What’s the Score?
The 2026 Major League Pickleball (MLP) season has officially kicked into high gear with the opening of Trade Window #1. The headline news features the league’s newest franchise, the Palm Beach Royals, officially entering the fray by signing their first-ever player, Sofia Sewing. However, the action wasn’t limited to expansion teams; the Chicago Slice, Atlanta Bouncers, Texas Ranchers, New Jersey 5s, and Los Angeles Mad Drops engaged in a flurry of high-stakes roster moves involving cash, draft picks, and star players like Zane Navratil, Kaitlyn Christian, and Jay Devilliers.
Hit it deeper!
The Palm Beach Royals have officially begun building their identity. By acquiring free agent Sofia Sewing in late January, the franchise secured its first cornerstone. Sewing, who comes with a Draft Point value of 80,000, represents a long-term investment; she is eligible to be kept for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. This move triggers a specific countdown for the Royals, who are now permitted to acquire up to three additional players—one post-2025 draft signing and two undrafted players from 2025—before the critical Player Keeper Deadline on February 15.
While Palm Beach built from scratch, established teams aggressively retooled. The Atlanta Bouncers were particularly active, executing a “win-now” trade by sending Victoria DiMuzio and cash to the Texas Ranchers for Kaitlyn Christian. Christian, currently the third-ranked women’s singles player on the PPA Tour, brings immediate firepower to Atlanta, specifically to bolster their Dreambreaker potential. She recently reached the mixed doubles finals at the Daytona Beach Open, signalling she is in peak form. Conversely, the Texas Ranchers seem to be clearing cap space. While DiMuzio showed promise in her rookie season, she hasn’t played a PPA event since November. Analysts predict Texas may drop her to free up cash to pursue a premier singles specialist.
In another blockbuster move, the Chicago Slice acquired the high-energy Zane Navratil from the New Jersey 5s in exchange for cash. This trade reunites Navratil with the ownership group behind the Slice, who also back his paddle sponsor, Paddletek. For New Jersey, trading away their captain of two years signals a tactical shift; they are expected to use the cash influx to find a male singles specialist to pair with their core of Will Howells and Noe Khlif. Furthermore, Chicago strengthened their roster by sending Max Freeman to Los Angeles in exchange for Hunter Johnson and cash, a move that gives them the PPA’s number one men’s singles player to fix their woeful 3-9 Dreambreaker record from 2025.
The World Pickleball Verdict
The volume and nature of these trades indicate that MLP franchises are becoming significantly more sophisticated in their front-office strategies. The “friends and family” era of team building is over; general managers are now making ruthless, data-driven decisions based on specific game formats like the Dreambreaker. The movement of cash—previously a rarity—has become a standard tool for roster construction, allowing teams like New Jersey and Texas to sacrifice current talent for future flexibility. For Palm Beach, the pressure is now on to surround Sewing with a competitive squad before the mid-February deadline. The league is shifting toward a model where specialised skills (singles vs. doubles) are valued at a premium, and no roster spot is safe.
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Chris Beaumont
Founder and Editor-in-ChiefChris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine. Chris follows the global game closely, reporting on the latest news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball Podcast, interviewing people at…
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