Team Canada and Team Australia were built through national federation processes; MLP Team Europe was assembled by a commercial rights agency. Nox and Playtomic are the only sponsors attached to any of the tournament’s four non-standings guest teams.
Europe has fielded – courted? – its first team for Major League Pickleball (MLP), called simply MLP Team Europe. Playtomic is the main sponsor and Nox the official technical sponsor, supplying apparel to the six members, three of whom are Nox endorsers:
- Jhonnatan Medina, captain of MLP Team Europe
- Pep Canyadell, Spain’s top pickleball player
- Katie Morris, the UK’s top female player
MLP’s genuine competitive field comprises 20 franchises, all rooted in American cities and playing a season that runs May to August. They compete for standings and a playoff berth. Several are owned by figures and structures from outside pickleball, such as Mark Cuban (Dallas), LeBron James’s LRMR Ventures (New York) and Jayson Tatum (Los Angeles). A couple – the Atlanta Bouncers (Anheuser-Busch), the Phoenix Flames (Proton Sports) – are under at least partial brand ownership.
Team Europe is a one-off guest at the July Mid-Season Tournament in Grand Rapids, alongside Team Canada, Team Australia and a Collegiate All-Stars squad. None of these four plays a season or holds standings points beyond that single event. And of the four only Team Europe has a named commercial backer.
Team Canada and Team Australia were assembled by selection through national federations (a combine run with Pickleball Canada; PPA Australia tour regulars), and the Collegiate All-Stars are MLP’s own in-house showcase selection.
Nox and Playtomic, then, have attached a brand identity to the guest team with the least backing from a governing body. In fact, it was assembled by the commercial agency, Smash Pickleball Agency, that holds PPA Tour Spain’s rights.
