About Laura and World Team Pickleball

Laura Fenton Kovanda - president and CEO of World Team Pickleball

Laura is an all-around athlete and holds National titles in basketball, softball and tennis, and National, Pan-American and World titles in Racquetball, and now 4 U.S. Open titles in Pickleball. Many don't know this, but Laura was also one of four women in the Pro Finals at the very first US Open Championships in 2016 at the age of 54.  Over the past 35 years, she has taught college courses in biomechanics, kinesiology, exercise physiology, biophysics, sport psychology, neuroplasticity, nutrition, and athletic training.  Being a professional athlete for 15 years with the U.S. Olympic Racquetball Team and managing her own sports academy, Laura brings a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the sports world.  Laura's passion for the sport, teaching others, and running tournaments helped her realize that Pickleball was ready for something new.

World Team Pickleball offers an avenue for:  

  • teams to play numerous matches

  • scheduled match times and courts, playing when you are scheduled

  • creating strategies and comradery within your teams

It’s definitely more fun to play pickleball with your friends when you are part of a team!

 

World Team Pickleball Format

World Team Pickleball brings a whole new aspect to the game with its unique concept of scheduled team play.  Players love our format because they know well in advance the time and locations of their matches.  All matches are pre-scheduled with the Team Captains creating their lineups prior to each match ensure teams and players know exactly when and where they will play and keeping the tournament running on time.  Matches are also scheduled back-to-back-to back so your division is done in a 3-4 hour period.  In our tournaments, Round Robins or Pool Play (possible then to straight draw) will be used, and teams are guaranteed several matches throughout the 3-day tournament.

Led by a Team Captain, 4 players compete on 2 courts of doubles against other teams in their same age and skill division in full matches (best of 3 games).  If a team wins both courts, they win the overall match. But teams are also given credit for each game won, as well as total points.  For league play, in Men’s and Women’s events, all 4 players are the same gender.  In mixed events, there will be two men and two women on each team. Teams may carry as many as 8 players on their roster to rotate players as needed. 

The WTP format is offered for leagues, one-day shootouts and tournaments. We have partnered with LifeTime and hold a number of one-day shootouts across the country. Our most popular tournament is known as the World Team Pickleball Championships, which will be held in February 7-9, 2020, in Surprise, Arizona. We also conduct World Team Pickleball Sectional tournaments across the country, and that schedule will be coming out shortly. If you would like to start a WTP league or host a tournament in your state or country, please visit the league and tournament pages for more information.