| Formation | 2023; 3 years ago (2023) |
|---|---|
| Type | Federation of national associations |
| Headquarters | Goodyear,Arizona, USA |
| Membership | 77 national associations As of March 2025[update] |
Official language | English |
President | Arvind Prabhoo |
| Website | ifpickleball |
TheInternational Pickleball Federation (IPF) was created in 2023 to act as the world-widegoverning body for the sport ofpickleball. The IPF is anot-for-profit organization that seeks to perpetuate the international growth and development ofpickleball, create and maintain official rules across all of pickleball and organize international tournaments. One of the IPF's main goals is to have the sport of pickleball accepted to theOlympic Games.[1]
Originally the IPF was founded as the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) in 2010 by the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA), nowUSA Pickleball (USAP), and several other national organizations.[2] Internal conflicts, financial issues and loss of itsnot-for-profit status resulted in the IFP being shut down as an entity, and the new IPF was formed in April 2023 to take its place.[3]
In November 2024 the IPF andWorld Pickleball Federation (WPF) announced that they would merge, and in June 2025 the members of each organization voted to affirm the merger. The merged organization will operate under the World Pickleball Federation name and adopt the IPF's core mission of, "No country left behind".[4] The newly merged entity will be based inLausanne, Switzerland, home of theInternational Olympic Committee.[5][6][7]
The International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) was founded in the wake of the first National Pickleball Open competition, held inSurprise, Arizona in 2009. The tournament was hosted by the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) and drew almost 400 players from 26 American states and several Canadian provinces. The interest of the Canadians, among other factors, influenced the USAPA to establish a committee dedicated to the formation of an international governing body for pickleball. This committee was formed in 2010.[2][8] The IFP's constitution and bylaws were officially ratified in 2015 by its four inaugural member countries: the United States, Canada, Spain, and India.
In 2018 a rival organization, the World Pickleball Federation (WPF), was formed by Seymour Rifkind, who had previously established the International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association (IPTPA). Both the IFP and WPF sought to promote pickleball worldwide, and both seek to obtain Olympic recognition for the sport.[9]
On April 22, 2022, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, England, France, Spain, Philippines, Finland, Cayman Islands and the Czech Republic withdrew their membership in the IFP (sic), reducing the number of member countries from 70 to 59.[10] This was due primarily to governance concerns, and loss of the IFP's non-profit status in the United States.[3] The remaining members of the IFP then shut down the old organization and formed the new International Pickleball Federation (IPF) in 2023.
As of April 22, 2022[update] there are 63 national organizations in the International Federation of Pickleball, including thespecial administrative region ofHong Kong,China. These national associations are organized into four categories: full members (1), Associate members (22), Affiliate members (37), and Provisional members (3). Each member country is organized under the umbrella of a continental federation. Full member countries can have members elected to the IPF's board of directors, while associate and affiliate member countries cannot.[11] All member countries are required to follow the rules of pickleball as established by the IPF.
The IPF has five continental federations. These are the Asia Federation of Pickleball (AFP), North American Pickleball Federation, South American Pickleball Association, European Pickleball Federation (EPF), and Oceanic Pickleball Federation.
Overall, the IPF gives complete autonomy to member countries in their own nations, except if the actions of a member nation "affect the international image of the sport, the uniform application of one set of rules, or in some way affect the future Olympic status of the sport."[11]
The IPF's officers on the board are elected by the IPF's full member nations and serve two-year terms. The board consists of four officers, including the President, and lower-ranking members known as "At Large" members. The board may assign a maximum of six at-large members at any given time. The previous President is also reserved an "At Large" spot on the board.[12]
| Role | Board member | National association |
|---|---|---|
| President | Arvind Prabhoo |  India |
| Vice President | Alicia Wolfgruber |  Austria |
| Treasurer | Dwight Crawford |  United States |
| Legal Counsel | Marlon Schulman | United States |
| CTO | Adnan El Guennouni |  Canada |
The IFP hosted the annual Bainbridge Cup, one of the first international pickleball team tournaments, prior to the formation of the IPF. The tournament was held from 2017 to 2019, but was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The last Bainbridge Cup event was held in 2022 inMumbia, India.
The tournament was named afterBainbridge Island, where pickleball was invented byJoel Pritchard and his colleagues. It consisted of two teams representing geographical regions, usually continents. Originally, the tournament pitted players from Europe against those from North America. In the 2021 Bainbridge Cup, the tournament was organized as "east" versus "west", with players west of theMississippi River and those from Asia on one team, and players east of the Mississippi and those from Europe on the other.[13][14]
The tournament divisions were organized by age and skill level for men's, women's, and mixed doubles. Men's and women's singles were played for the first time at the Bainbridge Cup as a demonstration event in 2021.[13] The inaugural competition was held in Madrid, Spain in 2017.[13][14][15]
| Year | Date(s) | City | Country | Results | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Sep 15 | Madrid |  Spain | 201 North America 119 Europe | The inaugural was played concurrently with theSpanish Open Pickleball Championships.[16] |
| 2018 | Jul 20 | Montesilvano |  Italy | 106 North America 82 Europe | Played concurrently with theItalian Open Pickleball Championships.[17] |
| 2019 | Jul 12 | Essen |  Germany | 193 Team World 173 Europe | Played concurrently with theGerman Open Pickleball Championships.[18] |
| 2020 | Jul 3 | Nottingham |  England | Event Cancelled | Originally scheduled to be played concurrently with theEnglish Open Pickleball Tournament. Both events were cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[19] |
| 2021 | Apr 7–11 | Holly Hill, FL | USA | Team cup Cancelled | Event title:Humana-Island Doctors Bainbridge Cup by International Federation of Pickleball. Originally scheduled to be played using anEast vs. West team format. Players east of theMississippi River and Europe would be on one team, and players west of the Mississippi and Asia would be the other team.[20] The team format was eliminated due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[21] |
| 2022 | Nov 30–Dec 4 | Mumbai | India | 7 Team India 6 Pickleball United | Team India took on a team of players from around the world, Pickleball United. Team India won against Pickleball United 7-6.[22] |
Listed below are International Pickleball Federation member countries in order by member type and when they joined. As of April 2022 eleven member countries have withdrawn their memberships from the IPF.[23][24]
| Type | Joined | Country | Formed | Abbr. | Name | Website and comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Withdrawn | 2015 | USA | 1984 | USAP | USA Pickleball | Official website. Originally formed as the United States Amateur Pickleball Association in 1984. Reorganized as the USA Pickleball Association in 2005 and then USA Pickleball in 2020.[25] |
| Full Withdrawn | 2015 | Canada | 2009 | PCO | Pickleball Canada (organization) | Official website. Originally formed as theCanadian National Pickleball Association in May 2009, it later became theCanada Pickleball Organization, but is now commonly referred to asPickleball Canada.[26] |
| Full Withdrawn | 2015 | Spain | 2012 | AEP | Spanish Pickleball Association | Asociación Española de Pickleball official website. Founded in 2012 by Michael Hess, aSouthern California native.[27] |
| Full | 2015 | India | 2008 | AIPA | All India Pickleball Association | Official website. Founded in 2008 by Sunil Valavalkar. |
| Full Withdrawn | 2018 |  Australia | 2020[28] | PAA | Pickleball Australia Association Limited | Official website. |
| Full Withdrawn | 2019 |  Philippines | 2019 | PPF | Philippine Pickleball Federation | Official website. First formed as the Philippine Pickleball Sports Association (PPSA) on April 15, 2019, then rebranded as the PPF six months later.[29] |
| Full Withdrawn | 2020 |  Mexico | LPPM | Professional Pickleball League Mexico | Liga Profesional de Pickleball México official website. | |
| Full Withdrawn | 2021 |  Czech Republic | Czech Pickleball Association | Piklebal ČR official website. | ||
| Associate Withdrawn | 2015 |  France | PF | Pickleball France | Association Nationale Pickleball France official website. | |
| Associate | 2015 | Italy | AIP | Italian Pickleball Association | L'Associazione Italiana Pickleball official website. | |
| Associate | 2016 |  Holland | Pickleball Holland | Official website. | ||
| Associate | 2018 |  China | China/Shenzhen Pickleball Association | Official website. | ||
| Associate | 2018 |  Taiwan | 2016 | CTPA | Chinese Taipei Pickleball Association | Official website. |
| Associate | 2018 |  Hong Kong | Pickleball Association of Hong Kong, China | Official website. | ||
| Associate | 2018 |  South Korea | Korea Pickleball Association | Official website. | ||
| Associate | 2018 |  Scotland | Pickleball Scotland | Official website. | ||
| Associate Withdrawn | 2019 | England | Pickleball England | Official website. | ||
| Associate | 2019 | Germany | 2017 | German Pickleball Association | Deutschen Pickleball Bund official website. | |
| Associate | 2019 |  Singapore | 1995[30] | SPA | Singapore Pickle-Ball Association | Official website. |
| Associate | 2019 |  Pakistan | PAP | Pickleball Association of Pakistan | SeePickleball Association of Pakistan on Facebook. | |
| Associate | 2019 |  Poland | Polska Pickleball | Polski Pickleball official website. | ||
| Associate | 2019 |  Malaysia | Malaysia Pickleball Association | SeeMalaysia Pickleball on Facebook. | ||
| Associate | 2020 |  Sweden | 2017 | Swedish Pickleball Association | Svenska PickleballFörbundet official website. | |
| Associate | 2020 |  Denmark | Pickleball Denmark | Official website. | ||
| Associate | 2020 |  Japan | JPA | Japan Pickleball Association | Official website. | |
| Associate | 2020 |  Costa Rica | Pickleball Costa Rica | Official website. | ||
| Associate | 2020 |  Belgium | Pickleball Belgium | Official website. | ||
| Associate | 2020 |  New Zealand | PNZA | Pickleball New Zealand Association | Official website. | |
| Associate | 2021 |  Samoa | PAS | Pickleball Association of Somoa | ForPikopol Asosi A Somoa, seeSamoa Pickelball Group [sic] on Facebook. | |
| Associate | 2021 |  Peru | Pickleball Peru | SeeAsociación Deportiva de Pickleball Perú on Facebook. | ||
| Associate Withdrawn | 2021 |  Finland | 2014 | Pickleball Finland | Official website. | |
| Associate | 2021 |  Nepal | NPA | Nepal Pickleball Association | SeeNepal Pickleball Association NPA on Facebook. | |
| Associate | 2021 |  Malta | Malta Pickleball | Official website. | ||
| Affiliate | 2020 |  Tonga | Tonga Pickleball Association | SeeTonga Pickleball Association on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2020 |  Armenia | Armenian Pickleball Federation | SeeArmenian Pickleball Federation on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2020 |  Turkey | ||||
| Affiliate | 2020 |  Georgia | Georgian Pickleball Federation | SeeGeorgian Pickleball Federation on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Serbia | Pickleball Serbia | Official website. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Indonesia | ||||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Lithuania | Pickleball Lithuania | SeePiklbolas Lietuva on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Bangladesh | Pickleball Bangladesh | SeePiCkleball BD on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Dominican Republic | Dominican Pickleball Association | |||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Egypt | Pickleball Egypt | SeePickleball Egypt on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  UAE | Pickleball UAE | SeePickleball UAE on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Panama | Panama Pickleball Association | SeePanama Pickleball Association on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Argentina | Argentina Pickleball Association | SeeAsociación Argentina de Pickleball on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Brazil | Brasil Pickleball Oficial | SeeBrasil Pickleball Oficial on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Norway | Norwegian Pickleball Association | Pickleball Norge official website | ||
| Affiliate Withdrawn | 2021 |  Cayman Islands | Pickleball Cayman Islands | SeePickleball Cayman on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Palestine | Pickleball Palestine | SeePickleball Palestine on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Nigeria | Nigeria Pickleball Players Organization | SeePickleball Players Association Of Nigeria on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Uruguay | Uruguay Pickleball Association | SeePickleball.uy on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Portugal | Portuguese Pickleball Association | Seepickleballportugal on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Aruba | Aruba Pickleball Federation | SeeAruba Pickle Ball Federation on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Uganda | Uganda Pickleball Association | SeeUganda Pickleball Association on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Chile | Chile Pickleball Association | SeeAsociación Chilena De Pickleball on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Isle of Man | Isle of Man Pickleball | SeeEllan Vannin Pickleball Club 🇮🇲 on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Russia | Pickleball Russia | |||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Guam | Guam Pickleball Association | SeePickleball Guam on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Venezuela | Venezuela Pickleball Association | SeePickleball Venezuela on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Colombia | Columbia Pickleball Association | SeePickleball Col on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Ireland | Irish Pickleball | SeeIrish Pickleball on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Estonia | Estonian Pickleball Association | Eesti Pickleball Liit official website. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  South Africa | Pickleball South Africa | Official website. | ||
| Affiliate | 2021 |  Cameroon | Cameroon Pickleball Association | SeeCameroon Pickleball Association on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2022 |  Tanzania | Tanzania Pickleball | Official website, or seeTanzania Pickleball on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2022 |  Gambia | Gambia Pickleball Federation | SeeThe Gambia Pickleball Federation on Facebook. | ||
| Affiliate | 2022 |  Belize | Belize Pickleball Association | Official website. | ||
| Provisional | 2021 |  Northern Mariana Islands | Pickleball CNMI | SeePickleball CNMI on Facebook. CNMI isCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. | ||
| Provisional | 2021 |  Northern Ireland | Pickleball Northern Ireland | SeePickleball NI on Facebook. |
| Pickleball by county | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governing bodies |
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