In a sign that the “backyard craze” has officially made varsity, Apollo Sports Capital and billionaire investor Tom Dundon are putting a combined $225 million behind Pickleball Inc., the newly formed parent of Major League Pickleball and the PPA Tour. The deal values the integrated pickleball platform at roughly $750 million and lifts total capital raised for the company to about $315 million, giving the sport a balance sheet that now looks less like a hobby and more like a mid-cap growth story.
Pickleball Inc. says its constellation of tours, technology, retail and infrastructure businesses generated more than $140 million in revenue in 2025, suggesting that America’s favorite paddle pastime now throws off real cash, not just social-media likes. For Apollo, this is an early, high-visibility swing for its new sports investment platform; for Dundon, it is the latest chapter in a playbook that already includes ownership of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers.
Apollo Sports Capital Steps Onto the Court
Apollo Sports Capital is not a vanity side fund; it is the permanent capital sports arm of Apollo Global Management, part of a broader strategy to deploy roughly $6 billion into franchises, leagues, venues, media and events. The platform is designed to favor credit and hybrid structures, pairing flexibility with long-dated capital in a segment where traditional lenders have been more cautious.
Executives at Apollo have described Sports Capital as a vehicle meant to be a “preeminent” investor in global sports, providing patient funding and strategic support to properties that want more than a quick flip. In that context, Pickleball Inc. functions as both a growth asset and a showcase: a rapidly scaling sport where Apollo can help professionalize operations, expand media, and test structures that could later be exported to other leagues and emerging properties.
Building the Largest Pickleball Ecosystem
The investment is paired with a consolidation move that rolls a wide range of pickleball assets under the Pickleball Inc. umbrella, which the company now describes as the largest single pickleball ecosystem in existence. Alongside Major League Pickleball and the PPA Tour, the portfolio includes Pickleball Central, a leading specialty retailer founded in 2006; PickleballTournaments.com, a tournament software platform; and Just Courts, a business focused on court installation and infrastructure.
Management says the goal is nothing less than a fully integrated system that spans professional competition, amateur play, consumer products, technology and media in one platform. In practical terms, pickleball fans can buy gear from the ecosystem, sign up for events on its software, compete on its courts, and watch its stars on its tours—while investors enjoy a vertically stacked revenue model that would make even a seasoned media conglomerate nod in approval.
Tom Dundon’s “Own the Sport” Strategy
For Tom Dundon, this latest capital infusion extends a multi-year campaign to do in pickleball what many owners wish they could do in traditional leagues: effectively own the entire value chain. Dundon previously acquired the PPA Tour, Pickleball Central and PickleballTournaments.com, giving him a head start in knitting together the sport’s pro and amateur sides well before private equity fully woke up to the opportunity.
Dundon’s resume already includes majority control of the Carolina Hurricanes and an ownership stake in the Portland Trail Blazers, experience that brings a Rolodex of national sponsors, media contacts and operational know-how into the pickleball tent. Where other investors see a fun sport with good demographics, Dundon appears to see something more ambitious: a scalable sports entertainment platform built around low-cost participation, high engagement and data-rich digital infrastructure.
From Backyard Fad to Asset Class
The numbers help explain the enthusiasm. The newly merged Pickleball Inc. generated more than $140 million in 2025 revenue, and the latest funding marks the largest single investment ever into the sport. With a post-money valuation of about $750 million, pickleball is now valued like a serious sports-and-media growth asset rather than a quirky side hustle that escaped from the local rec center.
Major League Pickleball leadership has framed the funding as a catalyst to expand content, media rights and infrastructure, signaling that the next phase of growth will likely center on broadcast deals, digital streaming and new event formats. For Apollo and Dundon, that opens the door to the full sports-finance toolkit: sponsorships, data partnerships, naming rights, and possibly new league or team-level capital structures over time.
Why This Deal Matters for Sports Finance
The Apollo–Pickleball Inc. transaction illustrates how emerging sports have become a distinct asset class, attractive for their growth curves and relatively modest entry valuations compared with legacy leagues. Rather than trying to pry small equity slivers out of multibillion‑dollar franchises, investors can shape an entire ecosystem at the sub‑$1 billion level and still enjoy the upside of media, technology and live events.
Apollo’s sports platform, with permanent capital and a mandate to invest across credit and hybrid structures, is particularly suited to this environment. Deals like Pickleball Inc. allow the firm to establish early influence in a fast-growing sport while building a broader origination pipeline that management believes could reach tens of billions of dollars in future sports-related opportunities.
The Next Set: Scaling the Pickleball Platform
With capital in hand and assets under one roof, Pickleball Inc. now faces a different type of test: executing like a scaled sports-and-media company while preserving the accessibility that helped fuel its rise. Management has signaled that new investment will support expanded events, enhanced content and further infrastructure development, ideas that should resonate with both core players and casual fans looking for more ways to engage.
If Apollo and Dundon succeed, pickleball’s story may evolve from “fastest-growing sport in America” to “template for how private capital builds an entire sport from the ground up.” For now, investors appear comfortable with the risk‑reward profile: in a world where valuations for traditional teams have soared into the stratosphere, pickleball offers something rare—a growth sport where the multiples are still catching up to the momentum.
The Sources
- CNBC – Apollo Sports Capital, Tom Dundon make $225M pickleball investment
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/01/apollo-sports-capital-tom-dundon-pickleball-investment.htmlcnbc+1 - Yahoo/Sports business coverage – Pickleball Inc. gets $225M investment from Apollo Sports Capital, Tom Dundon
(Use this or a similar syndication/recap article you prefer for diversification.)sports.yahoo - MarketWatch / Morningstar – Pickleball gets its largest-ever investment: $225 million
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pickleball-gets-its-largest-ever-investment-225-million-its-still-a-growth-sport-its-not-just-a-fadmorningstar+1 - SportsPro – Apollo ready to deploy US$6bn for new sports investment platform
https://www.sportspro.com/news/finance-investment/apollo-sports-capital-investment-capital-february-2026/sportspro - Apollo Global Management – Apollo Announces Launch of Apollo Sports Capital (official press release)
https://www.apollo.com/insights-news/pressreleases/2025/09/apollo-announces-launch-of-apollo-sports-capital-3157634apollo+1 - Paul, Weiss – Apollo Launches Apollo Sports Capital
https://www.paulweiss.com/insights/client-news/apollo-launches-apollo-sports-capitalpaulweiss - Front Office Sports – Private Equity Loves Pickleball / How Pickleball Became One Massive Private-Equity Rollup
https://frontofficesports.com/how-pickleball-became-one-massive-private-equity-rollup/frontofficesports+1 - Endurance Sportswire – Pickleball Central Announces a Majority Investment from Dundon Capital Partners
https://www.endurancesportswire.com/pickleball-central-announces-a-majority-investment-from-dundon-capital-partners-llc/endurancesportswire - Major League Pickleball – team valuation / league growth releases
Example: Los Angeles Mad Drops Sell Majority Stake at a $13 Million Franchise Valuation
https://majorleaguepickleball.co/news/major-league-pickleballs-los-angeles-mad-drops-sell-majority-stake-at-a-13-million-franchise-valuationmajorleaguepickleball+1 - CNBC – Major League Pickleball looks to add teams, reach profitability
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/major-league-pickleball-teams-profitability.htmlcnbc - Wikipedia – Thomas Dundon (background on Dundon, Hurricanes, Trail Blazers, Dundon Capital)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dundonwikipedia - TrackItHub Blog – Tom Dundon’s Drop Shot into Pickleball
https://blog.trackithub.com/tom-dundons-drop-shot-into-pickleball-ppa-and-pickleball-central-purchases-could-lead-to-big-wins/trackithub
