INTERNATIONAL UPDATE :
Making Progress Toward a Single Global Pickleball Federation
The task force ’ s singular vision is to establish one recognized international sports federation for pickleball through bylaws that ensure an open election process , member country voting rights and transparent operations .
By Ruth Rosenquist
Ask anyone who has spent countless hours on a public pickleball court , and they would agree that our sport has an innate ability to connect players from widely diverse backgrounds in a way few other sports can claim . Take the Asia Pickleball Open 2022 , for example , where pickleball players from 10 countries converged in Phuket , Thailand , for four days last April to compete alongside renowned U . S . professional player Tyson McGuffin .
Observe busy public pickleball courts in any city , and you will see individuals of all ages , ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds joyfully competing with and against each other . On a world stage , pickleball ’ s universal ability to attract and engage disparate audiences has even greater significance .
The two established world bodies vying to govern pickleball , the International Federation of Pickleball ( IFP ) and the World Pickleball Federation ( WPF ), have run