HOLLY HILL, Fla. â Professional pickleball teams from all over the country, including the Orlando Squeeze, are competing in the Major League Pickleball tournament this weekend.
âDefinitely really excited to kind of get out there, compete, be loud, cheer and really have fun out there,â said Orlando Squeeze Player, Bobbi Oshira.
Itâs Oshiraâs second tournament with the Orlando Squeeze. She said their number one goal heading into the tournament is making sure theyâre prepared.
âGetting a lot of good hits and, you know, making sure where weâre comfortable, where weâre here for each other, weâre supportive,â Oshira said. âAnd at the end of the day, you know, going out there, trying our best and you know, at the end of the day if we lose, we stick together as a team.â
This is MLPâs second tournament of the 2023 season and 24 teams will battle it out among two divisions â Premier and Challenger Level.
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Nearly 100 players from Chicago, Atlanta to Orlando will participate in this weekendâs tournament.
âI think to be honest thatâs really what pickleball is all about,â Oshira said. âIt brings a lot of different people together, a lot of different cultures together, you get a lot of people from different states coming to Florida.â
The Orlando Squeeze also has players from all over the country. While Ohshiro is from South Florida, her other teammates are from Utah and California.
Orange Squeezeâs Co-Owner, Ryan DeVos, has another connection to Orlando sports â his family owns the Orlando Magic.
DeVos said they spent a lot of time practicing ahead of the competition.
âWeâre able to actually bring everybody together, which all our players live in different parts of the country,â DeVos said. âSo to be able to spend a little time getting used to each other, super helpful and weâll be able to show the results on the court tomorrow.â
DeVos said part of pickleballâs magic is the sportâs accessibility.
âYou donât need to be training in like tennis for multiple years,â DeVos said. âYou can jump in and play in 45 minutes.â
To purchase tickets to this weekendâs tournament, click here. If youâd like to stream the tournament, you can watch it on Major League Pickleballâs YouTube channel.
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