March 25, 2024 (Raleigh, N.C.) – North Carolina’s brightest sports stars will compete in the fastest-growing sport in the country at the North Carolina Pickleball Pro-Am on Saturday, April 6 from 2-3pm ET at Cary Tennis Park. Tickets for the Pro-Am are available at ppatour.com and TIXR.
Carolina Hurricanes Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour and former players Cam Ward and Justin Williams will join UNC Basketball Legend Tyler Hansbrough, Tennis and Pickleball Stars Genie Bouchard and Jack Sock and other top PPA Tour pros in the exhibition, which will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime Video.
“Raleigh is a passionate sports community that will be a great host for a professional pickleball event,” said Brind’Amour. “I’m excited to compete against some legendary North Carolina athletes including some of my former teammates, and to measure our skills against the pros.”
- Rod Brind’Amour has served as the Hurricanes’ head coach since 2018-19. He became the first head coach in franchise history to win the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s Coach of the Year. Brind’Amour appeared in 1,484 NHL games over the course of a lengthy playing career that spanned 20 seasons, captaining the Hurricanes to the 2006 Stanley Cup championship.
- Cam Ward won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP during the Hurricanes’ memorable championship run in 2006. He became just the fourth rookie to capture the Conn Smythe, joining fellow goaltenders Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy and Ron Hextall. Ward appeared in 668 games over 13 seasons with Carolina, posting a 2.70 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage along the way.
- Justin Williams is a three-time Stanley Cup Champion, winning titles with Carolina in 2006 and Los Angeles in 2012 and 2014. A former Hurricanes captain, Williams recorded 15 points (7g, 8a) in nine career Game 7s, which is the most career Game 7 points by any player in NHL history. He played 449 of his 1,264 career NHL games with Carolina, and now serves as special advisor to Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell.
- Tyler Hansbrough is a UNC Basketball legend – an NCAA Champion, NCAA Player of the Year and 3x First-Team All-American. He brought his immense talent to the NBA, playing seven seasons. Now a broadcaster, Tyler frequently plays in high-level divisions in PPA Tour events.
- Jack Sock is an Olympic Tennis Gold and Bronze Medalist, two-time Wimbledon Doubles Champion, US Open Doubles Champion, ATP Tour Top 10 in singles and doubles and now a pickleball champion on the PPA Tour.
- Genie Bouchard reached a career-high Women’s Tennis Association ranking of No.5 in the world in 2014, following her run to the Wimbledon Final, becoming the first Canadian to reach a Slam final and the Top 5. She now splits time on the PPA Tour and WTA.
The event comes on Semifinal Saturday of the Fanatics Sportsbook North Carolina Cup, a prime stop on the Carvana PPA Tour. The North Carolina Cup, which also takes place at Cary Tennis Park from April 1-7, will feature the best pickleball players in the world including PPA Tour World No.1s Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters and tennis champions Jack Sock and Genie Bouchard.
Additionally, pickleball fans from across the area can sign up to “Play Where the Pros Play” in the amateur competition across a range of age and skill levels.
Tickets and registration are available at ppatour.com. Broadcast coverage of the Fanatics Sportsbook North Carolina Cup will be hosted across Amazon Prime Video, ESPN2 and PickleballTV.