Major League Pickleball have announced two new teams for the 2023 season, Orlando Squeeze and St. Louis Shock.
A new sports team franchise is now calling Orlando home, as the Major League Pickleball team, Orlando Squeeze takes up residence here in Central Florida.
You might be wondering what Pickleball is, well, its described as a fun sport with more than five million pickleball fans around the country enjoying a sport that combines many elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, played on a badminton-sized court.
The Orlando Squeeze have feel known local backers with Ryan DeVos, the Vice President of the Orlando Magic, a co-owner of the Squeeze.
“Orlando is a tremendous sports town,” DeVos said. “As our family has seen over its 30+ years of stewardship with the Orlando Magic franchise, fans here love their teams and I’m excited to see the Squeeze added to that mix. We’re also eager to join with MLP and its franchise ownership groups to connect with the millions of pickleball enthusiasts across the country and grow the sport even further.”
The DeVos family have operated some of the most successful enterprises in the US including Amway and the Orlando Magic and continue MLP’s mission of bringing expertise across industries into their ownership groups.
The 2023 MLP season kicks off January 26 - 29, with all 24 teams across the MLP Premier and Challenger levels competing, with the Orlando Squeeze starting in the Challenger Level.
Teams compete in a series of six tournaments scheduled for this year in Arizona, California, Florida and Georgia, so the Orlando Squeeze will not actually play in Orlando.
This year, for the first time, MLP competitions will be broadcast live on the Tennis Channel with the Premier Level semi-finals and finals as well as the Challenger Level final.
For more information on Major League Pickleball, visit MajorLeaguePickleball.net.
