The commissioner who was the face of Major League Pickleball (MLP), the US pro league, is leaving after the best season in its history. The Dink reported on September 17, 2026 that Commissioner Samin Odhwani intends to move to the investment firm Apollo Sports Capital and will handle transitional duties until a successor is decided. It is a change after just 16 months in the job, and in that time MLP set records in viewership, attendance and team valuations. This appointment, which reflects the sport maturing as a commercial spectacle, reaches Japan through MLP Asia. Here is where the business of the pro league is heading.
The run of records rewritten in 16 months
Odhwani took over as commissioner on April 24, 2025. His tenure up to the announcement of his departure on September 17, 2026 runs only about 16 months, but in that short span MLP hit all-time highs on several measures. The 2026 season final drew an average of 773,000 viewers on CBS broadcast television, up 55% year on year. Attendance across the three days of the finals at the venue topped 10,000. Even as of 2025, ticket revenue was up 94% year on year and total attendance up 52%, while sponsorship revenue more than doubled. Stacking up numbers like that in a short tenure is why the move is drawing attention.
What team prices say about how the league is valued
The league’s momentum shows in franchise valuations too. The LA Mad Drops are valued at 13 million dollars, and the Palm Beach Royals, who joined as an expansion team, at 16 million dollars, the highest in the league. Converted at about 157 yen to the dollar (as of mid-September 2026), that is about 2.04 billion yen and about 2.51 billion yen respectively. In professional sport, a franchise valuation is the market’s report card on how much a league’s future is worth. That a newly added team set the highest valuation suggests the market is bullish on where MLP is going.
Key figures at a glance
| Metric | Figure | Yen-conversion guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Final average viewers (CBS, 2026) | 773,000 (up 55% year on year) | — |
| In-venue attendance for the final (three days) | More than 10,000 | — |
| Ticket revenue (2025) | Up 94% year on year | — |
| Total attendance (2025) | Up 52% year on year | — |
| LA Mad Drops valuation | $13 million | About 2.04 billion yen |
| Palm Beach Royals valuation | $16 million (highest in the league) | About 2.51 billion yen |
| Apollo-led investment (May 2026) | $225 million | About 35.3 billion yen |
The $225 million investment behind the exit
This is not simply one man changing jobs. In May 2026, a $225 million (about 35.3 billion yen) investment led by Apollo Sports Capital went into Pickleball Inc., the parent company of MLP and the PPA Tour. At Apollo and SC Holdings, Odhwani moves to the side that oversees that investment. He goes, in other words, from running the league on the ground to putting money into it. An operator crossing to the investor side marks pickleball moving out of its startup years and into a growth phase where capital is seriously involved.
What the people involved said
Odhwani looked back on the past two years as the best period in MLP's history and said he is genuinely proud of what was achieved, adding that with a great team the business will keep growing. On his new role, he said that by joining Apollo and SC Holdings he can continue to provide support. Al Tylis, CEO of Apollo Sports Capital, which is taking him on, commented that the trust and collaboration built with Samin are why he is the right person to oversee the investment. No successor as commissioner has been named yet, and Odhwani will handle transitional duties while the search runs. Managing a change at the top without disruption is itself a sign of an organization maturing.
What it means for readers in Japan and Asia
This appointment is not unrelated to Japan. MLP is pushing into Asia, and Japan sits inside that reach.The first MLP Asia draft, which put together a Japan team,is proof that the home league's growth engine has reached into Asia. With major money entering the parent company and the management structure moving to a stage that draws investors in, decisions about investing in the Asian league could shift too. For players, sponsors and local governments in Japan, it is worth keeping in mind that the stronger the league's capital base grows, the more the terms for attracting tournaments and signing sponsorships may change.
Competition among pro leagues is lively as well.The match in which the New Jersey 5s took their first MLP title, two years in the making,shows how stories build up team by team, and that is how a league grows fans' attachment. Seen from the investor side, that accumulation of stories is the intangible asset holding up valuations. With operations and capital both turning, MLP looks set to hold its growth curve for now.
Ripple Effects on the Market
Rising team valuations and large investments pull more money into pickleball as a whole. Equipment, broadcasting, facility operation, and even the new leagues in Asia: the base of capital keeps widening. Well-known investors have said the pickleball boom is still only a prologue, andthe argument that this sport has plenty of room left to growruns deep. Whether rising valuations match actual revenue, though, rests on viewership, attendance and sponsor renewals from here. It also takes a cool eye, season by season, to judge whether the numbers are backed by real strength.
Wrap-up: what to follow from here
The next focus is who takes the commissioner's chair and whether that person can carry over the momentum of a record season. And where Apollo's money actually goes, whether into broadcasting, the Asian expansion or facilities, will shape the league's next chapter. People in Japan will want to keep watching how MLP Asia is run and funded, and to work out where they can take part. This handover, with an operator moving to the investor side, shows pickleball shifting its footing from a pastime to an investment.
