TC Founder Steve Bellamy Leads Investor Group Launching New Sport TYPTI

Entourage creator Doug Ellin, actresses Barbara Hershey and Donna Mills and TC founder Steve Bellamy (left to right) at launching of new racquet sport TYPTI.

By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Photo credit: TYPTI

Steve Bellamy has a vision for a new racquet sport.

Bellamy, founder of Tennis Channel, has created a new sport called TYPTI that combines elements of badminton, tennis and pickleball.

TYPTI is 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.

At a Los Angeles press conference, Bellamy announced the launch of the new sport as well as an established investor group.

“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.”

Steve Bellamy and actress Tiffany Haddish

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.

Here’s a description of the new sport from its news release:

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.

“I’ve spent my career helping racquet sports grow because they’re a powerful gift to society,” Bellamy said. “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.”

Organizers say TYPTI “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.”

TYPTI announced several high-profile 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.