Women ’ s Doubles action at MLP Mesa electrified the Phoenix-area crowd . Catherine Parenteau returns a shot with partner Irina Tereschenko looking on .
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Major League Pickleball kicked off its 2023 season Jan . 26-29 at the Legacy Sports Complex in Mesa , Arizona , with 24 teams from across the country .
By Drew Wathey
PHOTOS BY BRUCE YEUNG ; IG : @ YEUNGPHOTOGRAPHY
Opening Day has been passionately embraced by sports fans throughout the years . It ’ s become a rite of passage for many , and nowhere was that more evident than by the unbridled enthusiasm on display by pickleball players and fans alike at Bell Bank Park powered by Legacy Sports USA in Mesa , Arizona . Despite unseasonably cool temperatures in the desert , the first event of the 2023 schedule on the Major League Pickleball ( MLP ) Tour — MLP Mesa by Margaritaville — featured a plethora of talented pickleballers , led by the world ’ s top-ranked players , Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns .
Ninety-six players were part of the inaugural Major League Pickleball Draft held in December , in where else but Las Vegas , which has quickly become a sports mecca . Pickleball will most assuredly be supported by the city of glittering lights , home to the NFL ’ s Raiders , NHL ’ s Golden