For the first time in the history of Major League Pickleball (MLP), 24 teams will be playing in the Mid-Season Tournament, to be held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from July 9 to 12. The MLP made the announcement on Thursday morning, June 11.
Apart from the 20 MLP franchises, one team each from Australia, Canada and Europe, along with the Collegiate All-Stars, will be playing at the gala Mid-Season tournament. Following the end of the tournament, the winner of the Mid-Season Tournament will be declared.
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The top three finishers in the Mid-Season Tournament will earn bonus points, which will be added to their regular-MLP season standings. The MLP 2026 season comprises 13 stops.
The MLP also announced Team Australia, featuring Sarah Burr, Zach Grabovic, Mitchell Hargreaves and Talia Sunders. Team Canada will be represented by Mackonner Dy, Kyle Hermetz, Rosie Johanson, Kim Layton, Ryan Torresin and Jordann Vigna.
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Team Europe will be made up of Raquel Amaro, Pep Canyadel, Ben Cawston, JM Medina, Kate Morris and Karolina Owczarek. The Collegiate All-Stars team will feature top collegiate pickleball players Kallan Arledge, Lauren Mercado, Mary Monson and Ryan Morneau.
This year’s Mid-Season Tournament will also host the Paddletek 1 Point Challenge on the sidelines, where amateur players will be competing for $25,000 in prize money. Registration for the event has also begun.
About Major League Pickleball (MLP):
Major League Pickleball (MLP) is an innovative coed team league. Founded in 2021, MLP merged with the PPA Tour to form the United Pickleball Association (UPA) in 2024, centralizing the sport’s highest levels of competition in the United States.
Teams compete under rules specific to MLP (MLPlay Rules), including rally scoring for tiebreakers known as a DreamBreaker. Every match between teams consists of four games: women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and two mixed doubles games. If teams are tied after these four games, an innovative singles DreamBreaker is played.
Over 100 top professional pickleball players compete in the MLP, representing 20 franchises across 13 events, with the aim of reaching the MLP Playoffs. Each MLP tie features four matches – women’s doubles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles Game 1, and mixed doubles Game 2.
The MLP 2026 season started on May 22 in Dallas. In the first three stops this season, the LA Mad Drops (Dallas), the New Jersey 5s (Columbus), and the St. Louis Shock (St. Louis) won the titles.
