Miami Open to feature MLP event

I mean, there’s even a pickleball podcast called Tennis Sucks.One professional tennis tournament, however, is trying to bridge that gap.

The Miami Open announced its plans to include a Major League Pickleball event in addition to the tennis action during its 2024 installment this coming March.

The three-day MLP event will feature an all-star tournament featuring 16 top pickleball pros, a pro-am round robin that will pair pros with celebrities, and a pro-am team exhibition match.

The pickleball showcase is one of two additional events being added on to the ATP and WTA 1000 tournaments being played across the fortnight.

A professional wheelchair tennis competition is also coming to South Florida, making the Open the first 1000-series tournament to include wheelchair tennis.

“We are delighted to welcome both wheelchair tennis players and MLP stars to this year’s Miami Open presented by Itaú,” said tournament director James Blake. “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.”

Pro pickleball players Jessie Irvine, Hurricane Tyra Black, Federico Staksrud, Pablo Tellez, Rachel Rohrabacher, and Andrei Daescu are already confirmed to take part in the event.

The Miami Open will run March 17-31, with the wheelchair competition taking place March 26-28 and the MLP event from March 27-29.