WPBL CEO Praises Charlotte Whitby-Coles: The World Pickleball League (WPBL) has appointed Charlotte Whitby-Coles as its Chief Operating Officer (COO), reinforcing its commitment to structured leadership and strategic growth. Whitby-Coles played a crucial role in WPBL’s inaugural season, managing player relations and operations, ensuring a seamless and world-class sporting experience.
With her new role, Whitby-Coles will oversee strategy, production, and execution to build on her contributions from the first season. WPBL Co-Founder and CEO Gaurav Natekar praised her leadership, stating,
“Charlotte has brought tremendous value to WPBL, ensuring our first season delivered on its promise of top-tier pickleball action on the court and unmatched entertainment off it.”-(Gaurav Natekar)
A Strong Background in Sports and Entertainment
Whitby-Coles has extensive experience across multiple fields, including sports, film production, and academia. She has spent over 17 years running a tennis and pickleball academy in Panchgani, introducing the sport to schools and expanding grassroots participation. A former U18 national-level tennis player in the UK, her deep understanding of competitive sports has helped WPBL curate a diverse and talented player pool.
Natekar highlighted the importance of increasing women’s representation in the sport, saying,
“Women make up 40% of the pickleball community of India and throughout the world and are an integral part of the sport. We are committed to integrating more women into every aspect of pickleball, and having Charlotte taking on a leadership role in WPBL is reflective of how we can achieve this goal and promote the inclusion of women in the sport.”-(Gaurav Natekar)
A Vision for WPBL’s Future
Reflecting on her promotion, Whitby-Coles expressed her enthusiasm for the role.
“I have known Gaurav and Arati for a long time now and we share a great respect for each other as friends and professionals. I have witnessed at close quarters their impressive ability to execute their vision and ideas successfully, and the grand scale of season 1 was testament to that.”
The journey so far has been amazing, so the decision to accept this new role was an easy one. I am truly grateful and honoured for the opportunity and trust bestowed upon me and I look forward to working with Gaurav and Arati and the whole team at WPBL to make Season 2 even bigger and better.”-(Charlotte Whitby-Coles)
WPBL’s first season, held in Mumbai from January 24 to February 2, featured top international players and concluded with Bengaluru Jawans being crowned champions.
News in Brief: WPBL CEO Praises Charlotte Whitby-Coles
Charlotte Whitby-Coles has been promoted to COO of WPBL. She played a key role in the league’s first season and will now oversee strategy and operations. WPBL CEO Gaurav Natekar praised her leadership. The first season concluded in Mumbai, with Bengaluru Jawans winning the championship.
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