Pickleball World Cup 2025: Germany competes against strong opponents!

Pickleball World Cup 2025: Germany competes against strong opponents!

In recent years, pickleball has become a real trend. International competitions in particular, such as the Pickleball World Cup that just took place, are captivating more and more players and spectators. From Lima to Fort Lauderdale – the sporting event is now very well received across continents.

At the first Pickleball World Cup in Lima, Peru, which took place in 2023, 14 countries were represented. The following year the number of participants skyrocketed to over 30 nations. For 2025, the tournament was organized in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where 68 delegations from all over the world have already gathered. The tournament, which attracted over 3,000 participants, is a team competition, which makes it different from singles or doubles tournaments.

The format of the tournament

The tournament format includes an international pre-tournament held in various disciplines such as singles, mixed and doubles, followed by the World Team Championships in MLP format. The categories are divided into Open, Juniors and Seniors and the points are counted in the rally scoring.

The team members play one after the other, with 6 sets being played in the Open category and 4 sets in the Senior category. In the event of a draw, the so-called Dreambreaker comes into play - an exciting match up to 15 points that keeps the fans on the edge of their seats.

Team Germany in international comparison

Team Germany competed in groups against countries such as Samoa, the Netherlands, Canada, Brazil, Panama and Cuba. Martin Arnold, a senior participant from Germany, shared his challenges and experiences during the tournament. Preparation was not easy for the team due to limited time, but Martin still felt the excitement and pride of representing his country.

With the internationalization of the sport, interest in pickleball is also growing in Germany. In international comparison, however, Germany still has some catching up to do when it comes to the number of committed clubs and members. However, according to Martin, there is great potential in countries such as India and other regions of Asia to further drive the sport's growth.

The fascination of pickleball

But what makes this sport so special? Pickleball was invented in Washington in 1965 as a children's game for the garden. The sport is now enjoying rapidly growing popularity - in the USA alone, almost 20 million people were taking part in it by mid-2024, which corresponds to an increase of 311% since 2021. The style of play combines elements of tennis and table tennis, but is more accessible as it requires less strength and speed.

The game can be played both indoors and outdoors and requires players to use special rackets and balls. The court is much smaller than that of a tennis court, and the rules of the game, such as the two bounce rule, are specifically tailored to the requirements of pickleball.

International tournaments not only offer gaming experiences, but also an excellent opportunity to make new contacts and experience different cultural backgrounds. Team USA is considered the favorite, and the exciting duel between the USA and Venezuela in the Open class was one of the highlights of the tournament.

So it remains to be seen what path pickleball will take over the next few years. With the enthusiastic commitment of players like Martin Arnold and the support of more and more clubs, hope for the future of this charming sport is growing.