Unveiling PickleRoll
Knoxville’s homegrown pickeball champion is leading the way to a greener future and gearing up for Tennessee’s largest tournament
Story by Andrea Akers
PickleRoll unveiled the industry’s first portable pickleball court in 2022 as an innovative solution to a growing problem: accessibility to indoor & outdoor high-quality pickleball courts. Since the launch of PickleRoll’s tournament-quality courts, the brand has quickly become one of the most recognized names in court solutions among the pickleball community.
A Storied Beginning
In early 2021, The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) contacted Knoxville native Nathan Holm, Founder & Owner of PickleRoll, to leverage his 30 years of experience in general contracting and sports court surfacing to transform courts across the nation.
“We would travel across the country to venues PPA selected for tournaments and re-surface tennis courts into pickleball courts and then return after the event to re-surface them back into tennis courts,” Nathan recalls. “We knew there needed to be an alternative solution.”
He, along with PickleRoll CEO, Drew Hamby, set out on a mission to invent a portable pickleball court that delivered the same high-quality tournament surface that all players should expect in a court.
“We spent endless hours in research and design with many prototypes until we knew we had the engineering of the surface perfected. Quality is paramount. The patent-pending PickleRoll surface is unique and provides such a great solution to the pickleball industry. The Knoxville community was a big part of our initial R&D. We utilized space at Kern’s Bakery and vacant commercial spaces to test prototypes.”
Building Brands
PickleRoll now offers a wide range of personalized options from custom colors, logos, sizes, and installation options. The surface is engineered for indoor or outdoor use and can be a short-term installation or a permanent installation.
“We love that PickleRoll is a great solution for all players of all skill levels,” Nathan says. “It can be installed on a driveway, in a garage, in a backyard or on a large scale for tournaments and events- the versatility is what PickleRoll is all about.”
In 2022, PickleRoll partnered with Allyce Jones, professional pickleball player for the PPA, as the official sponsored athlete for PickleRoll.
“We can’t think of a better representative of the PickleRoll brand than Allyce,” Nathan says. “She is a talented player with incredible grit and determination. More than that, she is wonderful, kind-hearted, and an all-around joyful person to be around. We love to watch her play—she is a beast on the court!”
Elevating the Game at the Knoxville Tournament
PickleRoll has provided courts for an array of companies, events, and professional athletes across the country including Smirnoff, Amazon, the Super Bowl Experience, and the Drew Brees foundation.
Now, the company is gearing up as the main sponsor for the first and largest pickleball tournament in Tennessee at the Knoxville Convention Center from July 4-7, where Nathan and his team will showcase over 25 championship courts. The tournament represents a significant milestone for the sport’s growth in the region and a celebration of the community that has embraced it.
“Out of the many exciting opportunities we’ve been so grateful to be a part of, I am most excited about partnering with the city for the upcoming tournament in Knoxville,” Nathan says. “This is our home. We love it here. We want to help the sport continue to expand, especially in our hometown. There is not a single other sport that provides the multi-generational experience and fosters camaraderie like pickleball.”
Pioneering Sustainability & Responsibility in Sports
In March of 2024, PickleRoll took another step into the future by announcing their sustainability program, Rollvive, in an era where responsible manufacturing should simply be the ethical choice for the future generation.
The initiative redefines the standards of eco-friendly practices within the sports industry, emphasizing the use of sustainable materials and processes in the manufacturing including: no PVC or plastics in court materials, natural UV curing, and 0% water waste. PickleRoll promises to ensure zero courts end up in landfills at the end of their lifecycle by offering buyback programs, trade-in programs, revitalizing courts, and recycling existing court materials to use in new courts.
“In addition to our warranty, we believe Rollvive continues the lifecycle of courts,” Drew says. “We strongly believe that plastics and PVC materials contribute to the ongoing harmful environment global concerns. We hope that our commitment to Rollvive stands as a testament to PickleRoll’s dedication to preserving our planet for future generations and the future of pickleball.”
PickleRoll isn’t just about pickleball; it’s about building a legacy that transcends the game, one court at a time.
Pickle Roll is well described in this article. I look forward to seeing and hearing more about its success. Well done.