The Picklr Files for Bankruptcy as Pickleball Growth Slows in the US

The indoor pickleball franchise may be feeling the pain of growing too fast as pickleball’s growth in the U.S. slows and racket-sports competitors like padel gain ground

Picklr Inc., the parent company of indoor pickleball franchise The Picklr, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it intends to resolve “legacy obligations” from its rapid expansion.

The company filed a voluntary petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. Dynamus Alliance, an investor group led by Picklr franchisee Tom Neale, has committed $4.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing and is expected to sponsor the reorganization plan.

Picklr said its holding company had guaranteed leases and taken on other obligations for individual clubs to keep pace with its growth, and that some of those arrangements “no longer fit the company’s operating model.”

The company said its franchising and club-operating subsidiaries aren’t part of the filing and that no clubs will close as an immediate result.

“Our clubs are open, and our members are playing,” Picklr CEO Jorge Barragan said in the release. “We expect to come out stronger, with a healthier system and recommitted focus on helping our franchisees succeed.”

Picklr said it has more than 70 locations across 29 states, and its master franchise partners in Canada, Australia and Japan will continue to operate. But the company also said it won’t make the final call on whether individual clubs stay open, since franchise partners own and run them.

“We believe in this brand and in this business,” Neale said.

If the court approves, the new financing and cash from operations are expected to fund Picklr through the restructuring. The company also asked the court for permission to keep paying employee wages and benefits, and to pay vendors for goods and services provided after the filing.

Staff Cuts & Closures

The filing comes weeks after Picklr cut its corporate staff , according to an email chief executive officer Jorge Barragan sent franchisees in September.

“No final decisions have been made about the path forward for Picklr,” Barragan wrote, adding that leadership was “actively evaluating a number of options.” He added that clubs across the system “continue to perform well.”

Several locations have closed, consolidated or dropped the brand this year. Clubs in Round Rock, Texas, and Bluffdale, Utah, folded their operations into nearby Picklr locations, and the West Jordan, Utah, club closed. The Picklr Birmingham in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, was set to close after about a year and a half in business.

The Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, club reopened as Baseline Social Club. In Goleta, California, owner Ted Guggenheim left the franchise four months after opening and relaunched as The Grove Pickleball. He told the Santa Barbara News-Press he was losing money under the franchise model, and he cut the standard monthly pass from Picklr’s $225 to $195.

In another blow, Park City, Utah, just scrapped plans for a 35,000-square-foot indoor pickleball facility that Picklr was set to run, KPCW reported. The city ended its public-private partnership with developer Wadsworth Development Group but said the decision wasn’t tied to Picklr’s bankruptcy.

A Fast Rise

The Utah-based company expanded quickly. In January 2024, it named former NFL quarterback Drew Brees a national brand ambassador and area developer for 30 Midwest locations.

Later that year, Picklr closed a Series B round at a $59 million valuation , bringing its total raised to $9 million. Pickleball Inc., parent of the Professional Pickleball Association tour, led the round.

In summer 2025, Picklr signed a master franchise agreement to open 50 clubs in Australia and New Zealand, adding to its expansion in Japan and Canada. That fall, it said it had more than 52 clubs open and 70 more planned within 12 months. Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios joined as an equity partner and athlete ambassador in March.

Changing Demographics

The bankruptcy comes as pickleball’s growth appears to cool. After five straight years as the country’s fastest-growing sport, participation rose just 1.3% in the first half of 2026, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.

Meanwhile, padel, a racket sport played on a larger, walled court that’s gaining ground in the U.S., grew 14.5% over the same period. Padel’s backers see plenty of room to grow. Only about 1% of the roughly 4,000 private golf and country clubs in the U.S. offer the sport, according to Off The Glass, an Indiana-based padel court manufacturer. Brock Orlowski, director of racquet sports at Fort Wayne Country Club and an adviser to the company, said it’s “a question of when, not if” clubs build out padel at scale.

Pickleball, for its part, isn’t ready to pass the paddle. It’s also seeing a shift in who’s playing. People under 30 now account for 18% of pickleball-related activity in PayPal and Venmo payment data, double their earlier share, according to a PayPal analysis of six years of transactions . Those 50 and older fell from 49% to 37%.

Where Pickleball Is Growing

Even as some indoor clubs struggle, pickleball is finding a home in a different kind of real estate. In Florida, several high-end residential projects are pairing courts with golf simulators and sports lounges as amenities.

credit: Halcyon Residences & Marina

At The Halcyon Residences & Marina, a waterfront project in downtown Naples with 66 residences priced from $3 million, the developer plans pickleball and padel courts on a rooftop deck as part of more than 55,000 square feet of private amenities. Its Experience Center on the marina already has a full-size pickleball court and hosts pickleball programming, according to a project representative.

The 150,000-square-foot Mermaid Club at Continuum 12000 in North Miami will include pickleball alongside golf and multisport simulator suites. Meanwhile, Related Ross’ South Flagler House in West Palm Beach offers a pickleball court and lounge, according to the developers.

credit: Center Court Pickleball Club

And some operators are still expanding. Center Court Pickleball Club , a locally owned Phoenix-area chain, opened its fourth club last month, a 35,000-square-foot facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, with 13 indoor courts that also serves as the company’s headquarters.

“We did not simply want to build more courts,” CEO Tim Keightley said, adding that the club draws on lessons from the company’s first three locations.