The Pickleball Weekly founder wins 2026 DUPR Golden Pickle Business Award

Adriana Falco, founder and editor-in-chief of The Pickleball Weekly, was honored at the CourtReserve World Pickleball Conference in Las Vegas with a 2026 DUPR Golden Pickle Business Award. The recognition highlights The Pickleball Weekly’s fast growth since its October 2025 launch and its role in expanding global pickleball coverage.

Why it matters: - The award puts The Pickleball Weekly and Adriana Falco alongside some of the sport’s most visible business and media leaders. - The recognition signals that pickleball’s growth is now being shaped not only by players and leagues, but also by media, brands and technology platforms. - The Pickleball Weekly has built a worldwide audience in a short time, which gives the award added weight for the outlet’s reach and influence.

What happened: - Adriana Falco, founder and editor-in-chief of The Pickleball Weekly, received a 2026 DUPR Golden Pickle Business Award during the CourtReserve World Pickleball Conference in Las Vegas. - DUPR, or Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating, presented the awards as the official presenting sponsor. - Falco was recognized alongside Gordon G.G. Gebert of the National Pickleball League and the Pickleball Television Network, Dave Johnson of Chicken N Pickle, Adam Bricker of Pickleball Cards and Glenn Gara of 1st Source Lighting. - Falco said receiving the award was an honor and noted the shared recognition with the other honorees.

The details: - The DUPR Golden Pickle Business Awards recognize leadership, innovation and vision in pickleball. - The Pickleball Weekly covers original reporting, gear reviews, travel features, business news and community coverage. - The publication says it produces more than 3,500 pages of original sports journalism each year. - The outlet says that volume exceeds the combined editorial output of the major pickleball print publications it compared itself against. - The Pickleball Weekly is published weekly in a free digital format. - The site includes a built-in multilingual translator. - The publication says that approach makes its coverage accessible to readers worldwide. - Since launching in October 2025, The Pickleball Weekly has reached readers in more than 75 countries. - The magazine also covers professional competition, business, travel, health and fitness, products, culture, and the people and places driving the sport’s expansion.

Between the lines: - The award reflects how quickly pickleball media has become part of the sport’s business ecosystem. - A free, digital-first, multilingual publication has a different growth model than traditional print titles, and that may help explain the outlet’s international reach. - Falco’s comments frame the award as validation of reader interest in storytelling across the sport, from local clubs to major events.

What's next: - The Pickleball Weekly is likely to keep expanding its global coverage as pickleball’s audience grows. - The award may help strengthen Falco’s profile within the sport’s business and media circles. - The outlet’s continued digital growth will test whether its free, multilingual model can keep scaling with the sport.

The bottom line: - The award marks a milestone for a young pickleball publication that says it is already reaching readers worldwide and reshaping how the sport is covered.