APP Moneyball Series: The Path to the Pros | Dink Authority
A new partnership between the APP and Pickleball Kingdom builds the pathway professional pickleball didn't have yet — compete at home, earn ranking points, and rise to the pros.
Every mature sport has a clear path between "playing well in your hometown" and "competing with the best in the world." Baseball has the minor leagues. Soccer has its lower divisions. Pickleball, until now, didn't have anything close to that formal ladder — until the APP and Pickleball Kingdom decided to build it.
The APP Moneyball Series, announced this week out of Chicago, is exactly that: a national competition platform where players can compete close to home, earn prize money and APP Tour ranking points, and accelerate their path toward the circuit's professional events. The campaign behind the project sums it up in one line: "Compete locally. Rank nationally. Rise to the APP."
How It Works
Players will compete across three divisions — men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles — spread across a three-day format:
Friday: Women's Singles and Men's Singles
Saturday: Women's Doubles and Men's Doubles
Sunday: Mixed Doubles
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Every event will take place inside Pickleball Kingdom facilities, the indoor club chain with locations across the United States — giving the APP something no single organization could build this fast on its own: real national reach, facilities already up and running, and player communities already established.
The Philosophy Behind The Project
"There are talented and ambitious pickleball players in communities everywhere who are looking for opportunities to test themselves and take that next step," said Ken Herrmann, founder of the APP. "The APP Moneyball Series brings that opportunity closer to home through a direct connection to the APP, creating an important pathway for the next generation of APP players."
That line isn't a coincidence — it's essentially the same philosophy Herrmann has applied personally for years with Next Gen Series players, helping shape the careers of names who are now stars on the circuit. The Moneyball Series takes that same close, hands-on development logic and scales it nationally, systematically — so it no longer depends on one founder spotting talent one player at a time.
Mitch Kistner, Chief Marketing Officer of Pickleball Kingdom, echoed that shared vision: "By connecting Pickleball Kingdom's premier indoor clubs with the APP's national platform, we're creating a clear and exciting path for players to compete close to home, challenge themselves and see how far their skills can take them."
Not Their First Time Teaming Up
This announcement deepens a relationship that was already in motion: earlier in 2026, the APP and Pickleball Kingdom had already created a pathway for Pickleball Kingdom Paddle Battle winners — the competition series that gained popularity on YouTube — to compete directly on the APP Tour.
What's Next
Several details are still to come — specific schedule, exact competition format, prize money amounts, and ranking point structure. The APP indicated that full information will be released in the coming weeks, with the series expected to begin later this year.
For a sport growing faster than almost anyone can keep up with, this kind of structure isn't just another corporate announcement — it's the backbone professional pickleball needed so emerging talent stops depending on luck, and starts depending on a real path forward.
A new partnership between the APP and Pickleball Kingdom builds the pathway professional pickleball didn't have yet — compete at home, earn ranking points, and rise to the pros.
Every mature sport has a clear path between "playing well in your hometown" and "competing with the best in the world." Baseball has the minor leagues. Soccer has its lower divisions. Pickleball, until now, didn't have anything close to that formal ladder — until the APP and Pickleball Kingdom decided to build it.
The APP Moneyball Series, announced this week out of Chicago, is exactly that: a national competition platform where players can compete close to home, earn prize money and APP Tour ranking points, and accelerate their path toward the circuit's professional events. The campaign behind the project sums it up in one line: "Compete locally. Rank nationally. Rise to the APP."
How It Works
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Players will compete across three divisions — men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles — spread across a three-day format:
Friday: Women's Singles and Men's Singles
Saturday: Women's Doubles and Men's Doubles
Sunday: Mixed Doubles
LOVE PICKLEBALL?
Get Dink Authority Magazine updates, new editions, pro stories and event alerts.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
Every event will take place inside Pickleball Kingdom facilities, the indoor club chain with locations across the United States — giving the APP something no single organization could build this fast on its own: real national reach, facilities already up and running, and player communities already established.
The Philosophy Behind The Project
"There are talented and ambitious pickleball players in communities everywhere who are looking for opportunities to test themselves and take that next step," said Ken Herrmann, founder of the APP. "The APP Moneyball Series brings that opportunity closer to home through a direct connection to the APP, creating an important pathway for the next generation of APP players."
That line isn't a coincidence — it's essentially the same philosophy Herrmann has applied personally for years with Next Gen Series players, helping shape the careers of names who are now stars on the circuit. The Moneyball Series takes that same close, hands-on development logic and scales it nationally, systematically — so it no longer depends on one founder spotting talent one player at a time.
Mitch Kistner, Chief Marketing Officer of Pickleball Kingdom, echoed that shared vision: "By connecting Pickleball Kingdom's premier indoor clubs with the APP's national platform, we're creating a clear and exciting path for players to compete close to home, challenge themselves and see how far their skills can take them."
Not Their First Time Teaming Up
This announcement deepens a relationship that was already in motion: earlier in 2026, the APP and Pickleball Kingdom had already created a pathway for Pickleball Kingdom Paddle Battle winners — the competition series that gained popularity on YouTube — to compete directly on the APP Tour.
What's Next
Several details are still to come — specific schedule, exact competition format, prize money amounts, and ranking point structure. The APP indicated that full information will be released in the coming weeks, with the series expected to begin later this year.
For a sport growing faster than almost anyone can keep up with, this kind of structure isn't just another corporate announcement — it's the backbone professional pickleball needed so emerging talent stops depending on luck, and starts depending on a real path forward.
