The World Pickleball Podcast

Professional pickleball has more money, more prize purses and more attention than ever. But has the infrastructure beneath the sport kept pace? Lee Whitwell joins Chris Beaumont to discuss the growing crisis around honour-system line calls and why she believes blaming referees misses the real problem. The conversation moves from questionable calls and player reputations into the deeper weaknesses...

Bob Winskowicz: Why Pickleball’s Next Performance Revolution May Start With Your Feet In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast, Chris Beaumont is joined by Bob Winskowicz, founder and CEO of SQAIRZ, to explore one of the most overlooked areas of pickleball performance: footwear. Pickleball players spend countless hours analysing paddles, technique, strategy and training, but Bob believes th...

Most pickleball injuries do not start with a single moment. They build slowly, often unnoticed, in the background of regular play. In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast, we speak with Laina Gossman, founder of Soul Insole, about the biomechanics of foot health and why it matters far more than most players realise. We explore how small imbalances in the feet can lead to common pickleball...

Professional pickleball player Zoey Weil joins Chris Beaumont on the World Pickleball Podcast for an honest discussion about some of the biggest talking points in the sport. Rather than revisiting her tennis background, Zoey gives her views on where professional pickleball is heading and tackles the biggest debates from the past month. In this episode we discuss: The rapid growth of the PPA Tour a...

In this week's World Pickleball Podcast, Chris Beaumont sits down with one of the game's most analytical and innovative players, Connor Garnett. Connor's route into professional pickleball is anything but conventional. Before becoming one of the PPA Tour's leading competitors, he worked in investment banking, carefully weighing up the financial realities before deciding to pursue pickleball full-t...

Former Seattle Mariners draft pick, NCAA National Champion and 5.0+ pickleball player Billy Cooke joins the World Pickleball Podcast to explore one of the most overlooked areas of player development: reaction training. Billy explains how elite baseball has spent decades developing vision, hand-eye coordination and decision-making through small-ball training, and why those same principles could hel...

Most pickleball analytics today can tell you what happened. Very few can explain why. In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast, Chris Beaumont sits down with Scott Ross, founder of PEWPEW Analytics, to explore one of the biggest unanswered questions in the sport. Has pickleball actually identified the things that matter most when it comes to winning? Football has expected goals. Baseball ha...

This week on the World Pickleball Podcast, Chris Beaumont and Gordon Watson break down one of the busiest weeks in global pickleball. They discuss the Panas PPA Asia event in Kuala Lumpur, including standout performances from Xiao Yi Wang, Eu Long, Jamie Wei and teenage sensation Tama Shimabukuro, while also looking at what Nasa Hatakeyama’s remarkable run says about Japan’s emerging depth. The co...

Chris Beaumont and Gordon Watson return for another World Pickleball Podcast roundup, covering the stories shaping the sport across the globe. This week’s episode starts in Trinidad and Tobago, where the Caribbean’s first Minor League Pickleball event is set to launch on May 29, before heading to Australia for a look at the newly announced MLP Australia captains and what a reduced eight-team leagu...

In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast, Chris speaks to Théo Platel, France’s leading men’s player and the current number one men’s doubles player on the RTA Pickleball Tour rankings. Théo talks about his route from junior tennis in the south of France into pickleball, the early humbling that made him take the sport seriously, and the role his brother Julien played as doubles partner, coa...

Louis Laville joins the World Pickleball Podcast to discuss his journey from skeptical first-time player to one of Europe’s most accomplished pickleball professionals. The eight-time national champion and seven-time European champion opens up on: moving to Australia to pursue pickleball full-time winning MLP Australia with Bondi Pickleball Club competing in the World Pickleball League in India how...

Chris is joined by Theo Young, the organiser of the DUPR UK University Pickleball Championships, powered by JOOLA and sanctioned by Pickleball England. Taking place at Courtzside in Stourbridge on 30 May, the event brings together university teams from across the UK for the first competition of its kind in the country. Theo talks about building the event from scratch, what UK pickleball can learn...

In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast, Chris speaks to Calvin Innes, an award-winning creative director, fandom strategist and co-founder of The Forge, about one of pickleball’s biggest unanswered questions: how does the sport turn millions of players into genuine fans? Calvin explains why participation alone is not enough, what pickleball can learn from Formula 1, UFC, cricket and other...

Atlanta is already doing what it always does at this stage of the season — putting pressure on players who are not quite safe. This week, we break down why the PPA Finals cut line matters more than the title itself, and how early-round matches are starting to shape entire seasons. From there, we get into the new UPA rulebook and the confusion around rally scoring. There isn’t one version of pickle...

Lee Whitwell joins the World Pickleball Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation that goes far beyond results. The reigning senior pro star and Game ChangeHER co-founder breaks down the US Open, the growth of the English Open, and why pickleball still struggles as a spectator sport. More importantly, she explains why the future of the game will not be decided by the pro tour, but by the millions of...

Why Pickleball Gets Under Your Skin — A One-Year Quest to Understand It What makes pickleball so addictive? In this episode, Chris sits down with Clare Frank — former California fire chief, author, and lifelong athlete — to unpack a question most players feel but rarely explain. After a health scare, Clare realised she feared losing pickleball more than the diagnosis itself. That moment sent her o...

Melissa McCurley helped build the modern pickleball world long before most people realised what the sport could become. In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast, Chris Beaumont sits down with the 2025 Pickleball Hall of Fame inductee, former PickleballTournaments.com CEO, US Open architect, national TV commentator, and current APP executive to talk about the work that turned pickleball from...

In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast , host Chris Beaumont and co-host Gordon Watson break down the latest developments across the global pickleball scene, with a sharp focus on PPA Australia , player pathways, and the evolving European landscape. The discussion opens with a deep dive into the PPA Australia event in Moreton Bay , where a lack of depth in the draw raises bigger questions...

In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast, Chris Beaumont sits down with one of the most influential figures in European pickleball, Gustaf Getarud , to talk about playing, building and thinking the game at a high level. Gustaf discusses how a corporate background in leadership and recruitment has shaped his approach on court, why process and problem-solving matter so much in pickleball, and...

In this week’s World Pickleball Podcast, Chris Beaumont and Gordon Watson dig into the biggest talking points from the MB Hanoi Cup and the wider pro game. The show opens with a light-hearted detour into English Open plans before turning to the real debate: Anna Leigh Waters withdrawing from women’s singles in Hanoi after a packed run of tournaments. Chris and Gordon discuss whether the profession...

Bálint Bakó is one of the most interesting players in European pickleball right now, and in this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast, Chris Beaumont sits down with the Hungarian star to explore the journey behind his rise. From his background in the demanding Hungarian junior tennis system to his rapid emergence as one of Europe’s leading singles players, Bakó opens up on the moments that shap...

In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast , host Chris Beaumont and co-host Gordon Watson break down another fascinating week across the global pickleball landscape, from emerging tours in Asia to major industry developments. The conversation opens with discussion around the D-Joy Tour and the rapid rise of pickleball in Vietnam , including insights from recent conversations with top Europea...

In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast , host Chris Beaumont sits down with one of the most dominant forces in global pickleball right now: Ben Cawston , the RTA European No. 1 in Men’s Doubles , reigning European Champion, and one of the fastest-rising players in the sport. At just 23 years old, Ben has already built a remarkable sporting résumé. A former World No. 1 in rackets and the y...

In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast , host Chris Beaumont and co-host Gordon Watson break down a packed week across the global pickleball scene, covering tour action, international developments, and one particularly heated debate. The episode opens with a look at what Chris and Gordon have been working on, before diving straight into the latest professional action. Gordon shares insigh...

In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast , host Chris Beaumont is joined by co-host Gordon Watson to break down another busy week across the global pickleball landscape. The show opens with a look at what Chris and Gordon have been working on behind the scenes, including the continued growth of World Pickleball Magazine and its expanding global coverage of the sport. From there, the hosts d...