Club Bulletin

Press Release

Jun 09, 2025

Major League Pickleball to host Professional Coed Team Event at SPORTIME Randall's Island, July 3-6

Hometown Brooklyn Pickleball Team to Play in Four Matches at MLP New York 
Brooklyn Pickleball Team to Host Open Practice and Media Availability at SPORTIME Randall’s Island, Thursday, June 12, Starting at 10 a.m. ET 

Brooklyn, NY, June 9, 2025 — Major League Pickleball (MLP presented by DoorDash) and the Brooklyn Pickleball Team (BKPT) - a Premier Level MLP franchise - are proud to announce that MLP New York will be hosted at SPORTIME Randall’s Island, July 3-6. 

The four-day event at SPORTIME will showcase the best pickleball professionals in the world across 30 coed team matches - including four featuring the hometown Brooklyn Pickleball Team - and bring a festival-style feel to SPORTIME Randall’s Island that will include food, beverage, music, an amateur pickleball tournament, and local and nationwide sponsors participating in the fun. All are welcome to join the festivities and can find ticketing information here and amateur tournament registration info here. 

BKPT is opening up a contest for any new followers of @brooklynpickleball.team on Instagram between today and Sunday, June 29, with a lucky winner earning a VIP ticket package for the event. 

“Being able to bring an MLP event to New York within months of announcing Brooklyn Pickleball Team is a major step forward in our mission to be a beacon of positivity and lasting impact in our community,” said Adam Behnke, Chief Operating Officer of Brooklyn Pickleball Team. “We are looking forward to continuing to work together with all key stakeholders to create programming surrounding the event that serves our pickleball-loving community and will shine a bright light on our city.” 
"SPORTIME Randall's Island was built to host world-class events, and welcoming Major League Pickleball to our flagship facility is exactly the type of opportunity we envisioned," said Ben Schlansky, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of SPORTIME. "With that, and our ongoing expansion of SPORTIME’s pickleball footprint, hosting this MLP event is a perfect fit. We're excited to showcase our venue, support the growth of pickleball and be a part of this major moment for the sport." 

Media is invited to join Brooklyn Pickleball Team players Rachel Rohrabacher, Dekel Bar, Jackie Kawamoto, Pat Smith, Hannah Blatt and COO Adam Behnke at SPORTIME Randall’s Island this Thursday, June 12, for team training from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET. Staff will be available to the media during training and players will be available after it concludes. To attend, please RSVP to [email protected]. 

The 2025 MLP schedule features 14 total events - hosted in nine different states - showcasing ten regular season events, a Mid-Season Tournament, two rounds of the 2025 MLP Playoffs, and November's standalone MLP Cup. All MLP teams will appear in five regular season events playing a total of 25 matches, with a combination of Premier Level and Challenger Level teams in action at each event. The top four teams standing after the first round of playoffs in August will return to New York for the Semifinals and Championship that will take place at Wollman Rink, Central Park. 
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About Brooklyn Pickleball Team
Brooklyn Pickleball Team (BKPT) is Brooklyn’s Premier Level Major League Pickleball (MLP) team. The BKPT ownership group includes Al Tylis, Sam Porter, Eva Longoria, Justin Verlander, Kate Upton, Rip Hamilton, Shawn Marion, Odell Beckham Jr., Cliff Avril and Mesut Ozil. 

The franchise’s first ever MLP Championship was won on November 5, 2023 in Dallas as DC Pickleball Team (DCPT). The current roster includes Rachel Rohrabacher, former D1 tennis star at the University of South Carolina, MLP Champion, and top four ranked pickleballer; Dekel Bar, former pro tennis player and world pickleball ranked #6; Riley Newman, world ranked #7 in pickleball and Champion; Jackie Kawamoto, former D1 tennis standout at the University of Dayton, and key player from the 2023 Championship roster; Hannah Blatt, former pro Canadian squash player and rising pickleball talent; and Pat Smith, Men’s Conference Player of the Year at UMKC and former pro tennis star. 

For more information about Brooklyn Pickleball Team, visit brooklynpickleballteam.com and follow on social media: X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and the Team Shop. Photos of the team from the MLP season opener in Orlando can be found here.

About Major League Pickleball (MLP presented by DoorDash) 
Founded in 2021, Major League Pickleball (MLP presented by DoorDash) is the preeminent, coed, team-based professional pickleball league, featuring over 100 of the best athletes across 22 teams, iconic team owners, and the most electric live events and fan experience in the sport. In 2024, MLP and the PPA Tour merged under the newly-formed United Pickleball Association (UPA), bringing together the leading pro pickleball organizations under a single entity. Visit the official website and follow MLP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for more information. 

About SPORTIME: 
Since 1994, SPORTIME has been proud to operate the finest tennis and sports facilities in the New York area. SPORTIME features 17 club locations, including its flagship on Randall’s Island in NYC, most recently expanded to include the iconic Port Washington Tennis Academy, now SPORTIME Port Washington, SPORTIME Pickleball Westbury and SPORTIME Pickleball Englewood. SPORTIME currently offers 192 indoor and outdoor tennis courts and 95 pickleball courts, as well as rinks, turf, camps, gyms and more, at sites across Long Island, in NYC, in Westchester, in the NY Capital Region and in New Jersey. SPORTIME clubs are state-of-the-art, yet affordable, and feature the best tennis, pickleball, sports and camp facilities and programs, including the John McEnroe Tennis Academy and SPORTIME Volleyball Club. SPORTIME clubs serve individuals of every age and athletic ability, 365 days a year. Learn more: www.sportimeny.com.