Typti Is a New Racquet Sport on Pickleball Courts (Here’s How It Works)

Typti Just Showed Up on Pickleball Courts (And It’s Weirdly Addictive)

If tennis and pickleball had a baby that grew up inside a pickleball facility, this would be it. Typti (pronounced “tip-tee”) is a new racquet sport played on a standard pickleball court using a 22-inch racquet and a 3.5-inch channeled foam ball, built to produce higher bounce, more visible spin, and a little more “tennis brain” than most pickleball players are used to.

Here’s what Typti is, where it came from, and why this launch feels like more than “just another new sport.”

Typti Quick Facts

• Pronounced: “tip-tee”
• Court: Standard pickleball court footprint (20 x 44)
• Gear: 22-inch strung racquet + 3.5-inch channeled foam ball
• Scoring: Stakes Scoring (win a game by taking 3 points in a row)
• Built for: Tennis-forward bounce + visible spin on a smaller footprint
• How it’s launching: It’s funded, it’s organized, and it’s going straight into events
• Net: Pickleball height (34″ center / 36″ sidelines)
• Launch model: Facility-first rollout (events + programming packages vs grassroots pickup growth)

I’ve watched enough former tennis players wander into pickleball and mentally stall out to recognize the moment it happens. They’re not mad at losing. They’re mad at what they think the sport rewards. And I can already picture what happens when they see a Typti rally: Higher bounce, more spin, more “tennis-ish” shape. You can almost hear the gears click.

The hook is simple: it keeps the pickleball footprint, but adds tennis-style shape and a scoring format that forces pressure fast. If you’ve ever watched a tennis player “get it” and immediately stop resisting pickleball… this is that moment, but reversed.

It’s led by Tennis Channel founder Steve Bellamy, and it didn’t roll out quietly: It launched publicly on January 19–20, 2026 with investors, media, and a circuit already on the calendar.

Picture this: Tuesday night at your club. Court 1 is a DUPR grinder match. Court 2 is a social rotation with laughter and lobs. And Court 3 sounds different, softer contact, higher bounce, and rallies that look like tennis but fit inside a pickleball box. That’s when people wander over.

Reporting vs reality check: Everything below is based on launch coverage and public rollout details. Some elements (like “how quiet it feels,” long-term body impact, or how rule debates play out in open play) won’t be proven until clubs run it under real conditions.

How Typti Is Different From Pickleball (In 30 Seconds)

• Same court, different ball behavior (higher bounce + visible spin)
• Strung racquet instead of a solid paddle
• No overhead serve (launch positioning)
• Net rebound rule keeps more points alive
• Stakes Scoring creates momentum flips fast

Terms You’ll Hear (So You’re Not Lost)

• Typti: The sport name: think “tennis-style spin” and “badminton-style reaction windows,” played on a pickleball court.
• Channeled foam ball: A grooved foam ball designed to help players generate spin and read it earlier mid-flight.
• Stakes Scoring: Win a game by taking three points in a row, creating fast pressure swings and momentum flips.

Who’s Behind Typti (Quick credibility check)

Steve Bellamy: Tennis Channel founder and CEO of Typti Inc. This matters because Bellamy doesn’t think like a casual inventor, he thinks like a distributor. His track record signals that Typti isn’t just trying to “exist”… it’s trying to get scheduled, get filmed, and get repeated through media, programming, and an organized competitive pathway.

Drew Brees: Investor and rules collaborator pushing Typti as a second-use sport for pickleball facilities. That involvement signals the real adoption target: operators. Brees isn’t selling Typti as a replacement sport, he’s selling it as a programming layer that fills court hours, pulls in tennis-curious athletes who won’t commit to full tennis, and gives clubs a fresh “league night” product without building a single new court.

Bottom line: This leadership mix suggests Typti is being built to spread through facilities and programming first, not through random grassroots pickup play.

Quick Answers

What is Typti?
Typti is a new racquet sport played on a standard pickleball court (20 x 44) using a 22-inch strung racquet and a 3.5-inch channeled foam ball. It features higher bounce and easier spin visibility than pickleball, and uses Stakes Scoring, where you win a game by taking three points in a row.

Typti vs pickleball: Typti uses a strung racquet and a foam ball with more bounce and visible spin, while pickleball uses a solid paddle and a hard plastic ball with a lower, faster bounce.

Why is everyone talking about it right now?
Typti launched publicly on January 19–20, 2026 with an 80+ investor group and a strategy built around pickleball’s court boom, meaning clubs can host it without building anything new.

Typti Launch Breakdown: Jump To The Parts You Care About

Launch Timeline: Typti’s rollout functionally landed in two beats

Typti’s rollout was staged across January 19–20, 2026 to frame itself as a funded product launch, not a casual hobby sport. Day one led with the investor/business story. Day two introduced the game more cleanly: court footprint, gear specs, scoring system, and a circuit plan.

If a sport launches through business media first, it’s targeting operators and facilities before it tries to win over players.

Launch Timeline (Jan 19–20, 2026)

• Jan 19: The investor + business story hits first, putting Typti into the sports business conversation.
• Jan 20: The game gets introduced cleanly as a playable sport—court footprint, gear specs, scoring system, and a circuit plan.

Why it matters: Typti launched like a business rollout first (operators + investors), then like a sport second (rules + play format), which is a tell that facilities are the real customer.

On Monday, January 19, 2026, Typti’s leadership and investor story hit the sports business conversation. That same day, a press event was positioned at a Los Angeles pickleball club called California Smash, co-owned by former NFL player Marcellus Wiley. By the next morning, January 20, the sport was presented more cleanly as a new game: court size, ball specs, racquet specs, and a competitive circuit start date.

One detail that matters: gear was already being sold at launch under the OLO brand, with additional brands expected to follow.

What I’d expect next

• Fast club outreach: packaged “second-use” programming pitches hit facilities early.
• Early tournaments: prize money and events create instant legitimacy signals.
• Highlight bias: The internet will teach people before coaches do.
• Rule evolution: polarizing mechanics often get clarified after real club friction appears.

Primary launch coverage: Pickleball.com launch breakdown | Front Office Sports investor overview | SportsTechie rollout details

The 130 Venues Per Month Thesis: Typti Is Riding Pickleball’s Court Flood

Pickleball built the infrastructure. Typti is just taking advantage of it. Here’s the honest truth: Typti isn’t only a “new sport.” It’s also a way for clubs to turn empty court hours into something people will actually book.

The rollout narrative repeats a blunt thesis: an estimated 130 pickleball venues are opening every month. (That number may fluctuate month to month, but the infrastructure trend is the point.) And Typti fits on the exact same court footprint. If the rectangle of space is already paid for, staffed, booked, and marketed, the barrier to trying something new collapses.

Anyone who has a pickleball court now has a Typti court. That’s why it can spread fast.

What this means for Venues

Here’s the facility math you don’t see in highlight clips:

The real adoption test won’t be ‘can it fit on a court.’ It’ll be whether staff can teach it in 10 minutes, whether members tolerate it in prime hours, and whether it creates fewer arguments than it creates bookings.

PickleTip insight: the phrase “Anyone who has a pickleball court now has a Typti court” is the real headline. It’s an adoption shortcut.

Typti will say it’s not here to cannibalize pickleball or tennis, and that’s probably the intent. But it is still competing for the only real currency in modern racquet sports: court time.

For context, this exact court footprint-first pattern is why we’ve argued pickleball has staying power beyond trend cycles. If you want the deeper cultural read on that, it’s the same engine, just a different product riding it.

Why 80+ Investors Changes The Stakes (Even If You Hate Celebrity Anything)

An 80+ investor group turns Typti from a niche experiment into a funded rollout with equipment, media, and tournament ambition. What matters here isn’t the “famous list.” The real signal is: Typti is being introduced like a system, not some weekend side project.

Hard truth: Money doesn’t guarantee people will love it, it just guarantees Typti gets enough chances to show up, tweak the product, and keep pushing until something sticks.

Why this matters for clubs: For clubs, investor backing matters because it often comes with packaged leagues, staff training, and promotional support, meaning Typti can show up as a ready-to-schedule program, not a random pickup experiment.

Investor-backed sports don’t win because they’re automatically “better.” They win because they can fund distribution early: demo nights, paid instructors, branded leagues, and enough content volume to keep the sport visible long enough for habits to form.

What 80+ Investors Actually Unlocks

• Faster adoption: clubs get approached with packaged “second-use” programming.
• Instant legitimacy: prize money + events create “this is a real circuit” perception early.
• Media built-in: highlights aren’t a side effect, they’re a growth strategy.
• Gear pipeline: equipment doesn’t wait for grassroots; it hits the market immediately.

Launch reporting mentions investor names across sports and entertainment, including Drew Brees, Nick Kyrgios, and Tony Robbins, with Steve Bellamy as CEO leading the rollout. The list is interesting, but the more important signal is the intention: this is being built to scale.

PickleTip insight: the investor group isn’t the flex; the real flex is that Typti is being built as a system: equipment sales, tournaments, media, and a pathway for amateurs to climb.

A sport doesn’t need everyone to love it; it needs enough people to schedule it, sell it, and share it.

The Foam Ball And 22-Inch Racquet: Typti’s Identity Lives In Bounce And Spin

Typti is being positioned as tennis-forward because the equipment is designed to create higher rebound and more readable spin on a smaller court. The gear will tell you more than the hype will.

This is how Typti is being positioned at launch, real adoption will depend on how it feels in busy club play.

Typti Gear (The Basics)

• Racquet: 22-inch strung racquet
• Ball: 3.5-inch diameter channeled foam ball
• Court: Standard pickleball court footprint

Launch coverage describes the ball as heavier than a pickleball but lighter than a tennis ball, with channeling meant to help players generate and see spin while producing a higher rebound than most people expect on a pickleball-sized rectangle.

Translation: the ball gives you more time to shape a shot, but still punishes lazy feet.

Typti is also being marketed as quieter at contact and lower shock than traditional tennis impact, with foam construction designed to soften the feel without removing athletic intensity.

What It Will Feel Like (Most Likely)

• Softer contact than pickleball
• Higher rally height than pickleball (more “hitting zone” time)
• Earlier spin read than a standard pickleball because rotation is easier to see

What the ball likely changes (in real rallies):

• More topspin window → higher net clearance without losing aggression
• More readable spin → earlier decisions, fewer “late flinches”
• Higher bounce → more shoulder-height contact zones (less dink-only tempo)

PickleTip insight: spin visibility isn’t just a gimmick. If players can read rotation earlier, decision-making speeds up, and rallies start to look like patterns instead of accidents.

Early equipment has been positioned under the OLO brand, with additional brands expected to follow. (That’s one of the clearest signs this isn’t a “someday” concept.)

If you’re curious how “ball behavior” rewires what players call power, it’s the same idea we break down in our training content. This piece on adding pace without losing control sits right on that edge.

Is Typti easier on the body than tennis?
It’s being marketed as lower shock and easier on the body than full tennis because it uses a smaller court and a foam ball, but that claim will be proven (or challenged) once clubs run it at scale with real bodies and real repetition.

Rules At A Glance: The Stuff That Will Divide People (And Drive Attention)

This is where it stops being “mini tennis” and becomes its own sport. Typti’s rules appear built to keep the start of the point structured… then allow more creativity once rallies get chaotic.

Important note: Early launch coverage and demo clips explain the general direction of the rules, but the real adoption test is whether the sport publishes a simple, standardized rule sheet that clubs can teach (and enforce) without arguments.

Rules at a Glance (Confirmed vs Still Settling)

Confirmed in launch coverage: Typti positions itself with a restricted serve and a net rebound rule that keeps more balls alive than traditional racquet formats.

Other details are being discussed in early reporting and demos, but the boundaries won’t be real until Typti publishes a simple official rule sheet—because “fun chaos” online can turn into “rule chaos” in open play.

• Serve is intentionally limited to reduce instant point-ending power and keep rallies playable.
• Net rebound rule appears designed to create more scramble points, more saves, and more watchable chaos.
• Possible no-kitchen dynamic: early descriptions hint that Typti removes the kitchen-style restriction, which would dramatically change how close-range offense works.

If Typti really plays with no kitchen-style restriction, the sport shifts from “protect the NVZ line” to “win the net first.” Expect more attacking volleys, more rapid counters, and fewer prolonged dink exchanges because there’s no built-in penalty for living at the net.

The Rule Everyone Will Argue About

Net rebound rule (as described in launch coverage): Typti includes a mechanic intended to keep certain net-contact situations playable rather than ending the point immediately. The exact boundaries (what contact is legal, when the ball is dead, and what counts as a valid continuation) will determine whether this becomes a highlight engine… or an argument engine.

If clubs are going to adopt it, the rules have to be idiot-proof. Otherwise the sport grows online while dying in the lobby.

Translation: Typti looks like it’s prioritizing spectacle and athletic creativity, even if it costs a little simplicity. That choice will create instant fans… and instant critics.

Why The “Chaos Rules” Exist (And Why They Might Work)

Here’s the watchability lens: If the ball rebounds high enough after net contact, players have time to react. The rule set turns what would be a dead point in other sports into a scramble opportunity, which creates hero saves, wild rallies, and moments that look good on video.

That’s a deliberate design choice. It makes the sport easier to watch before you fully understand it.

• Good for: highlights, momentum swings, dramatic comeback points.
• Risky for: clean officiating, open play harmony, fast mass adoption.

Typti didn’t optimize for “least debate.” It optimized for “most watchable.”

Pickleball has its own “love it or hate it” rules too. If you want a calmer version of managing pace and chaos, we’ve taught it for years in a pickleball context. This blocking guide is basically the opposite philosophy: control the point by removing drama.

Stakes Scoring: A Pressure Machine Disguised As A Scoring System

Stakes Scoring is the single most “Typti” part of Typti. It’s not a side detail. It’s the engine that makes short games feel dramatic and creates momentum swings even when rallies feel evenly matched.

The core rule is simple: you win a game by winning three points in a row. But the system is designed so “closing” becomes the moment that matters, fast.

Example: If you win two straight points, you’re one point from winning the game. Miss that closeout and suddenly your opponent has game point: Even if they hadn’t scored yet.

Typti uses a unique Stakes Scoring method where the serving player calls “Up” and the receiver calls “Down.” A game requires winning three consecutive points, with five-game sets and best-of-three matches designed to compress drama into short bursts.

How Stakes Scoring Works (Simple Version)

• Each game is won by taking three consecutive points.
• Sets are typically first to five games.
• Matches are commonly best-of-three sets.

And here’s the twist that creates the pressure spikes: if a player reaches two points and fails to close, “game point” flips to the opponent immediately, even if they were sitting at zero. That transfer mechanic is why the format creates comebacks, collapses, and huge reactions on a small footprint.

As a coach lens (even without playing Typti yet): this kind of scoring changes shot selection. People stop building points. They start chasing closures. That’s fun when your nervous system is calm, and it’s chaos when your nervous system is fried.

If you’ve ever watched your shot selection fall apart under pressure, that’s the same pattern we talk about in our mindset training, because scoring systems don’t just count points, they change behavior.

PickleTip insight: scoring shapes behavior. Typti’s scoring rewards emotional control as much as physical skill because every mini-run becomes a win condition.

Stakes Scoring doesn’t just count points, it manufactures pressure.

How do you win a game in Typti?
You win a game by winning three points in a row. Sets are typically first to five games, and matches are usually best of three sets.

The Pro Push: Typti Wants Legitimacy Now

Typti is using prize money and structured events to move fast from “new sport” to “competitive ecosystem.” This is where the announcement becomes real for club owners, competitive athletes, and anyone who watches how sports grow.

Typti’s Early Growth Plan

• Feb 25, 2026: National circuit begins (Calabasas Pickleball Club)
• Year 1: At least $500,000 in prize money events
• Year 2: Targeting $1,000,000+ in prize money with an “integrated draw” pathway

The competitive circuit is scheduled to begin with an event on February 25 at the Calabasas Pickleball Club. The pro division is framed around six-figure prize pools early, with at least $500,000 in prize money events in year one, and a plan for year two to exceed $1,000,000 with an integrated draw that lets players participate locally and progress into bigger events.

Prize money doesn’t guarantee a sport survives, but it guarantees people pay attention long enough to find out. The real tell won’t be prize money, it’ll be whether amateurs train for it and whether leagues stay full after the novelty fades.

Translation for operators: if your league night is full, Typti is coming for your empty hours, not your prime time.

Typti has also announced partnerships with coaching and collegiate organizations, including the Racquet Sports Professional Association (described as having over 14,000 teaching pros) and an agreement with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for a prize-money collegiate championship.

Venue implication: A circuit with money behind it gives facilities a ready-made reason to run leagues, clinics, and “feed-in” events, because players now have something to train toward.

PickleTip insight: tournament structure is the difference between “something you try” and “something you train for.” The moment players train for it, the sport becomes sticky.

Why This Is Happening To Pickleball, Not Tennis (And What It Means Next)

Typti is happening to pickleball because pickleball solved distribution, and now every new racquet sport wants access to that solved problem. Typti isn’t launching “into racquet sports.” It’s launching into pickleball’s footprint.

Pickleball’s standardized court is what basketball’s hoop is: a fixed object you can build multiple games around.

Pickleball created the conditions for this moment:

• A nationwide map of standardized courts
• Clubs hungry for programming that fills time slots
• Players already trained to accept new formats and new equipment
• A culture that spreads sports socially, not just competitively

The more pickleball succeeds, the more “pickleball-adjacent” sports you will see trying to borrow court time, attention, and identity.

PickleTip insight: This doesn’t weaken pickleball. It proves pickleball’s dominance as infrastructure. The court is the platform now.

Pickleball didn’t just create a sport, it created the stage where other sports now audition.

And yes, tennis facilities could theoretically adopt Typti too. But pickleball has the standardized footprint, the club network momentum, and the social discovery behavior that makes “try a new sport” feel normal. That’s why this launch is happening here.

What I Expect You’ll See At Real Clubs (And The 3 Frictions That Decide Adoption)

The first week Typti shows up at a busy facility, the rallies will sell the sport faster than any marketing ever could. Tennis folks will recognize the bounce and spin immediately. Pickleball players will recognize the smaller court chaos and the quick pressure swings. Some people will get hooked fast. Others will bounce because the rules feel unfamiliar and the point flow doesn’t “behave” like pickleball.

But the real question won’t be “Is it fun?” The question will be: can a facility run it without starting a civil war over court time?

The 3 Adoption Frictions Every Club Will Run Into

• Court priority: Does Typti get its own reserved block (league night / clinic), or does it try to blend into open play and compete with pickleball’s core users?
• Reservations: Do players book it like a class/event (clean scheduling), or does it turn into “show up and claim a court” chaos that sparks arguments in the lobby?
• Prime time acceptance: Is Typti allowed during peak hours, or does it get pushed to off-peak slots where only die-hards will show up?

Operator tip: Typti will work best as scheduled programming (league night, clinic, event) with a defined start/end time: Not as a random open play takeover that forces pickleball regulars to “give up courts” in real time.

Translation: If a club wants Typti to grow, it has to decide what it is operationally: a weekly program people can count on, or a novelty that floats around until someone gets annoyed enough to shut it down.

Frequently Asked Questions

*Typti has not yet published an official long-term standard format; expect clubs to choose what fits programming.

What To Watch Next: The Signals That Tell You If Typti Can Really Grow

You don’t have to crown it or clown it yet. The next 90 days will tell us whether this thing is just loud… or actually getting scheduled.

If Typti grows, it will grow the same way pickleball did: recurring programming blocks first, culture second, identity last.

• Facility scheduling: Does Typti earn consistent time slots without creating court drama?
• Repeat play: Do people come back weekly, or does it stay a “try it once” novelty?
• Circuit follow-through: Does the February 25 event launch cleanly and expand quickly?
• Gear adoption: Do multiple brands enter the new sport beyond OLO?
• Community buy-in: Do tennis players show up, and do pickleball players stay curious instead of defensive?

Look for recurring league nights and coach certification programs.

Update: What Typti.com Clarified After Launch

Update (from Typti.com): After digging into Typti’s official site (not just the launch coverage), the sport gets a lot more specific, especially around how the serve works, how wild the net rebound rule actually is, and what the first “official” racquet is built to do.

Why this update matters: This is the sport explaining itself in its own words, rules, mechanics, and gear details that weren’t fully clear from the initial rollout.

The Serve Format Is More Structured Than Most People Realize

Typti’s official rules confirm the serve is intentionally built to start points clean and reduce instant point-ending power. The biggest detail: it’s not just “restricted”… it’s procedural.

• Contact must be below the belly button (off the bounce or out of the air)
• One serve per point with no lets (net contact does not stop play)
• Serve + return must bounce before volleying is allowed
• The server serves the entire game and begins on the deuce court
• “1” points (1-Up / 1-Down) are served from the add court
• “2” points (2-Up / 2-Down) are served from the deuce court

Translation: Typti is designing the beginning of each point to be predictable… so the chaos can happen after the rally starts.

The Net Rebound Rule Is Even Wilder Than the Headlines

On Typti.com, the net rebound concept isn’t a vague gimmick, it’s a named mechanic with a very specific limitation: you can save a ball you hit into the net, but not with the string bed.

If you net the ball, you’re allowed to re-strike it one additional time using anything that isn’t your strings: hand, foot, face, chest, handle, frame edge, whatever works. If the ball touches the string bed during the save attempt, you lose the point.

This is the real scroll-stopper: Typti is intentionally turning “dead points” into scramble points. It’s built to manufacture highlight moments, not eliminate them.

Yes, Body Strikes Are Legal (And It Explains That “Hand Hit” Clip)

Typti’s official rules also confirm something most people assume is fake the first time they see it: you can strike the ball with any body part. Hand, foot, face… it’s all legal.

And that’s why those clips look like “pickleball meets volleyball meets chaos.” The sport is deliberately expanding what counts as a playable save.

The First “Official” Racquet Has Real Specs (OLO da Vinci)

Typti also publishes legit detail on the first mass-produced Typti racquet: the OLO da Vinci. The design goal is obvious: spin + speed, without making the racquet hard to maintain or string.

• 26mm beam
• 10 x 11 string pattern
• 260g weight
• 305mm balance point
• Head heavy feel (their positioning: “baseline rippers dream”)

One detail that jumped out: Typti says the pattern is efficient enough that two sets of tennis string can string three Typti racquets, and that stringing can be done quickly due to placement markers and simplified weave.

Translation: the sport isn’t only designing for players, it’s designing for facilities and volume.

My take: The official rules make Typti feel less like “a new version of something” and more like a sport engineered for a specific outcome: clean starts, chaotic saves, and highlight-driven rallies, without needing a larger court.

Final thought: Typti isn’t asking the world to build new courts. It’s asking the world to use the courts it already built.

Try Typti Like An Optimist, Not Like A Pickleball Purist

If Typti shows up at your facility, test it like a training session and measure what changes in your decision-making and error rate.

Try It Like a Pro (Simple Test)

• Track unforced errors for the first 10 minutes
• Notice if spin reads earlier than pickleball (and if you react faster)
• Watch how Stakes Scoring changes decisions (do you rush at “two in a row”?)
• Decide if it’s fun weekly, not fun once

Worst case: you learn something about your hands, your instincts, and your tolerance for chaos.

You don’t need to declare it “the future” or “a gimmick.” Give it one honest session and see what it does to your instincts.

For daily news update of this new sport being played on pickleball courts see our Typti News.