Bruno Faletto joins Chris Beaumont on the World Pickleball Podcast to explain how he went from one of Chile’s leading junior tennis players to a corporate career in New York, before leaving the security of full-time employment for another attempt at professional sport.

Faletto was Chile’s No. 1 player in his age group and reached No. 8 in South America before a serious back injury interrupted his route towards professional tennis. He recovered to earn an ATP ranking, moved to the United States on a college scholarship and became a four-time NCAA Division II All-American at Saint Leo University.

After graduation, Faletto stopped competing and built a successful sales career in Manhattan. Pickleball was initially supposed to fill the sporting gap. It gradually became something he could no longer treat as a hobby.

In this episode, Faletto discusses:

• The back injury that changed his tennis career

• The financial reality of playing lower-level professional tennis

• Why he walked away from tennis while playing some of his best matches

• Discovering pickleball in New York in 2022

• Learning that power alone would not make him a professional player

• Combining APP tournaments and moneyball events with a full-time sales job

• Building a coaching business before leaving corporate employment

• How five or six hours on court each day changed his consistency and confidence

• Earning a PPA contract after his breakthrough 2026 season

• His technical weaknesses and the jump from Challenger events to established PPA opposition

• Representing the Grand River Rapids in the CNPL

• His ambition to represent Chile in international pickleball

• Preparing for fatherhood while building a professional sporting career

Faletto also explains the mental change that told him he was ready for the next level. Previously, at 9-9 in a deciding game, he found himself hoping the opponent would miss. Now he believes he will win the point himself.

Listen to the complete Bruno Faletto interview on the World Pickleball Podcast, hosted by World Pickleball Magazine’s Chris Beaumont.

A fuller Players’ Voice feature with Bruno Faletto will appear in the September edition of WPM.

What does it really take to earn a living as a professional pickleball player?

Chris Beaumont is joined by Shane Dunn, founder and CEO of Peak Pickleball Agency, to examine the business behind the professional game.

Dunn explains how paddle contracts, tour agreements, sponsorships and appearance opportunities fit together, why prize money tells only part of the story, and how players outside the world’s leading names can build sustainable careers.

They also discuss what brands are looking for, why personality and storytelling matter alongside results, how local coaches and facilities influence recreational players, and Peak’s expansion beyond traditional athlete representation.

With professional pickleball creating talented players faster than it is creating commercial security, this is a revealing look at who can make a living from the sport, how they do it and what still needs to change.

You can spend hundreds on a paddle and hours working on technique. None of it helps much if the paddle starts moving in your hand.

In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast, Chris Beaumont is joined by Rob McEvoy, CEO of Thailand-based sports technology company Sahara Dry, to look at one of the less discussed performance problems in pickleball: sweat, grip and what actually happens between your hand and the paddle.

Sahara Dry takes a different approach from traditional chalk and magnesium-based grip products. Rather than absorbing moisture, McEvoy explains how its modified silica technology is designed to repel it, allowing sweat to bead and move away from the hand.

The conversation goes well beyond the product. McEvoy grew up in Rossendale in North West England, worked around professional rugby with Sale Sharks, Cornish Pirates and London Welsh, then moved to Thailand, where a university scientist who had spent more than a decade working with the material approached him about turning the technology into a consumer product.

They discuss why pole dancing unexpectedly became crucial to Sahara Dry's early development, what gymnastics and shooting taught the company about grip, why Thailand provides an ideal testing ground for sweat management, and why pickleball, particularly the huge recreational market in the United States, has become an important target.

Topics include:

• Why sweat changes paddle control
• Absorbing moisture versus repelling it
• The science behind Sahara Dry
• How long grip products need to last
• Testing sports technology in Thailand
• What pole dancing taught Sahara Dry about grip
• Moving technology between different sports
• Why pickleball has become an important market
• The challenge of getting players to try an unfamiliar product
• Building a sports technology company from Thailand

A conversation about something most players notice only when it starts going wrong: the connection between hand, grip and paddle.

Six days. More than 60 courts. Some of the best players in Europe and North America. And somewhere around 150 combined hours behind the microphone.

Chris Beaumont and Nick Hobbis are back from the NEC for the definitive review of the 2026 English Open.

They revisit the performances that shaped the week, from Ignasi De Rueda singles breakthrough and the brilliance of Roos van Reek to Jack Munro and Richard Livornese's American statement, Marcello Jardim's senior dominance and the players who exceeded expectations without necessarily leaving Birmingham with gold.

But this is about more than results.

Chris and Nick discuss what it felt like inside the biggest indoor pickleball tournament yet staged, the volunteers who made it possible, the success of the Unity Cup and the community stories happening away from the championship courts.

They also examine where the English Open needs to go next. Should professional players still be playing large round-robin groups? Does the pro division need an entry threshold? What did Stupa's video review and match data add to the broadcast? How should reviews be managed? And after the huge leap from Telford to the NEC, what does Pickleball England do for an encore?

Plus Jake Bower's tactical intelligence, the extraordinary depth of the men's singles field, the gap between Europe and America, the rise of De Rueda, the relentless consistency of Van Reek, some outrageous ATPs and Ernies, and why the grassroots game must never become separated from the professional spectacle being built above it.

The English Open grew up in Birmingham.

Now comes the interesting part.

What does it take to build a professional pickleball league when the culture around the sport is still being created?

World Pickleball Podcast sits down with National Pickleball League CEO Ron Shell for a wide-ranging conversation about the growth of the NPL in Australia, the arrival of New Zealand, and why building a successful league involves far more than putting good players on a court.

Shell explains why he sees the NPL as a marketing vehicle for pickleball itself, why attracting people from outside the existing pickleball community matters, and how the league is trying to create venues, teams and events that people genuinely want to belong to.

The conversation explores the emergence of real rivalries and player personalities, the role companies and communities can play in growing the sport, and why professional pickleball still has work to do before discovering the version of itself that truly works as a broadcast product.

There is also a bigger question running through the episode: should emerging pickleball markets simply copy what has happened in the United States, or can countries such as Australia build something with its own identity?

Ron Shell joins World Pickleball Podcast to talk culture, competition, community and the unfinished business of figuring out exactly what professional pickleball can become.

The countdown is on.

With less than a week until the 2026 English Open begins at Birmingham's NEC, Chris Beaumont is joined by commentator Nick Hobbis to preview the biggest pickleball tournament outside the United States.

Across more than an hour of analysis, they break down the biggest contenders, the international stars, the medal favourites and the storylines that could define one of the world's premier pickleball events.

Among the topics discussed:

🏆 Who can stop Marcelo Jardim in the senior divisions?

🏆 Will Lee Whitwell complete another dominant week?

🏆 Why the Open divisions are deeper than ever.

🏆 Megan Fudge returns to defend her titles.

🏆 The players ready to announce themselves on the international stage.

🏆 Why moving to Birmingham's NEC could transform the English Open.

🏆 Behind the scenes of commentating one of Europe's biggest pickleball events.

Whether you're playing, spectating or watching from home, this is your complete guide to the 2026 English Open.

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Most pickleball players know they should warm up, recover properly and look after their bodies.

Far fewer actually do it.

In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast, Chris Beaumont speaks with RAD Roller founder Michael Mallory about why recovery should not begin only after something hurts, why harder pressure is not always better and how five to ten minutes of daily mobility work could help players stay on court for longer.

Mallory explains how his own history of serious sporting injuries — including reconstructive surgery after both legs were badly damaged in a skiing accident — shaped his understanding of rehabilitation, movement and self-myofascial release.

The conversation explores:

• Why pickleball players often mistake pain for effective recovery
• The difference between prehab, rehabilitation and everyday recovery
• How mobility restrictions can contribute to shoulder, elbow and knee problems
• Why light, fast pressure can be more useful than crushing a foam roller
• What stretching can and cannot achieve
• How the nervous system protects restricted movement
• Why recovery needs to become as routine as brushing your teeth
• The five-minute daily habit Mallory recommends for players of every age

This is not simply a discussion about recovery products. It is a practical guide to understanding what your body needs before and after you play.

Because the best recovery programme is not the one you begin when you are injured.

It is the one that helps stop you getting there.

Most pickleball players will spend more time thinking about paddles, shoes and technique than what they eat and drink before stepping on court.

In this episode of the World Pickleball Podcast, Chris Beaumont is joined by Taylor Brower, registered dietitian at Skratch Labs, to explain how nutrition and hydration affect performance across a long pickleball day.

They discuss the most common causes of late-match fatigue, why recreational players often underfuel without realising it, how much to drink before an early tournament start, when electrolytes matter, what caffeine can and cannot do, and how to eat between matches without feeling heavy.

Taylor also explains the four Rs of recovery, why carbohydrate and protein work best together, how chocolate milk earned its reputation as a recovery drink, and the one nutrition habit she believes every pickleball player should change first.

This is a practical, non-sales conversation for players at every level—from local league competitors to tournament regulars looking to stay sharper deeper into the day.