"No one actually wants to watch Pickleball" - Fans react to Tom Brady-endorsed league reportedly facing '$10M emergency bridge loan' setback

Major League Pickleball (MLP) and the PPA Tour are reportedly facing a major hurdle in their bid to popularize the sport. MLP, which went through a $75 million merger with the PPA Tour last March, is currently in a clutch situation as it needs to pay a "$10 million emergency bridge loan" to continue its operations.

Nine months ago, MLP, which boasts of investors like American legends like LeBron James and Tom Brady, coalesced the pickleball pro tour into one entity called the UPA. This move was intended to increase the player and events base and also received backing from Saudi Arabia.

However, it has now come out that the UPA reportedly requires a loan of $10 million to "meet its financial obligations". Jillian Braverman, a PPA Tour pro, took to her X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday (January 2) to explain the setback to her followers.

"Ten months after the blockbuster '$75 Million' merger between Major League Pickleball (Lebron James, Tom Brady, Anheuser-Busch) and Tom Dundon’s (Carvana, Top Golf) backed PPA Tour, the new entity (the UPA) needs an emergency bridge loan of $10mm by January 15 to meet its financial obligations," Jillian Braverman wrote accross two tweets.

The above news has since had a positive reception in the tennis universe, as many fans believe pickleball is at odds with their sport. One fan sarcastically wrote on X that they were surprised no one wanted to watch the Tom Brady-backed paddle sport.

"Wow are you telling me that no one actually wants to watch pickleball lmao," they wrote.

Another fan, meanwhile, went as far as to call the MLP-PPA merger a "half Ponzi scheme and aspirational PR".

"I feel like this whole thing is half Ponzi scheme and aspirational PR. I just hope everyone working there has their paycheques clearing," they wrote.

Here are a few more reactions from social media:

"Well well well," a fan wrote sarcastically.

"Well, my 'I didn't confirm this' disclaimer about pickleball salaries the other day was prescient," another fan wrote.

"Please crumble and die," a fan wrote.

"Are we sure AI hasn't written this tweet?" a fan joked.

"This is fascinating," another fan wrote sarcastically.

"I don’t wish failure on people doing their best but it has always been insane they tried to make this a professional sport," a fan insisted.

Ahead of the Slam exhibition, the event's inaugural edition winner Andy Roddick said how he didn't want to let down his partner Eugenie Bouchard as the pair are set to take on the duo of Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi on February 16, 2025.

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Andy Roddick looks forward to Pickleball Slam 3: "We have to win, it's on me"

Andy Roddick looks on during a media interaction

At Pickleball Slam 3, Andy Roddick and Eugenie Bouchard will team up to take on Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf. Roddick and Bouchard will certainly face stiff resistance from Agassi and Graf, as the husband-wife duo has won the last two editions of the event.

The 2003 US Open champion recently expressed doubts regarding his paddle skills while inferring that he has to reign victorious against all costs.

"I worry the most about myself on the court. Like, I've literally played with a pro. We have to win; otherwise... it's on me. It's very squarely on my shoulders," Roddick said.

The third edition of the paddle sport event will take place on February 16 at the Michelob ULTRA Arena, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The respective men's and women's players will clash against each other in the first two singles fixtures before the winner-takes-all mixed doubles match.