MLP Nations Cup preview: eight teams, rosters and how to watch, Oct. 30-Nov. 1
Major League Pickleball's first Nations Cup starts Friday, Oct. 30. Eight regional teams will play through Sunday, Nov. 1, at Brookhaven Country Club in the Dallas area, MLP announced. MLP calls the event the official kickoff to the 2026 Pickleball World Championships.
Venue and format
The official World Championships event page gives the venue as Brookhaven Country Club, 3334 Golfing Green Drive, Farmers Branch, Texas. It says Worlds week is played on the same campus. The event uses MLP's coed team format.
Friday and Saturday are round-robin play within two groups of four. On Sunday, the official schedule says the top two teams from each group advance to a single-elimination bracket, and the winner becomes the first Nations Cup champion. Sunday's semifinals are set for 10 a.m. (Group A No. 2 vs. Group B No. 1) and 11:30 a.m. (Group A No. 1 vs. Group B No. 2) Central time, with the final at 2 p.m.
Group A
From MLP's roster announcement:
- USA: Tyra Black, Anna Bright, Kate Fahey, Ben Johns, CJ Klinger, Will Howells. Captain Johnny Goldberg. MLP repeated the lineup on X.
- Canada: Victoria DiMuzio, Blaine Hovenier, Armaan Jiwa Mawji, Layne Sleeth, Ryan Torresin, Angie Walker. Captain Steve Deakin.
- Asia Domestic: Augie Ge (China), Milan Rane (India), Jonathan Truong (Vietnam), Zoey Wang (Chinese Taipei), Jamie Wei (Chinese Taipei), Len Yang (China). Captains Geoffrey Nguyen and Jeff Tsao.
- Europe-West: Judit Castillo (Spain), Helena Jansen (Spain), Will MacKinnon (Scotland), Theo Platel (France), Estee Widdershoven (Belgium), DJ Young (Spain). Captain Chris Cantino.
Group B
- Asia International: Rika Fujiwara (Japan), Lingwei Kong (China), Jimmy Liong (Malaysia), Tama Shimabukuro, Jack Wong (Hong Kong, China), Macy Ybanez (Philippines). Captain Madeleine Lim.
- Australia: Sarah Burr, Chris Crouch, Sahra Dennehy, Mitch Hargreaves, Danni-Elle Townsend, George Wall. Captain Sange Carter.
- Europe-East: Andrei Daescu (Romania), Arwid Dahlin (Sweden), Ivan Jakovljevic (Croatia), Lina Padegimaite (Lithuania), Tina Pisnik (Slovenia), Daria Walczak (Poland). Captain Caleb Garrard.
- Latin America: Nico Acevedo (Chile), Mari Humberg (Brazil), Rafa Lenhard (Brazil), Eric Oncins (Brazil), Alexa Schull (Puerto Rico), Charlie Trevino (Mexico). Captain Juan Manuel Benitez.
The Asia International change
The Sept. 24 announcement listed Hien Truong (Vietnam) on Asia International. On Oct. 20, MLP posted a roster update on X saying Tama Shimabukuro joins the Asia International squad in place of Truong. MLP did not give a reason for the change in that post.
Opening matches
Play starts at 10 a.m. Central on Friday on Championship Court with Australia vs. Asia International, according to the match schedule. Europe-East vs. Latin America, Europe-West vs. Asia Domestic, Canada vs. USA, Australia vs. Europe-East and Asia Domestic vs. Canada follow. Saturday also starts at 10 a.m. with Latin America vs. Asia International, and the day includes USA vs. Europe-West and USA vs. Asia Domestic.
How to watch and tickets
All matches are available on PickleballTV and the PickleballTV app, MLP said. The Worlds event page says Championship Court matches are livestreamed on PickleballTV and Grandstand Court matches are on the PickleballTV app, and that more broadcast details are still to be announced. Tickets are sold on Tixr, separately from Worlds week tickets. The event page lists Courtside and VIP passes, and says current prices are on Tixr. Doors open one hour before the first scheduled match each day.