Pickleball Absolute Championship in Turin, 5 ProKennex on the podium

From 12th to 19th November, the first Campionati Assoluti (Absolute Championships) for Pickleball organised by the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP) were held at the Fan Village in Turin, a facility adjacent to the ATP Finals.
The event open to all FITP members saw ProKennex on the podium with no less than five athletes in the Advanced category, sharing the silver and bronze medals in the men’s and women’s doubles.
The pair Marcello Bettinelli and Luca Cominassi took out the men’s silver medal, whilst bronze went to Gianluca Luddi and Fabio Beraldo. In the women’s doubles, another silver medal was won by our own Marcella Cucca pairing with Corinna Dentoni.

The organisation of the Campionati Assoluti demonstrated the Federation’s great attention to a constantly-growing movement at international level, capable of catalysing the attention of the entire industry along with thousands of fans for an extremely entertaining, accessible sport that combines many aspects of tennis, badminton and table tennis.

Emerging from the United States in 1965, this sport has virtually exploded over the last five years, now having over 8 million practitioners overseas. At ProKennex, we have long invested in Research and Development focused on Pickleball. Today, we set the benchmark in the industry with one-piece, textured carbon fibre paddles that guarantee maximum aerodynamics, good oscillation, speed of response and a complete absence of vibration thanks to the exclusive Kinetic System technology.
Daniel De La Rosa, Callan Dawson and Meghan Dizon, currently at the top of the US rankings, opted to play with ProKennex paddles, demonstrating the level of reliability and high performance of our equipment.

The Campionati Assoluti in Turin represented the first stage of official competition in Italy.
The aim of the FITP and the European Federations is to intensify the promotion of Pickleball across several levels, by promoting the sport’s presence amongst the most important international tennis and padel events and through the introduction of the discipline in schools, as an entry to racquet sports in general.

What is Pickleball

A fun, inclusive and dynamic racquet sport that combines many elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis.
The strokes are similar to those made in other racket sports: a serve from the baseline, forehand, backhand, volley shots and rebound shots. The big difference is that the court has a no-volley zone near the net called the “kitchen” within which volley shots are prohibited.

Why Pickleball

From the outset, the ease of play and simplicity in learning the techniques are apparent. Technically much simpler than tennis, the more you play the more you discover the plethora of tactics and strategy involved. The game is dynamic and addictive, offering just the right amount of challenge and fun. In Italy, it is thought that Pickleball will soon surpass Padel!