across singles, doubles, and mixed categories for multiple age groups generate tournament registration revenue
3. Pro Shop Sales: On-site retail stores selling pickleball equipment including paddles and balls
4. Food and Beverage Service: In-house restaurant and bar services at larger facilities

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Pickleball Club operates indoor pickleball facilities that combine pickleball courts with complementary amenities such as golf simulators, table tennis, a pro shop, and an in-house restaurant. The company generates revenue through facility memberships for court access, tournament entry fees across singles/doubles/mixed categories, on-site retail sales of pickleball equipment, and food and beverage service. Venues serve as community-driven multi-purpose sports destinations accessible to players of all ages and skill levels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Facility Memberships
• Tournament Events
• Pro Shop Sales
• Food and Beverage Service
• Court Rentals and Facility Access

Quantifiable outcome

• Steady growth in regular players and tournament participation reported by venues

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Special OlympicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGretzky Pickleball Club is officially recognized as a training facility for Special Olympics athletes. This partnership reflects the venue's commitment to inclusion of all people regardless of age, ability, or background, rooted in the philosophy of Walter Gretzky.
• Basil Family DealershipsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBasil Family Dealerships partnered with Village Glen Tennis and Pickleball Club to organize a charity pickleball tournament in Williamsville, New York, raising funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation with more than 250 participants.
• Catalan Tennis FederationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Catalan Tennis Federation supports pickleball in Catalonia, organizing the Catalan Indoor Court Championship through Sabadell Pickleball Club. This partnership has established Sabadell as a leading centre for pickleball in the region with growing federation involvement.
• Aragonese Tennis FederationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Aragonese Tennis Federation organizes the inaugural Aragon Federated Pickleball Circuit, hosting events at Pickleball Indoor Cuarte Club. This expansion mirrors broader European trends as countries build formal competition structures to accommodate rising participation and attract younger players.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pickle & Social: Pickle & Social runs indoor pickleball clubs bundled with full bar/restaurant service and event programming, mirroring the social-sports club format Pickleball Club operates.
• Chicken N Pickle: Chicken N Pickle is a restaurant-and-sports entertainment concept that combines indoor pickleball with full-service dining, bars, and social games — a near-identical amenity mix to Pickleball Club's multi-sport, F&B-integrated venues.
• PBJ Pickleball (PBJ Sports): PBJ operates dedicated indoor pickleball clubs in multiple US markets with memberships, leagues, and retail, directly comparable to Pickleball Club's core venue model.
• Rally Pickleball: Rally operates indoor pickleball clubs across multiple US cities with memberships, open play, leagues, and tournaments — a direct head-to-head competitor for pickleball enthusiasts and event organizers.

Broad incumbents

• Topgolf: Topgolf is a large sports-entertainment venue operator combining tech-enabled game play, food & beverage, and group events; its entertainment-center model and indoor sports expansion compete for social-occasion pickleball demand.
• Life Time Fitness: Life Time operates a national premium fitness club platform and has been aggressively adding indoor pickleball courts, leagues, and tournaments across its portfolio, competing for the same membership pickleball player.
• Club Pilates / Xponential Fitness brands: Xponential Fitness is a franchised boutique fitness platform; while pickleball is not its core, its franchise-driven multi-site model illustrates the kind of scalable small-format sports operator Pickleball Club competes with for real estate and member share.

Others

• Selkirk Sport: Selkirk is a leading pickleball paddle and equipment brand with a growing club/event arm; it is comparable as a pickleball-ecosystem peer that anchors both retail (pro shop) and tournament circuits Pickleball Club depends on.
• JOOLA: JOOLA is a major table-tennis and emerging pickleball equipment brand relevant as both a supplier to pro shops at pickleball venues and a competing organizer of branded events.

Emerging players

• Dink Dynasty: Dink Dynasty is a pickleball-focused social club and content brand building community-driven venues and tournaments, overlapping with Pickleball Club's community-led GTM and tournament emphasis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pickleball Club