Paddle War was first conceptualized in 2022 by Shelly Jones and Oakley Foy as a spin-off of their tennis tournament company, Racquet War. As they witnessed a trend at the resorts where they host tournaments, more and more tennis courts were being converted to pickleball courts. Not only were there more and more participants, the pros they worked closely with were also starting to rave about the game. They decided to see what all the hype was about. They entered their first tournament in Colorado. “It was so poorly run, yet the participants just loved every minute of it. We knew we had a kind audience that deserved a better experience,” Oakley Foy.