Ace Pickleball Club

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, and the central question facing franchise investors in 2025 is not whether to believe in pickleball's commercial momentum — the data settles that debate — but rather which franchise brand will emerge as the dominant operator when the sector matures. Ace Pickleball Club was founded in 2022 by industry veterans Jay Diederich, who serves as Founder and CEO, and Joe Sexton, who serves as Co-founder and President, with headquarters originally established in Roswell, Georgia. The leadership team is rounded out by Brianne Carter as Chief Operating Officer, Vincent Barrios as Chief Development Officer, Conor Hawks as Vice President of Franchise Growth, and Mookie McDevitt as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships — a bench that reflects the brand's emphasis on structured, operationally disciplined scaling rather than opportunistic growth. Ace Pickleball Club Franchise, LLC is structured as a Nevada limited liability company, and the brand began offering franchises in February 2023, making it one of the earliest movers to systematically franchise indoor pickleball facilities at national scale. The company declared itself the fastest-growing pickleball franchise in the world as of August 2023, a claim supported by its development pipeline: by January 2024, 86 franchises were in development among 24 franchisees spread across 17 states. Today the brand operates 11 franchised locations in the United States with zero company-owned units, and it has awarded 125 total locations across states including Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, Delaware, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, and Oklahoma. For franchise investors evaluating the recreational sports category, Ace Pickleball Club represents one of the most data-rich early-mover opportunities in the current cycle — and one that demands careful, independent analysis before capital is committed.

The indoor recreational sports industry is experiencing a structural shift that goes well beyond a sports trend. The U.S. fitness and recreational sports center market generates tens of billions in annual revenue, and the pickleball segment specifically has become one of its most dynamic sub-categories, with the Sport and Fitness Industry Association reporting pickleball as the fastest-growing sport in the country for multiple consecutive years entering 2025. Participation figures have grown from an estimated 4.8 million players in 2021 to over 36 million reported participants by some industry counts, driven by a combination of demographic forces including aging Baby Boomers seeking low-impact social activity, Millennials attracted to competitive recreational sports, and Gen Z's appetite for social-first fitness experiences. Unlike outdoor courts, which face weather seasonality and capacity constraints imposed by public parks, indoor dedicated pickleball clubs create a recurring-revenue membership model that operates 365 days per year regardless of climate — a structural advantage that translates directly into franchise unit economics. The competitive landscape for dedicated indoor pickleball facilities remains highly fragmented in 2025, with no single brand controlling more than a small percentage of total court inventory nationally, which represents a significant window of opportunity for early franchise systems to capture real estate, brand recognition, and membership bases ahead of consolidation. Macro tailwinds compounding this opportunity include rising consumer spending on experiences over goods, post-pandemic demand for social physical activity, and a corporate wellness sector increasingly willing to negotiate group memberships with branded facilities. The total addressable market for organized recreational pickleball facilities is still being defined, which cuts both ways for investors — it signals enormous upside but also demands rigorous scrutiny of any brand's ability to execute at scale before that window closes.

The Ace Pickleball Club franchise cost structure reflects the capital intensity inherent to building state-of-the-art indoor facilities, and prospective franchisees should approach the investment range with a clear understanding of what drives the spread. The initial franchise fee is $60,000, paid upfront and non-refundable upon signing the Franchise Agreement, which compares to a franchise fee figure of $25,000 in some database records — investors should confirm the current fee structure directly with the franchisor and within the most recent Franchise Disclosure Document, as fee structures can be updated between FDD versions. The total initial investment required to open an Ace Pickleball Club franchise ranges from approximately $817,750 to $2,404,850, with other FDD iterations citing ranges of $940,000 to $1,895,000 — a spread that is almost entirely explained by real estate and construction variables, including leasehold improvements and architect fees of $375,000 to $1,000,000 and pickleball court design and installation costs of $112,000 to $224,000. Additional capital requirements include lease and security deposits of $31,250 to $100,000, signage of $33,000 to $50,000, furniture and fixtures of $15,000 to $30,000, computer equipment and hardware of $10,000 to $12,000, equipment and supplies of $100,000 to $150,000, a grand opening advertising investment of $25,000, local advertising of $18,000, and working capital of $180,000 to $235,000 intended to cover approximately three months of initial operating expenses. This total investment range significantly exceeds the sub-sector average of $806,992 to $1,117,660, meaning prospective franchisees are entering a premium capital tier — and the brand's own guidance suggests prospective partners will likely require more than $500,000 in available liquid capital. Ongoing fees include a royalty of 7.00% of gross monthly sales and a national brand fund advertising contribution of 1.00% of gross monthly sales, for a combined ongoing fee burden of 8.00% of revenue. An initial technology setup fee of $3,500 is required at lease signing and covers the proprietary Microsoft Teams operating system, POS system, digital marketing platform, and local website infrastructure. Compared to lighter-investment fitness concepts, the Ace Pickleball Club franchise investment sits firmly in the premium tier, appropriate for investors with institutional-quality financial backing or significant prior multi-unit franchise experience.

The daily operating model for an Ace Pickleball Club franchisee centers on managing a multi-court indoor facility that generates revenue through court reservations, recurring memberships, clinics, private lessons, leagues, and retail pro-shop sales. Labor management is a central operational challenge at this format, as a full-service indoor facility requires court monitors, front-desk staff, instructors or club pros, and management personnel — a meaningfully more complex staffing matrix than single-service fitness concepts. Ace Pickleball Club addresses this complexity through a structured 73-hour initial training program composed of 33 hours of classroom instruction and 40 hours of on-the-job training, which is reinforced by ongoing virtual and in-person support from a corporate team the brand describes as having extensive experience building global recreation brands. The brand employs what it calls a "smart growth" strategy, utilizing an internal corporate team to manage real estate selection, facility design, project management, and training deployment — a model intended to reduce the operational risk of the buildout phase, which is where many capital-intensive franchise concepts experience cost overruns and schedule delays. The technology infrastructure investment at signing, including the POS system and digital marketing platform, reflects the brand's recognition that court inventory management, membership billing, and local customer acquisition are all technology-dependent in ways that distinguish a pickleball club from simpler fitness concepts. Franchisees operating under a Multi-Unit Development Agreement are assigned a Development Area within which they have the right to develop a defined number of clubs, though the franchisor retains significant rights within that territory — meaning Ace Pickleball Club does not offer absolute exclusive territorial protection as a contractual guarantee. The brand has emphasized a franchisee-to-unit ratio target of approximately 3:1, signaling a preference for multi-unit operators who can deploy the capital and management bandwidth the model demands, rather than first-time single-unit franchisees with limited operational resources.

Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current Franchise Disclosure Document, which is a material consideration for any investor conducting rigorous due diligence on the Ace Pickleball Club franchise. The absence of Item 19 disclosure is not uncommon among emerging franchise systems — particularly those that began franchising in early 2023 and had limited operational history at the time of their first FDD filings — but it does shift the analytical burden entirely onto publicly available data, industry benchmarks, and the brand's own reported figures. Ace Pickleball Club has publicly cited average gross revenue of $464,798, which compares favorably to a reported recreational sub-sector average of $316,106, representing an approximately 47% premium over the sub-sector benchmark and a meaningful signal about demand at operating locations. A separate source has cited average unit volume of $930,000, a figure nearly double the $464,798 average — investors should request clarification from the franchisor on the methodology, time period, and unit sample behind each figure before drawing conclusions. Applying the 8.00% combined royalty and advertising fee load against the $464,798 average gross revenue figure produces an estimated ongoing fee burden of approximately $37,184 annually per location, before factoring in lease obligations, labor, supplies, and working capital replenishment. With a total investment midpoint of approximately $1.6 million and average reported gross revenue of $464,798, a simple payback analysis would require strong net operating margins — well above the 15-20% range typical of fitness center operations — to produce a reasonable return horizon, which underscores the importance of securing actual Item 19 data or audited unit-level financials before committing capital. The FDD reports 9 units opened in 2024, with 1 reacquired by the franchisor, resulting in 8 franchised locations reported in the 2025 FDD — early-stage unit-level data that should be reviewed in full before any investment decision is made.

Ace Pickleball Club's growth trajectory since franchising began in February 2023 represents one of the steeper development curves among emerging fitness and recreational franchise brands, though the gap between units awarded and units open deserves investor attention. The first company location was set to open in Roswell, Georgia in July 2023, and the first franchised location officially opened on January 17, 2024, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. By the end of 2024, the brand reported 11 new locations opened across the year and entered 2025 with 125 locations in various stages of development across 37 signed franchise agreements — a development pipeline that represents substantial future opening activity if conversion rates hold. The brand had projected more than 40 new clubs to open by the end of 2024 and plans to open 25 to 30 new locations in 2025, with projected openings for 2025 standing at 26 units across the pipeline. The competitive moat Ace Pickleball Club is attempting to construct rests on three pillars: first-mover real estate positioning in markets where premium indoor court space is scarce, a proprietary operational technology stack including the custom Microsoft Teams operating system and integrated POS platform, and a vertically integrated corporate support model that manages real estate, design, and project management internally rather than outsourcing to franchisees. The brand's decision to operate exclusively within the United States reflects a strategic focus on saturating domestic markets before any international expansion — a discipline that has benefited brands in other rapidly scaling franchise categories. The leadership team's background in global recreation brand development is a structural advantage as the brand navigates the complex intersection of real estate, construction, technology, and member experience management that defines the indoor sports club category.

The ideal Ace Pickleball Club franchise candidate is not a first-time business owner seeking a relatively passive investment. The capital requirements — with a total investment potentially reaching $2.4 million and a liquid capital threshold likely above $500,000 — point toward experienced multi-unit operators, real estate investors, or individuals with backgrounds in hospitality, fitness club management, or complex multi-staff operations. The brand's 3:1 franchisee-to-unit ratio preference explicitly signals that multi-unit development is the expected path, meaning the typical franchisee profile is someone capable of building and operating multiple locations under a Development Agreement rather than managing a single club. The timeline from franchise agreement signing to opening reflects the buildout complexity inherent to constructing purpose-built pickleball courts — leasehold improvements of up to $1 million, specialized court installation, and full facility buildout make this a 12-to-24-month development cycle in many markets, and franchisees should plan working capital accordingly. Geographically, the brand's current active development spans 17 states including high-population markets in California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois, suggesting that both major metro markets and large secondary markets are within scope. Franchisees entering markets with strong population density, a high concentration of health-conscious consumers between ages 35 and 65, and limited existing indoor pickleball court inventory will be best positioned to capture the membership volume necessary to service a premium facility investment. The franchise agreement structure includes Multi-Unit Development Agreements for operators pursuing territory-level development rights, and any prospective franchisee should engage independent franchise legal counsel to fully understand the territory rights, renewal terms, and transfer provisions before executing.

The investment thesis for the Ace Pickleball Club franchise opportunity rests on a convergence of secular forces that are difficult to dismiss: the fastest-growing sport in America, a fragmented competitive landscape with no dominant national indoor operator, a recurring-revenue membership model that produces predictable cash flows at stabilized locations, and a founding team with demonstrated ambition to build a nationally scaled brand from a standing start. At the same time, the size of the capital commitment — up to $2.4 million in total investment, an 8% combined fee load, and the absence of Item 19 financial performance disclosure in the current FDD — means that this franchise opportunity demands the most rigorous due diligence any prospective investor can perform, including direct conversations with existing franchisees, independent review of the FDD by qualified franchise legal counsel, and a realistic underwriting of the local market opportunity before signing. The brand's reported average gross revenue of $464,798 against a sub-sector average of $316,106 is encouraging as a directional signal, but investors should demand clarity on unit sample sizes, vintage of data, and whether the figure represents stabilized locations or includes ramp-up periods. With 26 units projected to open in 2025 and 125 locations at various stages of development, the next 18 months will be the most informative period in the brand's history for understanding whether its development pipeline converts into operational clubs that generate the revenue volumes necessary to justify premium-tier investment. PeerSense provides exclusive due diligence data including SBA lending history, FPI score analysis, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side-by-side comparison tools that allow investors to benchmark Ace Pickleball Club against every competing franchise opportunity in the fitness and recreational sports center category. Explore the complete Ace Pickleball Club franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.