Pickleball has emerged from sporting obscurity to establish itself as a favorite pastime of office workers the world over at breakneck speed. If you've caught the bug and are now looking to make the leap from casual to enthusiast, here's our guide to how to watch pickleball online and from anywhere with a VPN.
The first thing to note is that while pickleball may feel fresh and accessible, the game is actually surprisingly splintered. There are three major pickleball tours — organized by the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), Association of Pickleball Players (APP), and Major League Pickleball (MLP) respectively — and they run concurrently each year.
Boasting top players like Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters, the PPA Tour is perhaps best understood as pickleball's answer to tennis' ATP and WTA Tours. The Atlanta Championships (May 12-18) is the jewel in the crown, followed by the Orange County Cup (Jun. 16-22) and Cincinnati Cup (Sep. 8-14).
The APP Tour is less exclusive, but has picked up interest from mainstream broadcasters in the U.S.. Its biggest events are the Fort Lauderdale Open (Apr. 2-6), New York City Open (May 20-25), Newport Beach Open (Jul. 2-6) and International Championships (Dec. 10-14).
The MLP is completely different. It's a much shorter season, running from late April to early November, splits players into teams and, like the Big Four, employs a draft and playoff system.
Read on to find out how to watch pickleball online and live stream tournaments around the world.
How to watch pickleball online from anywhere
A VPN, or virtual private network, can make it look as if you're surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you're in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere.
VPNs are totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We've tested lots of the best VPN services and our favorite is NordVPN. It's fast, works on loads of devices, and even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.S. service such as Sling, you'd select a 'USA' server from the list.
3. Sit back, enjoy the action and watch your preferred pickleball live stream.
How to watch pickleball online in the U.S.
Select pickleball tournaments, including 14 APP Tour events, will be nationally televised in the U.S. in 2025, across ESPN2, FS1, FS2, and CBS Sports Network. All four of those channels are carried by Fubo.
The Fubo Essential plan costs $84.99/month, and provides access to 200+ channels, including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and USA.
However, you can also watch plenty of the action free-of-charge. That's because entire tournaments are regularly live streamed on YouTube, via the Pickleball Channel, PPA Tour, APPTV, and Major League Pickleball channels.
If that's too splintered for your liking, there's also Pickleball TV, a dedicated pickleball streaming service created by Tennis Channel, which costs $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year, and holds the rights to PPA, APP and MLP events.
If you've subscribed to a service but aren't in the U.S. right now, you can watch pickleball live streams by using a VPN such as NordVPN. And if, for whatever reason, you can't get it working, you have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
How to watch pickleball online in the U.K.
Pickleball hasn't broken through to mainstream broadcasting in the U.K. just yet, but YouTube and Pickleball TV have you covered.
Pickleball TV is a reasonably priced and extremely convenient one-stop-shop, which costs $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year.
YouTube, however, is free, though it requires a little more effort.
The Pickleball Channel, PPA Tour, APPTV, and Major League Pickleball YouTube channels regularly live stream entire tournaments on the platform.
Where to watch pickleball online in Australia
If you're still getting your head around the pickleball calendar and its various competing tours, a Pickleball TV subscription will help you no end.
A plan costs $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year, and the streaming service holds the rights to PPA, APP and MLP competitions.
However, many of the tournaments will also be live streamed free-of-charge on the Pickleball Channel, PPA Tour, APPTV, and Major League Pickleball YouTube channels. The only challenge is keeping track of what's on and when.
Upcoming pickleball tournaments in March 2025
Highlights of the pickleball calendar in March 2025 include:
PPA
- Veolia Cape Coral Open: Mar. 5-9
- CIBC Texas Open: Mar. 12-16
- Black Desert Resort Red Rock Open: Mar. 26-30
- Columbia PPA Challenger: Mar. 28-30
APP
- Cayman Islands Open: Mar. 20-23
- U.S. Collegiate Championships: Mar. 28-30
MLP
- No MLP events scheduled in March
More from Tom's Guide
- How to watch Premier League live streams from anywhere
- Pickleball: The rules, the benefits and 5 exercises to improve your game
- The best streaming VPN
Disclaimer
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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