Prize money totaling $133,000 of professional pickleball players from Gwinnett County competed at Life Time Rancho San Clemente for the Select Medical Orange County Cup pickleball tournament from June 9th through June 12th.
Hundreds of amateur and professional pickleball players are expected to take part in the tournament. And more than 4,000 spectators will be in attendance to watch some of the best players in the world compete in America’s fastest-growing sport. The tournament is organized by the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and will be broadcast live on the Tennis Channel, YouTube, and PPA social media.
The tournament will feature:
- Top pickleball professionals from around the world, including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Slovenia, Russia, Slovakia, France, Germany, Israel, and the Czech Republic
- A mother-daughter team, Leigh Waters and Anna Leigh Waters (A top three female professional pickleball player at only 15 years old)
- Collin Johns (World #5)
The tournament will be played at Life Time’s premier Rancho San Clemente destination featuring eight pickleball courts and idyllic center court with stadium seating.
Life Time, the nation’s premier healthy lifestyle brand, is committed to becoming the premier pickleball destination across the nation. The company will have more than 300 permanent pickleball courts across its locations by the end of the year and 600+ courts by the end of next year. In California, the company has permanent pickleball courts at its Rancho San Clemente, Roseville and Folsom country clubs.
“We’re excited to welcome thousands of pickleball players and fans to our Rancho San Clemente athletic country club,” Said Brian Gaeta, Life Time’s Pacific Area Director. “Our goal is for people to immediately think of Life Time when they imagine the best place to play pickleball and we’re proud to team up with the PPA for this tournament.”
The demand for pickleball courts has never been higher. Nearly 5-million Americans call themselves pickleball players. That’s almost double the number compared to just five years ago. People of every age and fitness level have fallen in love with the sport.
Life Time and the PPA have teamed up for several tournaments at its athletic country clubs this year. Previous tournaments have been held at Life Time Charlotte, Peachtree Corners (Atlanta) and Lakeville (Minnesota).
The PPA Tour was founded in 2018 as the premier provider of professional and amateur pickleball events for all ages. In 2022, it will welcome more than 30,000 players and award over $3 million in payouts to players.