Pickleball is this near turning into an Olympic sport, however plenty of work remains to be forward. The World Pickleball Federation (GPF) and the Unified World Pickleball Federation (UWPF) have created a Job Pressure to ascertain a single
governing entity devoted to the governance and world enlargement of pickleball.
For an in-depth have a look at how we bought right here, please learn my article from 5 months in the past, outlining a merger between the WPF and the Worldwide Federation of Pickleball (IFP):
Contained in the IPF‑WPF Merger and Pickleball’s ‘Olympic Aspirations’ Forward
On Saturday, June 14, 2025 the Worldwide Pickleball Federation (IPF) and World Pickleball Federation (WPF) have formally merged. Examine how this impacts the worldwide pickleball scene and what steps are subsequent.
For a CliffsNotes model, right here you go:
- 2010 – The Worldwide Federation of Pickleball (IFP) was based as the primary governing physique in pickleball. The IFP later grew to become defunct resulting from monetary considerations.
- 2018 – Seymour Rifkind begins the WPF, following his earlier creation of the Worldwide Pickleball Instructing Skilled Affiliation (IPTPA)
- April 2023 – The IFP is introduced again to life because the IPF
- November 2023 – The GPF was based when the USA and different nations withdrew from the IPF
- June 2025 – The IPF/WPF agreed to a merger and to vote on a brand new Board of Administrators (article talked about above)
- August 30, 2025 – The newly elected UWPF Board of Administrators had been introduced
- September 2, 2025 – GPF President, Javier Regalado, despatched the newly seated Board of Administrators a letter by way of electronic mail inviting collaboration
The Dink was capable of get hold of this letter, and located the next quotes noteworthy:
“Our board believes there has by no means been a greater second in pickleball’s historical past for a reset, by the merger of UWPF and GPF. All of us acknowledge the necessity for unification by one world governing physique, and the arrogance that would offer the pickleball world and the IOC.”
– Javier Regalado, President of the GPF to the newly seated UWPF Board of Administrators, September 2, 2025
Nearly instantly, the 2 sides started talks, and determined to create a taskforce with the mission of shifting ahead with unification.
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The Taskforce
Seven members make up the taskforce working towards the unification of the GPF and the UWPF:
- Dr. Kelvin Yoo – UWPF – Board Member
- Arvind Prabhoo – UWPF – Previous IPF President
- Rika Riordan – UWPF – Board Member
- Seymour Rifkind – UWPF – Previous WPF President
- Chandler Carney – GPF – Board Member
- Ruth Rosenquist – GPF – Board Member
- Jen Ramamurthy – GPF – Secretary Basic
The duty power met on November eighth, 2025, posting a press launch on Monday, November seventeenth:
I used to be capable of converse to Jen Ramamurthy in an interview (Thanks, Jen, for getting up at 7am Aussie time to talk with me). She was very constructive and hopeful this unification is headed in the correct course, however she did add that there’s a lot of labor to be executed nonetheless.
“I believe it’s a practical aspirational aim for the GPF and UWPF to finish a merger by July of 2026.”
– Jen Ramamurthy, Secretary Basic of the GPF
What Does This Actually Imply for the Olympics?
In August 2025, I went on Paul Olson’s on SelkirkTV podcast, and we spoke about this topic. The title of the episode was “How Pickleball Can Develop into an Olympic Sport”:
On this dialogue, we talked at size concerning the want for one world governing physique. And in case you have learn this far into the article, you might be fairly devoted to pickleball, so I extremely suggest watching the total episode above.
Because of Alex E. Weaver, Digital Content material Supervisor at The Dink, we had been capable of get hold of some clarification from the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC):
Solely Worldwide Federations (IFs) formally recognised by the IOC are eligible for inclusion both within the preliminary sports activities programme or as further sports activities proposed by an Organising Committee (OCOG) for his or her version of the Olympic Video games.
-The Worldwide Olympic Committee Media Relations Workforce
In wanting by the web site offered by the IOC, pickleball doesn’t but have a unified governing physique:
What’s Subsequent
Because the title of this text states, this can be a large step in the correct course for the governance of worldwide pickleball. If the merger is ready to happen by July 2026, like Ramamurthy predicts, there’s a very actual likelihood for the newly shaped Federation (title TBD), to be acknowledged as THE governing physique of pickleball.
As soon as that takes place, it is just a matter of time earlier than pickleball is within the Olympics.
