Exclusive: PPA CEO Connor Pardoe Says Automated Line Calls Are Coming to Pro Pickleball

In a PicklePod exclusive, PPA CEO Connor Pardoe told host Zane Navratil that the same line-calling technology used in professional tennis is coming to pro pickleball as soon as this year: "You won't even call lines anymore"

PPA CEO Connor Pardoe joined the PicklePod to chat with host Zane Navratil about a number of timely topics, including the new incentive-based contract model rolling out to pros for the next three years and what it means for pickleball's bright future.

He also used the opportunity to break a little news: Automated line calling is coming to professional pickleball.

Automated Line Calling Comes to Pro Pickleball

The $15 million in prize money for the new pro contracts catches all the headlines, but there is an adjacent facet of the push to make the sport more equitable that's critical to "turning this thing into a billion-dollar business," as Pardoe said: How the league will address cheating.

Zane laid out the worst offenders, and Pardoe addressed each in turn:

1. Paddle testing: "We're in a way better spot today than we ever have been." Come September 1, 2025, all pro paddles will require UPA-A Certification, a huge step toward wholesale regulation. "We've invested millions of dollars over the last two years into trying to fix the problem and get it right," said Pardoe.
2. Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs): Pardoe said they're looking into investing $500,000 to $1 million per year "when the time comes" to begin testing for PEDs in pro pickleball.
3. Line calling: In a PicklePod exclusive, Pardoe said they've signed a contract with a technology company to bring the same type of automated line calling seen in tennis over the pickleball as soon as Q4 2025. "We'll take the eight pro courts that we have and there will be automatic line calling," he said, "so you won't even call lines anymore."

That last one, automated line calling, is a big deal.

Pros calling their own lines is arguably the biggest hurdle facing the sport's legitimacy and growth, right after paddle regulation (which feels like it's more in check these days).

Hardly a pro tournament goes by without an egregious line calling making headlines. Just recently, for example, pro Travis Rettenmaier admitted to calling a ball than landed two feet inside the baseline out "on purpose" – payback for a bad line call committed by the other team a few points earlier.

It's an eye-for-an-eye mentality that can swing the momentum of a point, game or entire match. It needs to be addressed once and for all before the sport gets a major media rights deal, or can reap the financial benefits of wholesale sports betting, or finds itself in the Olympic Games.

This is a huge step in that direction.

As Zane so eloquently put it in response to hearing the news for the first time: "Wow. Holy Crap. That's some news."

New Contracts Target 'Best Talent'

Pardoe says the shift to a prize-based contract model is a win-win for the 95% of the players, and was designed with heavy player input along the way.

There is a ton of nuance here, but a few highlights to keep top of mind:

• Starting in 2026, pros will be split into tiered contract groups depending on when they signed their UPA contracts
• Their annual, guaranteed salary will be one-third of their current base salary
• A $15 million prize pool will be spread annually between UPA and MLP events
• A minimum of $5 million will also be set aside each year for winners of international events

The goal, says Connor, is a model that's equitable and fair – the more you win, the more you earn.

"You can't have a pro sport without the best talent," Connor said. "We need the buy-in from the best players to want to be here and want to grow the sport."

Contracts are critical, said Pardoe, for a few reasons.

• First, they show league investors and potential sponsors that the world's top players are committed to the UPA.
• They're also a boon for continued media coverage (as The Dink can surely attest) – when the sport's biggest names make headlines, he wants them repping his league and his league only.

Watch the full episode below: