Local pickleball enthusiasts rejoice. 

It was recently announced that the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) will make a stop in the area in March as part of its inaugural Challenger Series. The Columbia Challenger will be held at the brand-new Cayce Pickleball Complex March 28-30, 2025. 

The PPA will partner with Experience Columbia (ECSC) and the Lexington County Recreation & Aging Commission to plan and market the event. 

“Experience Columbia SC Sports is excited to welcome the PPA Challenger event to Columbia, SC for its inaugural year,” Anna Gasperecz, the sports development manager for Experience Columbia, said in the announcement release. “Pickleball has grown tremendously throughout the last couple years and this event will provide the unique opportunity for locals and visitors to play alongside professional pickleball players. We are thrilled that the PPA Tour team selected the Columbia region as the host destination for this event and look forward to a tremendous partnership between our organizations and the Lexington County Recreation & Aging Commission as well.” 

The Challenger Series tour will create an avenue for players across the country to break into the world of professional pickleball. The goal of the series is to feature amateur and aspiring professional talent while fostering the growth of the sport. 

“We have been excited to create more grassroots opportunities for amateur players as well as a structured pathway to the Carvana PPA Tour for aspiring professionals for a long time, and we have done just that with the Challenger Series,” said Connor Pardoe, the Founder & CEO of the Carvana PPA Tour. “This new tour will not only elevate the level of play but also inspire and motivate amateurs to reach new heights in their pickleball journey while bringing the PPA Tour’s brand of electric pickleball action to new levels of intensity.” 

The PPA Challenger series event will be the first major event at the Cayce Pickleball Complex. The facility features 16 courts and will open at the end of this year. 

“We are super excited about our grand opening of this brand-new pickleball facility in Lexington County and we can think of no better way to kick it off than by partnering with ECSC Sports and the PPA Tour,” said Brian Clary, director of tennis/pickleball operations at the Lexington County Recreation & Aging Commission. “We would like to thank ECSC Sports for their hard work and determination to bring such an event to our area and the PPA Tour for selecting our region/facility for this incredible event. We look forward to partnering with each of these organizations and hope to collaborate again in the future.”

Registration for the event is open to the public. Any players in the pro division cannot be ranked in the top 20 of the PPA tour by registration’s close. Each Challenger Series event winner can choose one PPA tour event for entry. Each event will also have a $10,000 prize pool. 

The PPA Challenger Series event is expected to bring in around $700,000 of revenue to the Columbia area, according to the event’s press release. Most of the impact will benefit lodging, retail and food and beverage companies. 

Games will be played all weekend Friday through Saturday. The amateur and professional divisions will run on the same schedule with men’s and women’s singles on Friday, gender doubles on Saturday and mixed doubles on Sunday. 

Tickets for the Columbia PPA Challenger will be sold by TIXR. All pro and amateur players will receive a grounds pass with their participation fee. There is $15 grounds pass tickets for friends, family and fans.

Games on the championship court will be streamed live on the Tennis Channel app.