26 Pro Pickleball Predictions for 2026

The 2025 professional pickleball season brought us some of the most dramatic storylines in the sport’s brief history. Four players found themselves unceremoniously removed from their contracts with the United Pickleball Association for contract violations. Major League Pickleball’s playoff structure got turned on its head when the Columbus Sliders pulled off one of the greatest Cinderella runs in sports history, toppling the top three ranked teams to claim the championship. And Anna Leigh Waters continued her assault on the record books, collecting an astonishing 39 gold medals across just 20 events.

As we look ahead to 2026, the professional pickleball landscape feels primed for another year of surprises, breakout performances, and continued evolution of the sport. With players switching paddles, new international talent making waves, and organizational changes reshaping the competitive structure, there’s plenty to anticipate in the coming twelve months. Here are 26 predictions for what we’ll see unfold in professional pickleball throughout 2026.

Understanding the Professional Pickleball Landscape

For those newer to following professional pickleball, it helps to understand the ecosystem these predictions exist within. Professional pickleball in the United States primarily operates under two distinct but related entities: the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball, both managed by the United Pickleball Association. The PPA Tour features traditional tournament formats where players compete individually or with partners across singles, doubles, and mixed doubles events. Major League Pickleball operates as a team-based league where franchises draft players and compete in a season-long format culminating in playoffs.

Players sign contracts with the UPA that typically require exclusivity, meaning they can only compete in sanctioned events. This has occasionally created tension when players want to participate in international tournaments or alternative tours. The sport has also seen explosive growth internationally, with PPA Tour events now taking place in Asia and Australia, expanding the competitive opportunities for players worldwide.

The professional game differs significantly from recreational pickleball. At the highest levels, players possess exceptional hand speed, court awareness, and strategic sophistication. The margin between winning and losing often comes down to inches and split-second decisions. Singles play has become increasingly athletic and physical, while doubles requires intricate teamwork and positioning. Understanding these dynamics helps appreciate why certain predictions about player performance and tournament outcomes carry weight.

Player Performance Predictions

Eric Oncins Will Triple His Medal Count

Eric Oncins represents one of the most compelling stories of recent professional pickleball development. His trajectory throughout 2025 showed consistent improvement, particularly after the Texas Ranchers acquired him mid-season in Major League Pickleball. That trade proved prescient as Oncins elevated his game throughout the season, helping the Ranchers secure a playoff berth and a first-round victory over Miami Pickleball Club.

His 2025 medal haul included two bronze medals with Dylan Frazier, a bronze at the Lakeland Open with Anna Bright, and two gold medals with Tyson McGuffin on the PPA Asia Tour. While five medals might not seem like a massive total, it established Oncins as a player capable of competing at the highest levels. The key factor for 2026 will be partnership stability and quality. As Oncins gains recognition as a legitimate medal contender, better players will want to partner with him, creating a positive feedback loop.

Tripling his 2025 medal count would mean earning at least ten medals in 2026. This seems ambitious but achievable given several factors. First, Oncins should have more consistent high-level partnerships from the season’s start rather than figuring things out mid-year. Second, his game has clear upward trajectory written all over it. Third, with approximately 20 PPA Tour events scheduled, earning ten medals requires medaling in just half the tournaments he enters across all events. When you consider he could potentially medal in men’s doubles, mixed doubles, and possibly singles at various tournaments, this path to ten medals becomes quite realistic.

Anna Leigh Waters Will Reach 200 Career Gold Medals

This prediction carries the least risk of any on this list. Anna Leigh Waters currently sits at 172 career gold medals on the PPA Tour, two ahead of Ben Johns for the all-time lead. She needs just 28 more golds to reach the 200 milestone, and based on her 2025 performance, this seems almost inevitable barring injury.

The mathematics strongly favor Waters reaching this historic mark. In 2025, she competed in 17 tournaments and earned 39 gold medals, averaging 2.3 golds per tournament. Even if we assume she takes four complete tournaments off in 2026, leaving her competing in roughly 15 events, she would only need to average 1.87 gold medals per tournament to reach 200. Given her dominance across women’s doubles, mixed doubles, and especially singles where she hasn’t lost in over 585 days, this average seems well within her capabilities.

The more interesting question becomes not if Waters reaches 200 golds, but when. Early predictions suggested she might achieve this milestone at the 2026 World Championships, which would provide a storybook moment. However, based on her current pace and the tournament schedule, Waters could very well reach 200 gold medals before that prestigious event. Either way, this milestone will mark another chapter in what’s becoming one of the most dominant athletic careers in any sport.

Will Howells Will Prove His Worth on the PPA Tour

Will Howells has become something of a polarizing figure in professional pickleball, which seems almost unfair given his limited time as a professional. Critics point out that he only played on the APP Tour in 2025 and that his Major League Pickleball success came primarily while partnering with Anna Leigh Waters in mixed doubles. Some view his confidence as cockiness. But dismissing Howells based on these surface-level observations misses the substance of what he’s accomplished.

In Major League Pickleball, Howells has posted a 69% win percentage across his games, going 98-45 in doubles over two seasons. His partners included not just Waters but also Zane Navratil and Noe Khlif, along with some matches alongside Zoey Weil and Mari Humberg. That win percentage against elite competition shouldn’t be casually dismissed.

On the APP Tour in 2025, Howells captured 14 gold medals spanning men’s doubles (eight), mixed doubles (five), and singles (one). He became the first player to complete a triple crown on the APP Tour in three years. His victories came against quality opponents, demonstrating he can win in multiple disciplines.

The prediction that Howells will earn at least three medals on the PPA Tour in 2026 represents a conservative estimate of his abilities translating to the more competitive tour. The PPA Tour features deeper fields and more consistent competition than the APP Tour, but Howells has shown the talent and mental fortitude to compete at the highest levels. His partnership options will prove crucial. If he can secure consistent playing arrangements with top men’s doubles players and find chemistry with a quality mixed partner, three medals seems like a floor rather than a ceiling. By the end of 2027, don’t be surprised if Howells has established himself as a top ten player in doubles, with significant upside remaining in singles as well.

Ben Johns Won’t Win Singles Gold

This prediction might raise eyebrows given Ben Johns’ status as arguably the greatest men’s pickleball player in history. But the data and context support this seemingly bold claim. In 2025, Johns earned just two medals in singles, though both were gold medals at the Mesa Cup and Atlanta Pickleball Championships. For comparison, in 2024, Johns captured eight singles gold medals. The decline is stark and telling.

Men’s singles has evolved into the most competitive and unpredictable discipline in professional pickleball. At any given tournament, a player seeded 50th or lower could conceivably win the bracket. This level of parity doesn’t exist in doubles or mixed doubles, where partnerships and experience create more predictable outcomes. Singles success now requires not just skill but also consistent intensity, physical conditioning, and the willingness to grind through difficult matches.

Johns himself has made no secret that singles isn’t his favorite discipline. He’s predominantly a doubles specialist who excels at the strategic cat-and-mouse elements of doubles play. However, modern paddle technology and player athleticism have reduced the effectiveness of that patient, strategic style in singles. The game has become faster and more physical, favoring players who can consistently generate pace and handle explosive exchanges.

Additionally, Johns has a known tendency to start tournaments slowly. He can be vulnerable in early rounds, which in singles can mean an early exit and no opportunity to work his way into form. Given his lack of passion for the discipline, the evolution of playing styles that don’t suit his strengths, and his vulnerability to upsets in early rounds, predicting that Johns won’t capture a singles gold in 2026 seems reasonable despite his immense talent.

Anna Leigh Waters Will Finally Lose in Singles

As of now, 585 days have passed since Anna Leigh Waters last lost a singles match. The date was May 30th, 2024, when Salome Devidze defeated her in the semifinals of the CIBC Texas Open in a late-night match. Since then, Waters has been absolutely untouchable in women’s singles, winning every match she’s played.

Predicting that this streak will end in 2026 requires identifying who might accomplish this feat. Only six players appear to have realistic chances: Kate Fahey, Seone Mendez, Brooke Buckner, Parris Todd, Judit Castillo, or Lea Jansen. That’s it. Just six women from the entire professional pickleball world who seem capable of taking down Waters in singles.

The prediction here centers on probability more than any identified weakness in Waters’ game. If Waters maintains her undefeated streak throughout 2026, she’ll be sitting at 945 consecutive days without a singles loss. That number seems almost impossible to fathom, even for someone of her caliber. At some point, whether through an off day, exceptional opponent performance, or simply the randomness inherent in sports, a loss seems inevitable.

Seone Mendez presents perhaps the most intriguing challenger. She pushed Waters to 5-11, 6-11 scores in their only meeting, showing she can compete at that level. If Mendez signs with the UPA and gets regular matches against top competition, she could develop the additional edge needed to close that gap. Kate Fahey has proven capable of winning against virtually everyone else and has the game to challenge Waters. But prediction aside, if Waters does maintain her unbeaten streak through all of 2026, it would represent one of the most remarkable achievements in professional pickleball history.

Blaine Hovenier Will Earn His First PPA Medal

Blaine Hovenier might be the best player without a PPA Tour medal to their name. That’s obviously difficult to state definitively, but his performances suggest he belongs in that conversation at minimum. Hovenier has become known as the emotional leader and hype man for the So Cal Hard 8s in Major League Pickleball, but that role sometimes overshadows his legitimate playing ability.

Throughout MLP competition, Hovenier has delivered some impressive upset victories alongside various partners. He and Jalina Ingram defeated the formidable pairing of Alshon and Christian Alshon, as well as Hunter Johnson and Jade Kawamoto. These weren’t fluky wins but rather demonstrations of solid, consistent pickleball against elite competition.

Hovenier’s playing style centers on steadiness and smart positioning. He’s a right-side player with excellent length that he uses effectively to take balls out of the air and cut off angles. While he might not possess the flashy power game of some players, his consistency and court awareness make him a valuable partner. The key to Hovenier earning his first medal will be finding the right partnership, whether that’s a dominant left-side player in men’s doubles who can complement his steady right side, or the right mixed doubles partner who fits his game.

With approximately 20 PPA Tour events in 2026 and multiple chances to medal across men’s doubles and mixed doubles, the opportunities will be there. Hovenier has proven he can compete at the necessary level. Now it’s just about everything coming together at the right tournament with the right partner on the right day.

Matt Wright Will Continue His Medal Streak

Matt Wright will be 49 years old in 2026. In sports where youth and athleticism typically reign supreme, Wright’s continued success represents something special. Age remains just a number for the former Michigan tennis star and current attorney who somehow keeps finding ways to medal at the highest levels of professional pickleball.

In 2025, Wright earned a silver medal with Jaume Martinez Vich at the Bristol Open in August and finished fourth at the Las Vegas Open in October with Eric Oncins. These results extended his remarkable streak of earning medals on the PPA Tour every year since the tour’s inception in 2020. That’s six consecutive years of staying relevant at the highest level.

Wright’s continued success despite his age comes down to three key attributes that don’t deteriorate as quickly as pure athleticism. First, he still possesses some of the fastest hands in the game, allowing him to win exchanges at the kitchen line through quick reactions rather than court coverage. Second, his drop shots are extraordinarily reliable. He almost never misses drops, which means partners can trust him to consistently reset points and get teams into neutral rallies. Third, and perhaps most importantly, his track record and reputation allow him to secure high-level partners who can play big on the left side and cover some additional court.

This winning formula should continue working in 2026. Wright has now medaled for six straight years on the PPA Tour. There’s no reason to expect that streak to end, making seven consecutive years a reasonable prediction. While Father Time remains undefeated in the long run, Wright has shown that technical excellence, consistency, and smart partnership selection can extend a competitive career well beyond what raw athleticism alone would allow.

Chris Haworth Will Be the Top Singles Seed at PPA Finals

Chris Haworth burst onto the PPA Tour scene in the second half of 2025 and immediately made an impact. Since August, he’s collected a bronze, a silver, and two gold medals in men’s singles. Despite only competing in PPA Tour events for half the year, he’s already climbed to sixth in the men’s singles rankings.

The prediction that Haworth will be the number one seed at the PPA Finals in May requires some explanation of how the ranking system works. Currently, Haworth sits 6,200 PPA points behind Hunter Johnson in the rankings. However, Haworth has a significant structural advantage heading into 2026: while Johnson needs to replace all his early 2025 results with equal or better performances in early 2026, Haworth will simply be adding to his point total since he didn’t compete in any PPA Tour events during the first half of 2025.

With eight tournaments scheduled between now and the Finals in May, Haworth has ample opportunity to make up that points deficit. The estimation is that he needs at least three singles victories and another medal or two to overtake Johnson and claim that top seed. Given his current form and trajectory, this seems achievable.

Haworth’s game translates exceptionally well to singles. He has the power, court coverage, and consistency to compete with anyone in the men’s game. His rapid rise up the rankings suggests he’s still improving and adapting to the PPA competition. If he maintains his health and continues his current performance level, seeing Haworth as the top singles seed in San Clemente would surprise no one familiar with his game.

An Asian Player Will Compete Regularly in the United States

The growth of professional pickleball in Asia has created a new pipeline of international talent. The PPA Asia Tour has identified and developed players who can compete at the highest levels, and 2026 should be the year when at least one of these players makes a sustained effort to compete in the United States.

Several Asia Trailblazers stand out as candidates to make this move: Yufei