A New Era Begins: The Global Pickleball Alliance Unifies the World Stage

International pickleball just took a historic leap forward. The Global Pickleball Alliance (GPA) has been officially unveiled, marking the first time the sport’s major regions are connected under one unified professional ecosystem.

Built as a global coalition spanning North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, the GPA aims to do what pickleball has long needed: harmonise competitive structures, align governance, and create a truly international world calendar for professional play.

One Alliance, One Calendar, One Ranking System

Alongside the announcement, the GPA launched its digital home at GPAPickleball.org, now the central hub for:

• Founding member organisations
  
• Governance and membership details
  
• The first-ever unified global pickleball schedule for 2026, featuring 30+ tiered events worldwide
  
• The new Global Pickleball Rankings (GPR) a provisional but historic global ranking framework
  
  

This marks the first coordinated professional world calendar in pickleball’s history, connecting events across the USA, Australia, India, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the UK, and Europe.

Founding Members of the GPA

The Alliance brings together key organisations including:

• APP (USA)
  
• NPL Australia
  
• D-Joy Pickleball (Vietnam)
  
• Global Sports Pickleball (India)
  
• Canadian National Pickleball League
  
• Pickleball England
  
• European Pickleball Federation
  
• Japan Pickleball Association (JPA)
  
• Rallyworld, Malaysia 
  

Together, they form the most unified global alliance effort the sport has ever seen.

Global Pickleball Rankings (GPR): A World-First Framework

For the first time, players worldwide will be measured under a single calibrated ranking system.

The GPR rollout begins with provisional standings and will update after every GPA-sanctioned event. By 2027, the GPR will determine all professional seeding across GPA premier events, allowing players from every continent to compete on equal footing, all visible, sortable, and transparent.

Melbourne Hosts the First Official GPA Event

To usher in this new era, the first official GPA-sanctioned tournament will be the 2025 Sypik Australia NPL Invitational, happening Dec 4–7, 2025 at the legendary Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne.

This will be the first time Kooyong, one of the world’s most iconic racquet-sport venues hosts professional pickleball.

What Leaders Are Saying

Ken Herrmann, APP Founder:
“This is a monumental day in pickleball history… The GPA creates unprecedented unity never before seen in the sport.”

Ron Shell, CEO of NPL Australia:
“The GPA, the global schedule, and the new ranking system are foundational steps. Kooyong is the perfect place to launch this new era.”

Where to Follow the Global Era

All updates on the GPA, GPR, and the full 2026 global calendar are available at GPAPickleball.org and TheAPP.global.