US Pickleball Growth Slows, The Picklr Parent Company Files for Bankruptcy

Recently, Picklr Inc., the parent company of indoor pickleball brand The Picklr, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States.

Picklr stated that the holding company, in order to support rapid expansion in its early stages, provided lease guarantees and assumed other liabilities for its clubs. The filing is intended to address these arrangements that are no longer suitable for the current operating model.

Dynamus Alliance, an investment group led by Picklr franchisee Tom Neale, has committed to providing $4.5 million in DIP financing and is expected to lead the restructuring. The filing does not involve the franchise and club operating subsidiaries, and existing clubs will not close immediately as a result.

CEO Jorge Barragan said the clubs remain open and members are playing as usual. The company expects to establish a healthier operating system after restructuring and to refocus on supporting franchisee development.

Picklr currently has more than 70 locations across 29 states, and regional master franchisees in Canada, Australia, and Japan will continue to operate. However, whether an individual club remains open is ultimately decided by the franchisee that owns and operates that location.

The company has also requested court approval to continue paying employee wages and benefits during the bankruptcy proceedings and to continue paying suppliers for goods and services provided after the bankruptcy filing.

Layoffs and Closures

Weeks before this filing, Picklr had already cut headquarters staff. In a September email to franchisees, Barragan said the company was evaluating multiple options and had not yet determined a path forward, but that individual clubs were still operating well.

Since the start of this year, multiple locations have closed, merged, or exited the brand. The Round Rock, Texas and Bluffdale, Utah locations merged into nearby Picklr locations, the West Jordan, Utah location closed, the Birmingham, Alabama location is also planned to cease operations, and the Bloomington-Normal, Illinois location reopened under the name Baseline Social Club.

Ted Guggenheim, owner of the Goleta, California location, exited the franchise four months after opening and reopened as The Grove Pickleball. He said the franchise model caused him to keep losing money, so he lowered the monthly membership from $225 to $195. Park City, Utah, canceled a 35,000-square-foot indoor pickleball facility that was originally to be operated by Picklr; Park City said the decision was unrelated to Picklr's bankruptcy.

The Picklr's Rapid Expansion

Picklr is headquartered in Utah and once expanded rapidly. In January 2024, the company brought in former NFL quarterback Drew Brees as a brand ambassador, responsible for regional development of 30 locations in the Midwest.

That same year, Picklr completed a Series B funding round at a valuation of $59 million, bringing total funding to $9 million, led by Pickleball Inc., the parent company of the PPA Tour.

In 2025, Picklr signed an agreement to open 50 clubs in Australia and New Zealand. That fall, the company said more than 52 locations had opened and it planned to open 70 more within a year.

In March of this year, tennis player Nick Kyrgios joined as an equity partner and athlete ambassador.

Slowing Growth, Younger Participants

The bankruptcy filing comes as pickleball growth is cooling in the United States. According to data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), pickleball was the fastest-growing sport in the US for five consecutive years, but participation grew only 1.3% in the first half of 2026, while padel grew 14.5% over the same period.

According to data from Off The Glass, an Indiana-based padel court manufacturer, only about 1% of the roughly 4,000 private golf and country clubs in the US offer padel facilities. Supporters believe it is only a matter of time before padel facilities are built on a large scale.

Pickleball's participant base is also getting younger. After analyzing six years of transaction data, PayPal found that among pickleball-related payments on PayPal and Venmo, people under 30 accounted for 18%, double the previous share, while those aged 50 and above fell from 49% to 37%.

New Scenarios for Pickleball Growth

Pickleball is finding new footing in real estate.

Several high-end residential projects in Florida have begun using pickleball, along with golf simulators and sports lounges, as bundled amenity selling points.

The Halcyon Residences & Marina in Naples has 66 residences, starting at $3 million. The project plans to build pickleball and padel courts on the rooftop terrace and to feature more than 55,000 square feet of private amenities. A project representative said its experience center at the marina already has a standard pickleball court and hosts pickleball activities.

North Miami's Continuum 12000 project, within its 150,000-square-foot Mermaid Club, will also feature pickleball, golf, and multisport simulators.

South Flagler House in West Palm Beach features a pickleball court and lounge.

Pickleball court at South Flagler House

In addition, some pickleball operators are still expanding. Phoenix-area chain Center Court Pickleball Club opened its fourth location in Scottsdale last month. The 35,000-square-foot club has 13 indoor courts and also serves as the company's headquarters.

| Source: ATN

| Image credit: Official accounts of The Picklr and South Flagler House