Major League Pickleball is back in San Diego, bringing professional competition to Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma this weekend.
The event marks year two of Major League Pickleball in San Diego. Day one drew local fans to the venue while cameras and commentators streamed and broadcast matches for viewers around the world as pickleball's popularity has continued to grow over the past decade.
The So Cal Hard Eights swept the Florida Smash on the opening day of competition. Among those leading the charge was Murrieta native Meghan Vizan, a pickleball pro who said the sport caught her attention during the pandemic.
"I tried it out in 2020, during COVID, when a lot of people picked up pickleball, and I just loved it. I had a feeling the sport was going to blow up," Vizan told ABC 10News after her match.
Players are competing for a six-figure prize pool as well as valuable sponsorships. Vizan said the financial opportunities in the sport are real, but increasingly competitive.
"I've been fortunate enough to be able to make a solid living with it but it's definitely getting more difficult to do that," Vizan said.
That difficulty comes as more players vie for spots on one of 20 Major League Pickleball franchises.
"I love that they have a team league because I feel like I thrive in a team environment. Even though tennis is an individual sport, I really love the team aspect of things."
Like many pickleball pros, Vizan made the transition to the sport from tennis.
"I love that it's a little bit faster than tennis...a little bit quicker. You're bending in awkward positions. I loved tennis but I really love pickleball."
As for the team's distinctive name, the origin story traces back to the owner and a craps table.
"They're like, if we can get a hard eight on this (roll), I'll buy a pickleball team. And I'm going to name it the hard eights. And they got a hard eight and here we are," Vizan said.
Major League Pickleball at Barnes Tennis Center runs through Sunday.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
