2025 PPA Challenger Series Portland: Three people—Corey from DUPR, pro player Isang, and Josh—were sent to cover the 2025 PPA Challenger Series in Portland, Maine. Their mission: to understand the tour, experience it from the inside, and tell the stories of rising pickleball players chasing their dreams.
Exploring the PPA Challenger Series
The 2025 PPA Challenger Series is a new tour supported by JOOLA and the PPA. To bring it to life for fans, organizers launched a companion content series. The idea was simple: send two total beginners and one professional to the events and let them share what they find.
Corey, Editorial Strategy Manager at DUPR, had never even seen a live pickleball game before this trip.
“Full disclosure: I’d never been to a professional pickleball event before. Not even an amateur one. Honestly, not even recreationally.” – (Corey)
The first stop was Portland, Maine, where the tournament took place at the Picklr, a facility inside a former grocery store. Corey’s goal was to understand why people were traveling from around the world to play there—and what made this tour stop special.
Inside the Action in Portland
At the event, Corey found a very focused crowd. Most of the players were former tennis athletes now dreaming of going pro in pickleball.
“Their pasts were almost identical.” – (Corey)
Many of them cared only about the game and the people close to it. The environment was intense, with sharp differences in skill level between casual players and pros. But to Corey, it wasn’t always clear who was better just by watching.
“It felt like survival of the fittest, who wanted it more, who had more endurance and who could stay mentally-focused for three straight days.” – (Corey)
Outside the competition, food was a common topic.
“I’d say 90% of the players we chatted with mentioned they had to get a lobster roll.” – (Corey)
He tried one himself and said, “I wasn’t disappointed, just underwhelmed, too much mayonnaise for my liking.” Inside the Picklr, the vibe was unique. Someone compared it to a casino where no one knew what time it was, but also didn’t care.
What Comes Next
By the end of the weekend, Corey, Isang, and Josh had spent hours filming, asking questions, and blending into the pickleball community. Corey joked about the experience,
“We came, we saw, we asked a ton of questions, shot multiple hours of footage (most of which I used to highlighted the ceiling of the Picklr), and we became part of the story.” – (Corey)
Though he still doesn’t fully understand what makes people give up everything to play pickleball in Portland, Corey is ready for the next stop on the tour.
“I guess I’m destined to find out at tour stop two. Coming soon.” – (Corey)
News in Brief: 2025 PPA Challenger Series Portland
Corey from DUPR, along with Isang and Josh, joined the 2025 PPA Challenger Series stop in Portland, Maine. Their goal was to experience and document life on tour. The team found a tightly focused player group, intense matches, and a unique pickleball culture—plus a few too many lobster rolls.
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