by Kelly Campbell
As we gear up to watch The Dink, one of the most anticipated pickleball releases of all time, we’re momentarily shifting the focus to a pickleball project on the total opposite end of the genre spectrum, and one that’s also worth adding to your watch list.
Partners, the six-part pickleball docuseries, was recently nominated for Best Episodic Series at Tribeca X. The series shows the real, unscripted grind of the professional pickleball world, from the partner breakups to the late-night doubts to the sacrifices most fans never see.
Especially as we anticipate The Dink‘s tongue-in-cheek, likely poking-fun-at-pickleball comedy, it’s important to recognize what pro players face throughout their careers and lives, especially with some being true pioneers for the sport. Partners and The Dink are two completely different pickleball journeys, and both are set to leave their mark on the sport in their own way.
Keep reading for more about Partners, its success and impact on the professional pickleball world, and what it teaches us about the lives of the biggest names in pickleball.
Partners Overview and Success
Partners is the first-ever reality docuseries to go inside the world of professional pickleball, and it premiered on May 5, 2026, with all six episodes dropping at once across Prime Video, PickleballTV, and the Carvana PPA Tour YouTube channel. The series was produced by Shutterstock Studios and Wavelength Productions. Filming wrapped in mid-January 2026.
The series follows more than 25 players, coaches, and executives from the PPA Tour throughout a defining season for the sport, giving viewers a rare look at what goes on both on and off the court. The series digs into the relationships, the business decisions, and the personalities driving professional pickleball right now, from established champions to the next wave of rising stars.
We hear from every level of the sport, from broadcasters and reporters to the CEO of the PPA Tour to the number one ranked players in the world. Despite going deep into player lives and stats, the series is still accessible enough for total newcomers, and the show even breaks down the basics of how pickleball is played.
Pro players describe the dynamic on the pro scene as “like high school”, loaded with drama, tense partner dynamics, and real romantic breakups. Anna Bright even compares finding a doubles partner to flirting. One difference between real high school and the PPA is the wide range of player ages, from teenagers to middle-aged players, creating the dynamic.
In June, Partners picked up a nomination for Best Episodic Series at Tribeca X, an official program of the Tribeca Festival that celebrates the intersection of entertainment, advertising, and brand-supported storytelling. That’s a major milestone for pickleball, still fighting for mainstream recognition, and it puts Partners in the same conversation as some of the top content being made today.
Since its release, the series has already racked up millions of views across platforms and has been praised for its authentic storytelling and the level of access it got into the pro pickleball world.
Episode Highlights + What We Learned About the Pros
Each episode gives us some raw and unfiltered reactions, showing everything from high-stakes matches to behind-the-scenes dynamics. We don’t just hear from players themselves; we hear from PPA executives, reporters, coaches, and spouses. And we don’t just hear about technicalities of pickleball matches, partners, and training, we explore interpersonal dynamics, family lives and sacrifices, underlying tension, player romance, and how the PPA works behind the scenes.
Fellow players describe pro pickleball as feeling a lot like high school. Everyone trains together, travels together, and socializes together, then tries to beat one another on the court. Because it’s such a smaller community, and it’s a newer sport, pro pickleball has a unique dynamic and set of interpersonal distractions, unlike any other mainstream professional sport. That’s why Partners is so compelling.
One of the most interesting threads running through the series is just how much money is on the line in professional pickleball. Viewers see contract negotiations, sponsorships, business ventures like The Girlies, social media content creation, ESPY appearances, and we hear from each player how they feel about the league, their competitors, and their personal lives.
Episode 1: All Hail the Queen: The series opens with a deep dive on Anna Leigh Waters, the #1 pickleball player in the world. We hear from her peers and rivals, like Anna Bright, explore her upbringing in the pickleball world, and ways in which she’s making sports history. The episode sets the scene for the series by showing players interacting in on-and-off-court situations, discussing their takes on the pressure, gossip, and drama amongst them, making high school comparisons, and the casual nature of choosing doubles partners (and the drama). We hear from Connor Pardoe about his background and plans for PPA while getting real insight into the sudden and shocking split between Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau, plus Anna Bright’s surprisingly candid admission about her strained relationship with former partner Rachel Rohrabacher after their own breakup.
Episode 2: Doubles Troubles: Episode 2 shifts focus to Ben Johns, the #1 male player, who his peers say is odd, quirky, and interesting, and one of his main rivals, Christian Alshon. We also see how the new partnerships after episode one’s breakups turn out: Anna Leigh Waters & Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher & Catherine Parenteau. The episode touches on pickleball development in Asia, and we hear from rising star Quan Duong (QD), his father/coach, and Connor Pardoe about QD’s contract violations and ultimate termination.
Episode 3: Breaking Up is Hard to Do: In this episode, we meet Parris Todd, a phenomenal player with a modeling background, referred to as a “princess”. She has a strong social media presence and adds a layer of influencer glamour and fashion to the pickleball space. We get better insight into how messy the drama can get, as we hear about her relationship, then breakup, with Hunter Johnson, as well as post-breakup chatter and gossip about her being with another pro player, Jaume Martinez Vich. The episode not only references all of the rumors and speculation themselves, but we see how it all plays out in the background of intense matches.
Episode 4: If You Can’t Take the Heat: Kate Fahey opens up in a big way, including a filmed conversation with her therapist about managing the emotional toll of online criticism and learning to separate her identity from her performance on the court. She’s described by fellow pickleballers as the nicest person off the court but a psycho on the court. She takes ownership of her controversial on court behavior while discussing the hatred she, and many other professional pickleballers, experience online on a daily basis. We also learn about how the Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio partnership came to be.
Episode 5: Old vs. New: This episode follows both the younger generation of pro players and veterans, including teenagers Hayden Patriquin and Gabe Tardio and 48-year-old Matt Wright. Wright discusses how pickleball has changed over the years, and how he’s still able to make an impact on the league, although not quite at the same level as in the past. He talks about how pickleball style has changed to be more intense and aggressive, but how that focus on power can’t always compete against strategy and finesse. We see how some of the biggest names in pickleball are trying to build connections and partnerships with the newcomers.
Episode 6: The More Things Change: The series finale wraps up with a focus on the future and the 2026 season. We hear more from Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns, who, despite constant pressure and the threat of a new wave of players and fiercer competition than ever before, still come out on top. Players emphasize how the stakes are higher than ever before, not just on the court, but with off-the-court branding, social media, and sponsorships as professional pickleball popularity picks up. We see how quickly things change as a whole in the pickleball world but also how volatile pickleball partnerships actually are.
An Honest Review: Fan Reactions & Critiques
Overall, it seems that the reaction to Partners has been overwhelmingly positive, with critics and fans praising the show for treating the sport and its players with real respect instead of turning everything into manufactured drama.
We loved the in-depth coverage of players’ personal lives, reputations, and their commentary on their peers. We also appreciated the unfiltered vulnerability and emotion that players were willing to share with us, something we never get to see in other contexts. That said, there are a few valid callouts where the series may have fallen short, including the lack of coverage on MLP and their merger.
Here’s what people are saying they love about Partners.
One Pickleball.com reviewer called it a compelling deep dive that belongs in the same conversation as the best sports documentaries out there, praising it for treating both the sport and its players with real seriousness instead of leaning too hard into manufactured reality TV drama.
A recap from The Kitchen described the show as interesting and spicy at times, while still offering something for both die-hard fans and casual viewers who are just discovering the sport.
Forbes’ Todd Boss, who was interviewed for the series, gave it a strongly positive review across both halves of the season, highlighting standout moments like the Fahey and Duong storylines.
“I binged the whole thing. As someone who has pickleball tv and watches every tournament (including the early rounds) every week, I loved it. The play footage was compelling and well edited— would make a non fan see how athletic it is, but I also loved the highschool gossip angle.” – Reddit user
“I’m glad they don’t hold back on their own criticisms and internal dramas” – Reddit
Although most enjoyed the miniseries, there were a few areas where it fell short. Some Reddit users comment that the dialogue is repetitive and jumps around too much, making storylines confusing and hard to follow. Some also thought that the series favored people who were better on camera, particularly women, making some huge storylines (like the Johns brothers’ split) fall short. Another critique is that the series does not cover the MLP at all, missing opportunities to discuss those dynamics that players want to see.
Why Partners Really Matters
Beyond the drama and the storylines, Partners does something bigger for pickleball, and it starts with showing just how much grit it takes to go pro.
Millions of people are already playing pickleball, courts are popping up everywhere, and it has consistently been the fastest-growing sport in the country. But there’s still a gap between how many people are playing and how many people actually know the names behind the sport, and professional pickleball players still have a long way to go before reaching the popularity and influence of other major professional athletes.
Everyone knows Lebron James, Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, and even now Caitlin Clark, whether they follow their sports or not. Most people outside of the pickleball space have no idea who Anna Leigh Waters is, never mind that she’s making 15x the average WNBA player, and more than Caitlin Clark, because that level of popularity doesn’t exist yet for professional pickleballers. Partners creates an opportunity to close that gap. It doesn’t just promote pickleball, it creates stakes for people to connect with pickleball’s biggest names and gives recreational pickleballers a reason to care more about the pros shaping the sport.
Partners also gives life to players outside of the court, by being the first show to ever dive into the personal dynamics amongst today’s hottest players. We don’t just learn about their records and rankings; we see who they are off the court. Since pickleball is still a somewhat new sport, especially on the professional stage, it’s fascinating to be able to watch an honest behind-the-scenes-look at these pickleball pioneers, while you could argue that the sport is still somewhat developing professionally.
We see the pressure and the personal cost that come with chasing a career in a sport that is still figuring itself out. The personal connection gives fans a reason to care about the people behind the paddles, and it gives the pioneers of this sport the respect they’ve earned for building something out of almost nothing.
So, even if you’re a more casual player, we encourage you to give Partners a shot. You might come away with a new favorite athlete to root for, or a real appreciation for everything these pros put in long before they ever picked up a trophy.
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