The Palm Beach Royals closed their first Major League Pickleball season with a playoff series victory, a growing roster of corporate partners and an expanding presence across South Florida—giving the expansion franchise early momentum as it heads into 2027.
The Royals finished among the top five at each of their five regular-season stops before entering the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. Palm Beach won its opening playoff series in Dallas before advancing to the quarterfinals in Newport Beach. Sofia Sewing and Tina Pisnik led the team with 68% and 67% win rates, respectively, while combining for an 18-0 women’s doubles streak.
Off the court, the franchise focused heavily on establishing a regional identity. The Royals hosted more than 40 community events across Palm Beach County, including Boys & Girls Club programming that introduced young players to pickleball through clinics, equipment and interaction with team members. The organization also launched its Royals Reserve Club and an ambassador program aimed at keeping fans engaged beyond MLP tournament weekends.
That community strategy has been accompanied by early commercial development. The Royals assembled a sponsorship portfolio that includes Baptist Health, LaCroix, Transworld Business Advisors, Top Gun Security, Once Upon a Coconut, Ozura and Usual Wines. The team also reported nearly 12 million views and more than 500,000 interactions across Instagram and Facebook, which it said were generated largely through organic growth.
The debut coincided with broader audience gains for MLP. According to figures included in the Royals’ announcement, the 2026 MLP Finals attracted 773,000 CBS viewers, a 55% increase from 2025, while PickleballTV generated 415 million streaming views during the season. Those figures were supplied by the team and league and underscore the expanding media environment in which newer franchises such as Palm Beach are trying to build sustainable local businesses.
The Royals, owned by Hyperspace Ventures founders Zach Hunter and Taylor Meyer along with Alex Rafiee and Peter Fox and a group of athlete and celebrity investors, will return for the 2027 MLP season. Their next phase will include a permanent home base: the planned Boca Paddle facility is expected to open in 2027 and serve as the franchise’s headquarters.
