In a significant move for professional pickleball, Zane Navratil has been elected President of the newly formed UPA Pro Player Committee. This role, established under the United Pickleball Association (UPA), the joint governing entity of the PPA Tour (PPA) and Major League Pickleball (MLP), marks the most substantial effort to date toward unified player representation in the sport.
“While I didn’t actively seek this position, I take this responsibility seriously and am committed to serving the player community with integrity and balance,” Navratil wrote in a LinkedIn post . The UPA Pro Player Committee is intended to provide a direct, organized player voice within the fast-growing structure of pro pickleball.
Pickleball Pros Organize New ‘Players Association’
The player-led group is helmed by Tina Pisnik and Collin Johns, and will focus on advocating for increased transparency around health, safety, compensation and more.
The Dink Pickleball Alex E. Weaver
A History of Fragmented Player Representation Pickleball’s explosive growth has outpaced its organizational infrastructure. While individual pro tours like the PPA and MLP have offered player councils or advisory groups in the past, a cohesive, player-first body with teeth has been elusive. There have been murmurs of player unions before, but no group has successfully gained traction across both tours.
As The Dink reported earlier this year in “Pickleball Pros Organize New Players Association ,” the need for unifie... FULL ARTICLE FOUND ON: https://www.thedinkpickleball.com/zane-navratil-named-president-of-pickleballs-new-pro-player-committee/
