A few months ago, an internal debate began at The Kitchen headquarters: Who is the most powerful person in pickleball?

Is it a pro player? A tour founder? A behind-the-scenes investor? Someone at one of the major paddle brands?

To answer that question, we began speaking with dozens of industry insiders and experts across every corner of the sport. That process led to the creation of the Pickleball Power 50, our ranking of the 50 most influential people shaping the sport today, including investors, CEOs, players, league executives, team owners, creators, podcasters and more.

The list drops this week. Learn more below.

Also in this issue:

• New Year, New Gear: Win a new Paddletek paddle 🎉

• When Jaume Martinez Vich was a rising star ⭐️

• Know these new rules for 2026 📖

• Which company will sign Anna Leigh Waters? 🤔

Let’s get cookin’. 🧑‍🍳

GIVEAWAY

New Year, New Gear: Win a new Paddletek paddle

To celebrate the New Year we are partnering with Paddletek to give away a brand new Bantam ALW-C pickleball paddle! 💥

HOW TO ENTER

1. LIKE this post

2. TAG a few friends (every tag is a new entry!)

3. FOLLOW @thekitchenpickleball and @paddletekpickleball on Instagram

4. SHARE the post to your stories

***YOU MUST COMPLETE ALL STEPS TO BE ELIGIBLE***

We will choose ONE random winner on Wednesday, Jan. 7. 🥳

🔗 Shop the Paddletek Bantam ALW-C here — use code “KITCHEN” at checkout for 10% off

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

When Jaume Martinez Vich showed he was a star in the making

In honor of the PPA Tour Masters coming up next week, we’ve recently posted a few of our favorite Masters points from over the years.

In this one from a couple years ago, a young Jaume Martinez Vich showed he was a star in the making, going toe to toe with Ben and Collin Johns, who were by far the best men’s team in pickleball at the time.

Martinez Vich didn’t win the match, but he sure did put on a show. Which up-and-coming players will wow us next week? We can’t wait to find out.

🔗 Check out this highlight on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok

FEATURED STORY

Introducing the Pickleball Power 50 — a ranking of the most influential people in pickleball

We are now six years removed from pickleball’s pandemic-fueled boom, and 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most consequential periods in the sport’s history. The initial stardust of rapid growth has settled. Pickleball is now entering its next phase, transitioning from a moment of cultural acceleration into a durable, mainstream force.

A few months ago, an internal debate began at The Kitchen headquarters: Who is the most powerful person in pickleball?

To answer that question, we began speaking with dozens of industry insiders and experts across every corner of the sport. As names surfaced repeatedly, a clear pattern emerged.

That process led to the creation of the Pickleball Power 50, our ranking of the 50 most influential people shaping the sport today, including investors, CEOs, players, league executives, team owners, creators, podcasters, operators and more.

To build the list, we evaluated candidates across the following six factors:

REACH: How many people are in their ecosystem, how many impressions they generate, and how substantial their influence is.

AUTHENTICITY: How genuine their reach is, including the quality and legitimacy of their audience. (Who has real vs. fake followers).

EXISTING GROWTH: Who has driven the sport’s growth and brought in the most new players and attention.

RELATIONSHIPS: Who has partnerships with the most influential people and brands, and the ability to activate those relationships when it matters.

REVENUE: How much money they generate and reinvest across the sport’s ecosystem.

FUTURE GROWTH: Who is best positioned to help take pickleball to the Olympics and beyond.

Over the next 10 days we’ll be releasing the list piece by piece, starting today with No. 50-46.

50. Courtney Johnson – Director of Team Competition for the United Pickleball Association, Courtney oversees competitive structure across Major League Pickleball. Previously serving as Head of Competition and Director of Officiating, she has been central to shaping match formats, officiating standards, and on-court consistency.

49. Jimmy Miller – Podcaster and General Manager of MLP’s California Black Bears, Jimmy is one of the few figures willing to openly address the politics, disputes, and behind-the-scenes drama shaping professional pickleball. Through candid commentary and team leadership, he influences both league conversation and competitive strategy.

48. Roscoe Bellamy – Pro player and co-host of the Pickleballers Podcast, he is one of pickleball’s top content producers and digital influencers. Currently ranked No. 9 in singles, Roscoe combines elite-level competition with media reach, using storytelling and access to shape fan engagement and amplify the sport’s biggest voices.

47. Seymour Rifkind – President of the World Pickleball Federation, he played a central role in expanding pickleball into dozens of new countries and establishing the sport’s early global governance framework. Seymour also founded the International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association to establish professional standards for pickleball instruction.

46. Robert Elliott – Founder and CEO of Engage Pickleball, he is one of the earliest architects of high-performance pickleball equipment. Robert helped define modern paddle innovation well before the sport’s commercial explosion, particularly around spin, feel, and competitive design, playing a meaningful role in transitioning pickleball paddles from recreational gear into serious performance equipment.

🔗 This list will be updated daily until we reach No. 1

2026 RULEBOOK

USA Pickleball introduces several new rules

As it has every year, USA Pickleball recently introduced several rule changes and tweaked language in other parts of the official rulebook to add clarity for 2026.

The new rules went into effect Jan. 1, and we're here to break down the most important things that have changed.

🥶 Rule 14.A.2: No more freeze in rally scoring

The new rulebook eliminates the requirement that game point must be scored while serving when using rally scoring. So, a point is a point at all times. The old rule requiring game point to be won on serve was a huge disadvantage to the team that got to game point first, and it made huge comebacks significantly more likely.

☝️ Rule 8.F.3: Making prompt out calls

The new rulebook includes more strict language for the timing of out calls. Previously there was no such rule, and out calls could be made anytime after a rally and before the next serve.

🧐 Rule 7.C: The volley serve

We've seen several tweaks to the volley serve rule over the years, and the 2026 rulebook includes yet another tweak. The change is the addition of the words "clear" and "clearly" in the three requirements for a volley serve to be legal.

Upward arc: The server’s paddle must be moving in a clear upward arc when the paddle contacts the ball.

Paddle head: The highest point of the paddle head must clearly not be above the highest part of the server’s wrist joint when the paddle contacts the ball.

Ball height: The ball must clearly be no higher than the server’s waist when the paddle contacts the ball.

🔗 Learn more about the new rules for 2026 here

GEAR

Why these brands will (or won’t) sign Anna Leigh Waters to equipment deal

Now that we know Anna Leigh Waters didn’t renew her equipment contract with Paddletek, we’re officially on ALW Decision Watch until further notice.

Every major paddle company in the game has likely had at least one conversation with the Waters camp by now, and rumors have been circulating for weeks about who she intends to sign with.

But from everything we’ve been told, a decision still hasn’t been made, and talks are ongoing with multiple brands.

Waters’ next event will be the PPA Tour Masters in Palm Springs in one week. If a deal isn’t done by then, all eyes will be on her first match (Jan. 13) to see what paddle she’s using – and what she’s wearing (her apparel deal with FILA is also up, and new apparel deals have been floated).

For now, let’s take a look at the brands that have emerged as the top contenders, and make a hypothetical case for and against each of them. Read here.

In addition to Waters, we’re also tracking other big-name pro players who have announced they are moving on from their previous paddle sponsor. In some cases we know where they’re heading, and for others we’re still waiting to find out.

🔗 This list of players on the move will be updated as we learn more

QUICK HITS

• LOL: This guy is gonna be ready in 2026

• WOW: This was our most viral highlight of 2025

• Sheesh: We need to try this drill

• One-in-a-million: How did this happen? 

• Crazy: Did we mention we’re looking forward to the Masters?