Naomi Osaka has decided to invest in Pickleball, like many other sports stars and beyond. The Japanese star has been the highest-paid female athlete in the world for three consecutive years, with an estimated $59.2 million in earnings in 2022.
Even NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant did it. Among the new investors should also be Nick Kyrgios, NBA super agent Rich Paul, billionaire Soichiro Minami and Matthew Pritzker, a member of the billionaire Pritzker family.
Major League Pickleball, which had eight teams for its inaugural 2021 season grew to 12 in 2022, will add 12 more franchises in 2023 as the sport rapidly spreads.
Pickleball, a sport that’s often described as a combination of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, was invented in 1965 and has gained a following among older adults because it requires only short bursts of running.
But in recent years, it has attracted a much larger fan base. Major League Pickleball was one of three pickleball leagues competing for players, events, and dollars, along with the Professional Pickleball Association and the Association of Pickleball Professionals.
Naomi’s 2022
It was certainly not a 2022 to remember for Naomi Osaka who she failed to triumph in any tournament in which she took part. In fact, the Japanese is in 41st place in…
