frequently, with a 2025 JAMA Ophthalmology study reporting that eye injuries from pickleball cost $ 250- $ 500 million to treat in 2023 alone— and participation in the sport has only increased in the years since.
Kitchen Blockers focuses on organic relationships, and Robins swears he has never had to make a sale— there’ s genuine word of mouth that begins with a single player on the court that expands to partners or opponents, continuing outward. Kitchen Blockers are available in many facilities nationwide, as well as on the website, Pickleball Central, and sold in almost 50 countries.
A recent player in the performance eyewear space is Vantage Labs. It emerged on the scene in late 2025 and is making a splash with players at all levels. In speaking with the founder and CEO, JT Conover, I started to understand the hype.
“ The No. 1 thing players and coaches suggest to win more at the kitchen line is to lean into the point. Glasses help you be more confident and stay safe, even when you’ re locked in a firefight and only 14 feet away from your opponents launching balls directly at you,” says Conover.
The Vantage Labs sponsored pro player and coach Michael Loyd echoes this, explaining that“ being able to stand in there with confidence when things get fast because you know you’ re protected is a performance advantage. They don’ t fog up and the lens makes the ball pop.”
Conover considers the core demographic to be players who are passionate about the game, play multiple times a week, and are working to improve their skills. Vantage promises a performance advantage, with lenses geared toward improved ball tracking and visibility for better reaction times. The No. 1 selling point for its ColorVue glasses is that they help you see the ball through various conditions, dawn through dusk, as well as in the lighting offered at different facilities.
Both Kitchen Blockers and Vantage Labs share a focus on the female player. Kitchen Blockers developed a slim-fit style, specifically created to be more comfortable for women. Vantage has a new style in the pipeline, dropping later this year, with a design customized for women from the beginning.
FROM CORPORATE AMERICA TO PICKLEBALL PRO, KATE FAHEY KEEPS HER EYES SAFE WITH PILLA. PHOTO CREDIT: KATE FAHEY.
If you follow professional pickleball, you may have noticed two scary eye incidents in the first two Major League Pickleball events of the year. At the inaugural tournament, St. Louis Shock player Kate Fahey had her Pilla glasses knocked cleanly off her face.
She recalled,“ It was very scary getting hit in the face in Dallas. I was lucky enough to be wearing protective eyewear. Had I not been wearing anything, it would have been a line drive straight to the eye.”
At the second MLP competition, Phoenix Flames player Daria Walczyk took a direct hit to her glasses while at the kitchen line. As Walczyk clearly needed a moment to gather her bearings after the blast, the announcers noted that having the glasses proved to be crucial.
Currently there is no consistent regulation on eye protection in pickleball at any level of play, including the professional level, even though balls travel at high speeds on a court only 44 feet at its longest span.
While eyewear is not( yet) required, the performance brand Pilla has recently made a surge into the professional pickleball stratosphere, sponsoring several top players including world No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters, the second top female Anna Bright, the No. 1 ranked male singles player Chis Haworth, and the always-popular Will Howells, among others.
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JULY 2026 | MAGAZINE 43