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Toray is a Proud Sponsor of Major League Pickleball
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OVERVIEW
Why Pickleball?
Toray has a long history of supporting various sports in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Toray Pan-Pacific Open Tennis Tournament, Division One Men’s & Women’s Volleyball in Japan proper, and sponsorship of participants in the Shanghai International Marathon. With a pioneering spirit, Toray has been dedicated to the growth of these sports and athletes from their early stages, leveraging the power of materials to provide support to each of these sports. Now, Toray is proud to contribute to the further growth and innovation of pickleball, the fastest—growing sport in America! Through pickleball, Toray hopes to raise awareness and allow people to experience the advantages of their cutting-edge materials, many of which have current or future applications in pickleball paddles, pickleballs, and sports apparel.
A Message from MLP
"MLP and Toray have been diligently and strategically working towards this partnership for several months, during which time we have been fascinated to learn about both the size of Toray's business and the critical role that they play in the area of carbon fiber," said George Killebrew, UPA Chief Revenue Officer. "They will literally be our partner, helping to shape future global paddle production. The Toray branding of MLP's kitchen - as well as several business-to-business opportunities at cities along the MLP schedule - will help make Toray a household name and a well-recognized brand in the U.S."
ABOUT
About MLP
MLP believes there is no sport more inclusive, equitable, or joyful than pickleball. Expert or beginner, young or old, man or woman, conservative or progressive, blue collar, white collar or even no collar at all, on the pickleball court we are all on equal footing and we are all welcome. The pickleball court is a place where people of different backgrounds, who would not otherwise meet one another, find their common ground in the joy of the game and each other’s company. The league consists of 22 teams split into the MLP Premier Level (16 teams) and MLP Challenger Level (6 teams). Premier Level is home to the top 64 players drafted while Challenger Level boasts the next crop of 24 players looking to become pro pickleball’s next stars. These levels ensure the highest caliber of competition while providing a pathway and opportunities for the next generation of pro pickleball stars to break through!
MLP 2025 Event Schedule
Our Materials
Toray believes in the power of materials to change society, and are pleased to showcase their state-of-the-art products as part of their partnership with the MLP. Toray’s carbon fiber, TORAYCA™, is already used in some high-grade paddles. Moving forward, the company will look to use their R&D philosophy of “pursuit of the ultimate limits” to provide higher performance carbon fibers in pickleball paddle designs as well as providing Toray resins in the manufacturing of pickle balls themselves. Toray’s long-range goal is to collaborate with various pickleball equipment manufacturers to create ever more functional products, contributing to the improvement of the sport's competitive level through next generation technologies from one of the world leaders in materials creation and manufacturing.
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Contact
Reach out to Toray for innovative materials and solutions and help us form a sustainable future.