Tennis Channel Founder Steve Bellamy Leads Iconic Investor Group to Launch New Racquet Sport TYPTI
The new sport debuts today with professional, amateur, collegiate, and
high school competitions, major partnerships, and a growing national infrastructure
TYPTI Founder Steve Bellamy
Check out the TYPTI website HERE
LOS ANGELES (Jan. 19, 2026) – Steve Bellamy, Chairman and CEO of TYPTI Inc., and founder of the Tennis Channel, announced today the launch of TYPTI, a new racquet sport played on a standard pickleball court with a 22-inch strung racquet, a 3.5-inch diameter channeled foam ball, and a new scoring system. TYPTI begins with a national circuit, major partnerships, and committed top players to grow the sport rapidly.
The all-skill level national competitive play circuit will begin with the first event on February 25 at the Calabasas Pickleball Club. The professional division will guarantee over $100,000 in total prize money with at least $500,000 of prize money events in year one. Year-two events will have over $1,000,000 in prize money featuring an integrated draw allowing players from all over the US to participate locally to start.
“We’re creating an infrastructure of tennis and pickleball clubs, entrepreneurs, family offices, racquet sport mavens and lovers, and cities who understand the economic impact of participatory sports,” Bellamy said. “We’re sanctioning tournaments and league teams, and looking for brands wanting to leverage sports to market their products. We’re also scouring the country for amazing players who can be the first generation of TYPTI stars. Basically, we’re building a really smart racquet sport and creating a community for the infrastructure.”
A mixture of badminton and tennis, the sport is nearly noiseless and easy on the body, with low shock at impact and no overhead serve. It’s incredibly easy for beginners and chess like for the pros. Most of all, it’s incredibly fun to play for all levels. With the explosion of pickleball courts across the country, TYPTI launches with tens of billions of dollars of infrastructure already in place for players to adopt and embrace the sport.
Anyone who has a pickleball court now has a TYPTI court. “TYPTI reminds me of snowboarding in 1986,” said Tony Robbins, No. 1 New York Times best-selling author, and the world‘s No. 1 life and business strategist. “Snowboarding exploded profits at ski resorts by adding a second use case to the mountain. That’s what TYPTI will do for pickleball clubs and tennis clubs with pickleball. And the accessibility is unparalleled. While it’s mind-blowing what the top players are doing with the ball, beginners can have great rallies in minutes. That’s not typical for racquet sports, where the barriers of entry prevent the majority from using them as a tool for physical fitness. TYPTI blows the doors off those barriers and will be an unparalleled tool for physical fitness and mental health.”
Added Bellamy: “I’ve spent my career helping racquet sports grow because they’re a powerful gift to society. Our goal is not to cannibalize other racquet sports like tennis and pickleball, but instead bring the 25 million former players in the U.S. who don’t play anymore back on the court. If they play TYPTI and then migrate to tennis, pickleball, badminton, table tennis or padel, then that will be a huge success for the entire industry.”
The new sport has inked a number of important partnerships with collegiate, racquet and coaching organizations, including the Racquet Sports Professional Association with over 14,000 teaching pros. “The initial response to TYPTI is VERY positive,” said Brian Dillman, RSPA CEO. “We hosted an introduction to TYPTI in Hawaii and then had a webinar to talk in more detail and our members were captivated. The connection to tennis, additional utilization for pickleball courts, reduced noise and the organization’s tenacity will entice many people to play. We have partnered with TYPTI and will be working to help market the sport and develop coaching models exclusive to RSPA members.”
There is also an agreement in place with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association to have a significant prize money collegiate championship. “We’re always looking for ways to enhance the lives of our student athletes,” said David Mullin, ITA CEO. “TYPTI will be a very smart option for some collegiate tennis players as the mechanics of the two sports are so similar.”
OLO brand racquets and balls are available at TYPTI.com with more brands coming shortly. “We’re happy to announce the redevelopment of a TYPTI Prince Precision Mono,” said Tim Puttock from Prince Tennis. “We love that they’re being managed with product and excited to be there near the ground floor.”
TYPTI is financed by many strategic investors including Tony Robbins, Drew Brees, Chris Pine, JJ Abrams, Bert Kreischer, Tiffany Haddish, Heather Mills, Kyle MacLachlan, Melissa Rivers, Giovanni Ribisi, Kenny Moore, Jen Prince, Nick Kyrgios, Milos Raonic, Prakash Amritraj, JT Mollner, Gil Henry, David Flaherty, Desiree Gruber, Andrew Segal, Barry Allen and Tony Pritzker to name but a sliver of the nearly 100 blue chip investors.
TYPTI (www.TYPTI.com) is a new racquet sport, played on a standard pickleball court with a 22-inch strung racquet, a 3.5-inch channeled foam ball, and a new scoring method that uniquely marries risk and reward. TYPTI is nearly noiseless, easy on the body as ball strikes are high, shock is low, and there is no overhead serve. It has its own governing body with amateur and professional tours.
Los Angeles · Milos Raonic · Nick Kyrgios · Steve Bellamy · TYPTI
Steve · January 21, 2026 at 4:25 pm
Seems a lot better for the ears. 🙂 Would prefer a longer racquet though.
Scoop Malinowski · January 21, 2026 at 7:36 pm
I love playing mini tennis and it’s a version of it. Tennis made a big mistake by not inventing a mini tennis game to combat pickleball early. Looking back, tennis has to know it blew it. Pickleball really is mini tennis with a different paddle. Now another threat has entered the scene to challenge pickles on their own courts, many of which are tennis courts with the added lines which I find distracting when I play tennis on a court with the pickle lines. This new game looks like pickleball without those noisy paddles. It really says something about the power of tennis with all these offshoot sports taking form. No other sport has as many spinoffs as tennis. Golf has nothing but mini golf.
Cory · January 22, 2026 at 10:32 am
What’s up with using your hand to volley a ball? That seems strange to me.