Karen Nettleton

Karen’s unique talents and skills will support Kingdom Franchisees by providing leadership and guidance throughout the development process for each club.  Karen understands the entrepreneurial nature of the franchise community as well as the thirst for guidance and direction.  

As a Marine Corps veteran and subsequently, decades of working with renowned companies like Cold Stone Creamery, Starbucks Coffee, and Massage Envy, Karen has vast experience and a passion for developing systems and processes in the architecture and construction world, more specifically, how these relate to franchising.  

Having worked as a franchisor, a franchisee, and a vendor, Karen brings a depth of experience and a passion for staying abreast of the latest construction trends and technological advances.  

Karen Nettleton

Ace Rodrigues

Founder and CEO

When asked how he came up with the concept of Pickleball Kingdom, Ace likes to say, “On a windy, dirty court while standing in the sun waiting to play on January 9, 2021, I said out loud, ‘There has to be a better way.’ And then God threw this lightning bolt of a mission into my heart that has lit my brain on fire, and it’s been blazing ever since.”  

And the pickleball world has been better for it. Ace’s past experiences founding companies, scaling growth, and creating support networks, primarily in the financial services and energy efficiency sectors, serves him well in setting the go-forward vision to build Pickleball Kingdom.   

Having developed and coined numerous concepts and phrases that are now industry standards, Ace’s innovative approach continues to craft the path for not only the Kingdom brand, but the greater indoor pickleball industry itself. The creation of “Pickleball Paddle Battle,” a competition reality show is one such example of Ace’s leading-edge thinking.  

Originally from Hawaii, Ace has been married to Tracy for over 30 years and they have 2 children and 2 grandchildren. Ace and Tracy love sports, movies, and eating out. 

What motivates him? “I’m the most blessed man on the planet. So, my drive is to create Kings and Queens of Kingdoms, which are our franchisees, first throughout America, then throughout the world.”