Trailer: New Reality Series Depicts 'Traveling Circus' of Pro Pickleball

"This is life on the Carvana PPA Tour—where the prize money is real, the stakes are rising, and the relationships are anything but simple."

A juicy new series is about to become must-watch-TV for anyone who's ever been curious about what really goes down on the PPA Tour.

Shutterstock Studios is behind the new unscripted six-part pickleball reality docuseries called Partners that premieres May 5. The show will air on Prime Video in the U.S., while also streaming on the Carvana PPA Tour YouTube channel and PickleballTV.

A trailer just dropped on the PPA Tour YouTube Channel. And let's just say it's making a big show of all the drama viewers should expect.

"It's kind of like a traveling circus," notes featured pro Anna Bright.

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From the description:

PARTNERS gives you an insider's look at the rivalries, the pressure, and the personal moments you don’t see on the court. From intense match-day battles to off-court drama, severed relationships, high stakes business decisions and rising tensions, this is life on the Carvana PPA Tour—where the prize money is real, the stakes are rising, and the relationships are anything but simple.

The series will follow a group of players competing on the court and living off of it, blending high-level pickleball with the personalities and storylines that define reality television.

Players shown in the trailer include:

• Anna Leigh Waters
• Anna Bright
• Kate Fahey
• Catherine Parenteau
• Rachel Rohrabacher
• Parris Todd
• Ben Johns
• Gabe Tardio
• Hayden Patriquin
• Christian Alshon
• CJ Klinger
• Hunter Johnson
• Federico Staksrud
• Zane Navratil
• Jaume Martinez Vich

On the business end, PPA Tour Founder and CEO Connor Pardoe is involved, as is MLP Commissioner Samin Odhwani.

Other notable inclusions: Duc Duong, father of Quang Duong, and Parris Todd's neon green Lamborghini Urus.

'Pickleball is certainly having a moment'

It all appears to be a major production, and yet another signal that the sport’s reach is expanding well beyond just on-court competition.

“Pickleball is certainly having a moment, but most people still haven’t seen what it actually feels like inside that world,” Shutterstock Studios’ Mark Infante told Deadline.

“The access we received from the Carvana PPA Tour changed everything, placing us directly within the action – close to the players, decisions and the dynamics."

The project is being produced by Shutterstock Studios as part of its push into original programming. By tapping into pickleball’s growing audience, the company is betting on a format that combines sport and entertainment in a way that’s proven to resonate across streaming platforms.

From the pro side, the league sees the show as a natural extension of the sport’s momentum.

“The Carvana PPA Tour continues to showcase professional pickleball on the world’s biggest stages, and Partners gives the world a front-row seat to everything that goes on behind the scenes – the drama, the competition, the passion and much more,” said Connor Pardoe, Founder and CEO of the Carvana PPA Tour. 

“Pickleball is exploding, and Mark, Dan and their team have delivered a series that meets it head on as they share these amazing stories with the world.”

With distribution across Prime Video and multiple pickleball-native platforms, the series is positioned to reach both existing fans and a broader audience.

And it's not holding back on pushing the drama:

The world’s best players don’t just compete against each other.
They train together. Travel together. Date each other.
And when they step on the court, it’s all on the line.

Feature image via the PPA Tour on YouTube