MLP Nations Cup 2026: Everything You Need to Know About Pickleball’s First Global Team Tournament
Major League Pickleball is doing something it has never done before. Starting October 30, 2026, the inaugural MLP Nations Cup will bring together eight international teams, 48 professional players, and three days of competition at Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, Texas — right outside Dallas. This is pickleball going global in the most serious way yet, and if you follow the sport at all, this is one you won’t want to miss.
The Nations Cup runs from Friday, October 30 through Sunday, November 1, and immediately precedes the 2026 Opendoor Pickleball World Championships, which kicks off at the same venue on November 2. In other words, Dallas is about to become the center of the professional pickleball universe for more than a week straight.
What Is the MLP Nations Cup? (A Quick Explainer for the Uninitiated)
If you’re newer to pickleball or haven’t followed Major League Pickleball closely, here’s what you need to know. MLP is the premier professional pickleball league in the United States. It uses a coed team format — meaning each team has both male and female players competing together — and matches are structured in a way that’s fast, exciting, and easy to follow even if you’re brand new to the sport.
Think of the Nations Cup like the Ryder Cup in golf or the Davis Cup in tennis, but for pickleball. Instead of clubs or individual franchises competing, countries and regions are putting together their best players and going head to head on the court. It’s a format designed to bring out national pride, real stakes, and a sense of drama you don’t always get in a regular tour event.
Eight teams from around the world have been assembled, each representing a different region. Some of the biggest names in professional pickleball are suiting up for their home countries. The event will be broadcast on PickleballTV, so anyone in the U.S. can tune in from home and watch the whole thing unfold.
For casual fans, the beauty of this format is that you don’t need to know every player’s ranking or career stats to enjoy it. You just pick a team to root for and watch the competition play out. That said, if you do follow the pro game closely, there is a lot to dig into here.
Tournament Format: How It Works
The eight teams are split into two groups of four. Over Friday and Saturday, each team plays three round-robin matches within their group — six matches per day across both groups. The top two finishers from each group then advance to Sunday’s single-elimination playoff bracket.
Sunday starts with two semifinal matches at 11 a.m. ET, with the championship match scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. The bracket is set up so that Group A’s first-place team faces Group B’s second-place team in one semifinal, and Group B’s winner faces Group A’s runner-up in the other. The two winners meet in the final, and history gets made — because there has never been an MLP Nations Cup champion before this one.
For tickets and official event information, you can visit the Nations Cup event page.
How and When to Watch
All matches will stream live on PickleballTV or the PickleballTV app. Championship Court coverage is available directly on PickleballTV, while any additional Grandstand Court matches will be accessible through the app. Here’s the broadcast schedule:
- Friday, October 30: Coverage begins at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT
- Saturday, October 31: Coverage begins at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT
- Sunday, November 1 — Semifinals: Coverage begins at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT
- Sunday, November 1 — Championship: Coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT
Three full days of international pickleball on one platform. If you’ve been looking for an easy entry point to follow the pro game, this is genuinely a great one.
The Eight Teams: Full Rosters and Captains
This is where things get really interesting. The Nations Cup roster construction is unlike anything MLP has done before. Players were selected based on their nationality or regional affiliation, which means you’re seeing combinations of athletes who have never competed together on the same team. Some of these players are MLP regulars. Others are international stars who haven’t had much exposure in the American professional circuit. All of them have earned their spot.
Group A
Team USA
Captain: Johnny Goldberg. Roster: Anna Bright, Tyra Black, Kate Fahey, Ben Johns, CJ Klinger, Will Howells.
This is a loaded group. Ben Johns is widely considered the best male pickleball player in the world, and Anna Bright is one of the top women on the professional tour. Kate Fahey and Tyra Black add elite doubles depth, and CJ Klinger and Will Howells round out a roster that has both experience and versatility. Johnny Goldberg as captain ties it all together. Team USA enters the inaugural Nations Cup as a clear favorite, and it’s hard to argue with that assessment given the talent on the sheet.
Team Canada
Captain: Steve Deakin. Roster: Victoria DiMuzio, Blaine Hovenier, Armaan Jiwa Mawji, Layne Sleeth, Ryan Torresin, Angie Walker.
Canada has been building its presence in professional pickleball steadily, and this roster reflects that growth. Ryan Torresin and Layne Sleeth are names that pro pickleball followers will recognize, and the team has enough depth to be competitive. Group A is tough, but Canada will be looking to punch through and grab one of the two semifinal spots.
Team Europe – West
Captain: Chris Cantino. Roster: Judit Castillo (Spain), Helena Jansen (Spain), Will MacKinnon (Scotland), Theo Platel (France), Estee Widdershoven (Belgium), DJ Young (Spain).
Judit Castillo is the headliner here. She’s one of the most recognizable international players in the pro game, and her presence immediately gives Europe – West a player capable of making a real impact in any match. The mix of nationalities across Spain, Scotland, France, and Belgium gives the team an authentic pan-European identity. This is a team with real upside, especially if Castillo is playing her best pickleball.
Team Asia Domestic
Co-captains: Geoffrey Nguyen and Jeff Tsao. Roster: Augie Ge (China), Milan Rane (India), Jonathan Truong (Vietnam), Zoey Wang (Chinese Taipei), Jamie Wei (Chinese Taipei), Len Yang (China).
This team represents one of the most exciting storylines of the whole event. Pickleball is growing fast across Asia, and this roster pulls from China, India, Vietnam, and Chinese Taipei. These are players who may not be household names to American pickleball fans yet, but they have serious talent. Competing at this level, on this stage, is a huge moment for the sport’s development in the region.
Group B
Team Australia
Captain: Sange Carter. Roster: Sarah Burr, Chris Crouch, Sahra Dennehy, Mitch Hargreaves, Danni-Elle Townsend, George Wall.
Sahra Dennehy is Australia’s standout player and someone who has made a real mark in competitive pickleball. The rest of the roster has solid depth, and MLP has been expanding its presence in Australia, which means these players have had meaningful competitive experience in the MLP format. Australia is absolutely a semifinal contender from Group B.
Team Latin America
Captain: Juan Benitez. Roster: Nico Acevedo (Chile), Mari Humberg (Brazil), Rafa Lenhard (Brazil), Eric Oncins (Brazil), Alexa Schull (Puerto Rico), Charlie Trevino (Mexico).
Brazil is carrying the bulk of this team’s firepower, and Eric Oncins and Mari Humberg are well-known names in the pro circuit. Nico Acevedo from Chile and Charlie Trevino from Mexico add regional diversity and real competitive ability. Latin America is one of the more intriguing teams in the field, and with the right matches lining up, they could make a deep run. Group B is wide open, and this team could easily be the one that comes out on top of it.
Team Europe – East
Captain: Caleb Garrard. Roster: Andrei Daescu (Romania), Arwid Dahlin (Sweden), Ivan Jakovljevic (Croatia), Lina Padegimaite (Lithuania), Tina Pisnik (Slovenia), Daria Walczak (Poland).
Andrei Daescu leads this squad and is one of the most accomplished international players in the entire field. Tina Pisnik is another name that longtime pro pickleball followers will know well. The Eastern European representation here — Romania, Sweden, Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Poland — is genuinely cool to see at a professional pickleball event of this scale. This team has the talent to compete with anyone in Group B.
Team Asia International
Captain: Madeleine Lim. Roster: Rika Fujiwara (Japan), Lingwei Kong (China), Jimmy Liong (Malaysia), Tama Shimabukuro (Japan), Jack Wong (Hong Kong, China), Macy Ybañez (Philippines).
It’s worth noting that Tama Shimabukuro replaced Hien Truong on this roster following an October 20 update from MLP. The team draws from Japan, China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines — another reflection of just how global pickleball has become. This team will face stiff competition in Group B, but the Nations Cup gives these players a platform to showcase what pickleball looks like at the elite level across the Asia International region.
Key Storylines to Follow
Can Anyone Beat Team USA?
On paper, Team USA is the team to beat. Ben Johns and Anna Bright alone would make this a formidable squad, and the supporting cast around them is excellent. Johnny Goldberg is a capable captain who understands the MLP format inside and out. The question isn’t really whether USA is the favorite — it’s whether any of the other seven teams can find a way to beat them in a single-elimination setting. Group A will be the early test, and how Team USA handles that round-robin play will set the tone.
Group B Is Anyone’s Tournament
Australia, Latin America, Europe – East, and Asia International are all legitimate contenders, and none of them has a clear edge over the others. Sahra Dennehy gives Australia a real weapon. Eric Oncins and the Brazilian core give Latin America genuine firepower. Andrei Daescu anchors Europe – East. This group could come down to a single match or a close set at the end of Saturday’s round-robin. It’s the part of the bracket most worth watching closely across the first two days.
A Global Showcase Right Before Worlds
The timing of the Nations Cup isn’t coincidental. Placing it immediately before the 2026 Opendoor Pickleball World Championships means the sport’s biggest international stars will already be in Dallas, warmed up, and competing at a high level before the World Championships even begin. For international players who don’t regularly compete on the American pro circuit, the Nations Cup is a chance to show what they can do on one of the biggest stages the sport has to offer.
What Comes Next: The 2026 World Championships
Once the Nations Cup wraps up on Sunday, November 1, the action doesn’t stop. The 2026 Opendoor Pickleball World Championships begin the very next day, running November 2 through 8 at Brookhaven Country Club. This is one of the marquee events on the PPA Tour calendar, and having it follow immediately after the Nations Cup makes the whole week in Dallas a genuine destination event for pickleball fans.
If you’re in the Dallas area and haven’t been to a live professional pickleball event, this stretch of competition — eight days total between the two events — is about as good an opportunity as you’re going to get. And if you’re watching from home, PickleballTV has you covered for the Nations Cup, with World Championships coverage to follow.
Why This Matters for the Sport
The MLP Nations Cup is more than just a tournament. It’s a signal about where professional pickleball is headed. The sport has exploded in the United States over the past several years, but it’s also growing rapidly across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. MLP has already launched international leagues in Australia and Asia, and the Nations Cup feels like a natural extension of that momentum.
Bringing together 48 players from across the globe, organizing them into national and regional teams, and staging the competition at a marquee venue in Texas — this is the kind of event that legitimate global sports do. Pickleball is doing it now. For fans who have watched the sport grow from backyard courts to packed arenas over the past decade, the Nations Cup feels like another marker on that journey.
Whether you’re a die-hard who tracks DUPR ratings and knows every player on every MLP roster, or someone who just started playing at their local rec center and is curious what the pro game looks like — the inaugural MLP Nations Cup is worth your time. Tune in on PickleballTV starting October 30, and watch history get made.
