Pro Pickleball Gets Its ‘Drive to Survive’ Moment: Stream the Full ‘PARTNERS’ Docuseries
By IntoPickleball Editorial Team | Produced by Shutterstock Studios
The lockers are open, the contracts are on the table, and the drama is 100% real. Produced by the powerhouse team at Shutterstock Studios in association with Wavelength Productions and the Carvana® PPA Tour, PARTNERS is a groundbreaking six-part docuseries pulling back the curtain on professional pickleball. Filmed over 13 months with unprecedented access, this series uncovers the volatile business and intense personal rivalries shaping the sport’s elite tier.
Episode 1: “All Hail the Queen”
The series premiere zeroes in on the undisputed standard-bearer of women’s pro pickleball: 18-year-old phenom Anna Leigh Waters. But staying at the absolute top of a multi-million dollar sport comes with immense psychological and commercial pressure.
In this episode, we witness the terrifying business leverage an elite teenager wields when she completely dismantles the top women’s doubles team in the world with a single phone call. Meanwhile, number-two ranked Anna Bright makes her intentions crystal clear: she is tired of playing in the shadow and is actively gunning for the throne.
IntoPickleball Insider Takeaway: Seeing how quickly top-tier partnerships are dissolved behind closed doors shows just how cutthroat the professional tier has become as big money flows into the PPA. Roster management in modern pro pickleball is starting to look exactly like the NBA trade deadline.
Episode 2: “Doubles Trouble”
The cameras shift focus to the men’s side of the bracket, zeroing in on the sport’s gold standard, Ben Johns. While Ben fights to maintain his iron grip on the number-one spot, brash and hyper-confident challenger Christian Alshon steps into the frame with Johns squarely in his crosshairs.
Meanwhile, off-court business takes a tense turn as a massive rift develops between rising star Quang Duong, his father Duc, and PPA front-office executives over an unsanctioned promotional trip to Vietnam.
IntoPickleball Insider Takeaway: The friction between the Duong family and the front office highlights the growing pains of a rapidly professionalizing league. When global growth conflicts with tour exclusivity, the players are caught right in the middle.
Episode 3: “Breaking Up is Hard to Do”
This episode explores what happens when a personal, romantic relationship directly collides with professional, high-stakes athletics. Hunter Johnson and Parris Todd are introduced as pickleball’s undisputed “power couple”—thriving both on and off the court.
But when the charismatic, free-spirited singles star from Spain, Jaume Martinez Vich, enters their circle, personal and professional dynamics are pushed to a breaking point, threatening to derail their entire tournament season.
IntoPickleball Insider Takeaway: Mixed doubles is hard enough when you’re just friends. When your life partner is also your business partner on court, a bad day at the office can jeopardize everything. This episode is as raw as sports reality television gets.
Episode 4: “If You Can’t Take the Heat”
As tournament attendance zeroes in on stadium capacities and prize money swells, the psychological toll of internet fame takes center stage. For women’s singles star Kate Fahey, the pressure cooker explodes in an infamous, viral moment where she smashes a paddle over her own head, sending shockwaves through the online community.
On the flip side of fame, we follow 19-year-old Bolivian phenom Gabe Tardio, whose career accelerates overnight when he is chosen for a high-stakes partnership with Ben Johns.
IntoPickleball Insider Takeaway: Gabe Tardio getting the call-up to partner with Ben Johns is the ultimate validation for the next generation. It proves that the old guard knows exactly how dangerous these young guns are becoming.
Episode 5: “Old Guard vs. New Blood”
It’s a classic generational war. The established veterans who ground out the early, unglamorous days of professional pickleball try to defend their territory against a relentless wave of younger, faster athletes who are completely rewriting how the game is played.
The episode tracks Federico Staksrud and his rigid sports psychology routine—he literally writes “I am the best player in the world” on a piece of paper every single day. As the tour heads into the World Championships in Dallas, Staksrud gets his definitive shot to prove his words.
IntoPickleball Insider Takeaway: Staksrud’s mental discipline is fascinating. In a sport where hand speed and physical reflexes grab the headlines, this episode proves that the game at this level is won or lost entirely between the ears.
Episode 6: “Can ANYONE Beat Them?!”
The grand finale wraps up a grueling 13-month journey across the PPA Tour. All storylines, rivalries, and contract disputes converge at the season-ending championships, where the ultimate question must be answered: Has the gap finally been closed, or are Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters truly untouchable?
Alliances shift one last time in the hotel lobby before the final walkout to the championship court, leaving viewers with a massive cliffhanger regarding who will be partnering with whom next season.
IntoPickleball Insider Takeaway: PARTNERS proves that pro pickleball has the characters, the drama, and the elite production backing to captivate mainstream sports fans. The cliffhangers set up a massive upcoming season that we cannot wait to cover.
This reality-sports docuseries is produced by Shutterstock Studios in association with Wavelength Productions and title sponsor Carvana. To stream the complete series commercial-free on your home screen, you can access the official series hub via Amazon Prime Video or read more about the project at the PPA Tour Hub.