{"id":272359,"date":"2026-05-15T15:32:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/272359\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T15:32:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:32:19","slug":"smash-hit-pro-pickleballs-biggest-stars-are-heading-to-st-petersburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/272359\/","title":{"rendered":"Smash Hit: Pro Pickleball\u2019s Biggest Stars Are Heading To St. Petersburg"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2013 The fast-growing world of professional pickleball is officially landing in Tampa Bay this summer.<\/p>\n

Major League Pickleball (MLP) announced today that it will bring its premier team competition to the newly opened St. Pete Athletic from June 17\u201321, marking the first time the league has held an event in the region.<\/p>\n

The multi-day tournament features a unique coed, team-based format that has become a hallmark of the league. Sixty of the world\u2019s top professional players will descend on St. Petersburg to compete for essential standings points as they eye the 2026 MLP Playoffs.<\/p>\n

The matches follow a high-energy structure consisting of men\u2019s and women\u2019s doubles, followed by mixed doubles. If a tie occurs, the outcome is decided by a \u201cDreamBreaker\u201d singles tiebreaker.<\/p>\n

READ: Comeback Complete: After Rebounding From ACL Tear, USF\u2019s Natalie Eastwood Looks Forward To Representing Team Australia<\/a><\/p>\n

For the local crowd, the highlight of the week will be the appearance of the Florida Smash. The hometown team features a roster of top-tier talent, including local favorites Travis Rettenmaier and Paula Rives. While the Smash has been a staple of the league for several seasons, this June will mark their debut playing in front of a home-field audience.<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida Smash<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter four years in Major League Pickleball, this is the first time the Florida Smash will compete on home turf,\u201d said Florida Smash Owner Graham D\u2019Amico. \u201cWe\u2019re excited to bring the best format in pickleball, and the energy that comes with it, to the St. Pete community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The venue for the event, St. Pete Athletic, is a state-of-the-art paddle and social club designed to handle the \u201cfestival-like\u201d atmosphere that MLP events are known for. Beyond the court lines, attendees can expect a mix of music, intense team rivalries, and fan-focused activities.<\/p>\n

As pickleball continues its rapid expansion across Florida, this mid-June event serves as a major milestone for the local sports scene, placing St. Petersburg at the center of the professional circuit for five days of high-stakes play.<\/p>\n

Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism<\/a>. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.<\/p>\n

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Smash Hit: Pro Pickleball\u2019s Biggest Stars Are Heading To St. Petersburg<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2013 The fast-growing world of professional pickleball is officially landing in Tampa Bay this summer.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[28,116526,116527,202,204,203,199,201,200,45200],"class_list":["post-272359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-florida","tag-major-league-pickleball","tag-smash","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-team-competition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}