JOOLA’s Women’s Pickleball Push: Can Visibility Become Lasting Participation?

JOOLA is taking women’s pickleball beyond the equipment aisle. Its new partnership with women’s sports media company TOGETHXR combines athlete storytelling, merchandise and opportunities to play, offering clubs and brands a commercial model worth watching.

The companies announced “She’s Got a Point” on 28 October. The long-term initiative makes its event debut at the Pickleball World Championships in Dallas from 2–8 November.

A JOOLA x TOGETHXR Clubhouse will host athlete appearances, girls’ clinics, morning yoga and conversations with Pickleball Nikki. Anna Bright and Kate Fahey are among the JOOLA players involved. A limited-edition co-branded merchandise collection will be sold exclusively on site while supplies last.

Lauren Tolila, TOGETHXR’s senior vice president of brand partnerships, said: “The momentum behind women's sports is changing culture and creating new opportunities across the industry.”

The announcement does not disclose the investment, revenue targets or detailed programme beyond the Dallas launch. Those remain open questions for a partnership described as long term.

Participation gives the proposition substance

The Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s June report puts women at 42.9% of US pickleball players in 2025, up from 38.6% in 2020. It reports 24.3 million American participants overall. These are participation figures, rather than measures of spending or brand loyalty.

There is also a community component. The National Women’s Pickleball Foundation says it will take over the JOOLA Demo Court for three days as part of the initiative, with clinics involving Alzheimer’s Association caregivers, Special Olympics athletes and Girl Scouts. Its event listing names Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, Texas.

What Racket Business thinks...

The strongest part of this proposal is that it connects visibility with something people can do. Watching an athlete, meeting other players, trying the sport and buying a product become parts of the same experience.

For a club, the practical lesson is to ask women already playing what would make participation better, then build the programme around those answers. Suitable partners, clear playing levels, equipment access and welcoming introductions deserve attention alongside promotional photography.

Operators could test a short series with a local partner and agree the measures before it starts. Record first visits and repeat bookings, ask which activities participants valued, and review delivery costs. That creates a more useful decision about continuing the programme than simply counting how many people attended its first session or launch event.

Brands should make the same distinction. A campaign can attract attention quickly; a useful product and a good playing experience give people reasons to return. Merchandise sales during a major event will tell only part of that story.

We would look for evidence after Dallas: repeat sessions, returning participants, sustained partnerships and content that reaches people beyond the existing professional audience. Community organisations can help identify barriers that a conventional sponsorship plan might miss.

Women already represent a substantial part of pickleball’s customer base. Treating them as central to product development, programming and storytelling makes commercial sense. The opportunity now is to turn the launch’s promise into consistent opportunities at local courts.