THE WAIT IS OVER! Major League Pickleball Signs JW Johnson, Jorja Johnson, Dylan Frazier, Gabriel Tardio, Milan Rane
Since last Friday's announcement that the Major League Pickleball and PPA Tour merger was in jeopardy, top-ranked players have one by one announced which league they were signing contracts with as they were individually, and immediately while in the middle of a tournament, contacted by executives of these leagues with offers that were beyond their wildest dreams. One by one they were announced as signed players by way of images being shared on each respective league's instagram channel.
As us avid pickleball players knew this was changing the professional pickleball landscape right before our eyes, we watched in anticipation to see the league of choice for each top-ranked pro player. One after the other, Major League Pickleball and the PPA Tour published Instagram post after Instagram post, showing how many votes they were receiving by the best players in the world joining their team, as well as which up-and-coming players found themselves in a situation to immediately skyrocket their professional pickleball career by being marked in history as a "SIGNED" player.
Five top-ranked players in the game, and fan favorites who tune in to watch the broadcasts each event, were noticeably not mentioned yet in the announcements and include siblings JW and Jorja Johnson, Dylan Frazier, Gabriel Tardio and Milan Rane. Until today...
Video credit: FRWD Social
JW & Jorja Johnson, Dylan Frazier, Gabriel Tardio and Milan Rane have officially signed with Major League Pickleball!
More to come...
For those of you pickleball players and intriguing minds that want to know what this means for the sport, know that this is a pivotal moment in the history of pickleball. Know there is an unbelievable story behind all of this that goes beyond an announcement of five signed players.
Whether they went with Major League Pickleball or the PPA Tour, we are all going to be watching an incredible pickleball story unfold and watch these players and leagues grow the game. There is so much more to come in the days and weeks ahead on what this all means for professional pickleball.
I look forward to sharing more of this story in the days and weeks ahead and being a part of this incredible growth as my agency and brand, Pickleball in the Sun, continues to evolve with the changes.
Congratulations to all of these talented players that have been working incredibly hard!
— Laura Gainor