Miami Open announces major shocker bringing the popularity of pickleball to meet the fervor of tennis in 2024!
Pickleball is finally getting some recognition from the top tennis tournaments.
Miami Open will see some Pickleball action this season (Via Miami Open/Nike)
Tennis tournaments across the globe are reportedly trying to attract new audiences to the sport gradually and the organizers of the Miami Open have made a shocking revelation recently that is in line with this ambition. For the first time ever, the ATP 1000 event will feature a two-day Major League Pickleball tournament and an elite wheelchair event.
The 2024 Miami Open will be a racketball fest that will start on March 17 and go on until March 31. For the wheelchair event, four-time Paralympic gold medalist and 28-time singles Grand Slam winner Shingo Kunieda, Great Britain’s Gordon Reid, and Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez have already confirmed their place in the wheelchair event that will take place from March 26 to March 28.
The Major League Pickleball (MLP) tournament, on the other hand, will go on for two days from March 27 to March 29 and will feature 16 of the world’s best pickleball players who will face each other first in a round-robin format. The tournament will also consist of three playoff matches. Pickleball is a very special type of tennis where the matches are played on significantly smaller courts with hollow balls and paddles.
The 2023 Miami Open turned out to be a great tournament, wherein Daniil Medvedev beat Jannik Sinner and Petra Kvitova beat Elena Rybakina in the men’s and women’s finals to win the titles, respectively. The organizers will expect the same from the tournament this year as well. One major addition to the 2024 Miami Open is that Novak Djokovic might take part in the tournament after two years.
Miami Open director James Blake talks about the new introductions
Pickleball is a controversial sport. The tennis world is divided in opinion about the meteoric rise that the sport has seen since 2020. It has historically led to turf wars, noise complaints, violence, lawsuits, and even criminal charges. However, the decision to add this to the Miami Open has been welcomed with open arms.
We are delighted to welcome both wheelchair tennis players and MLP stars to this year’s Miami Open presented by Itaú. We want to continue to build on the festival atmosphere that is now so synonymous with the Open and we are proud to be the first 1000 series event to showcase elite wheelchair tennis and pickleball athletes to our fans.tournament director James Blake said. (H/T: Miami Open)
It’s good to see that pickleball is finally getting some recognition from the top tennis tournaments. In the meantime, the second edition of the Pickleball Slam is set to start soon with players like Maria Sharapova and John McEnroe. The tournament will start on February 4, 2024. Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick will also fight in the tournament for the $1 million cash prize.
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Rishab Dutta
(794 Articles Published)