For most people, pickleball is a game measured in points and matches. For Tom Cunningham, it’s measured in endurance.

The two-time Emmy Award-winning television producer, whose credits include The Amazing Race, On Patrol: Live, Undercover Boss, COPS, and more than two decades producing some of television’s most physically demanding reality programming, is introducing what he believes is a new discipline within the fastest-growing sport in America.

It’s called Relentless Rally.

“I’m not trying to reinvent pickleball,” Cunningham said. “I’m trying to establish a new discipline. Endurance pickleball opens the door for another segment of the population that may never have considered playing the sport before. People who are drawn to endurance challenges now have a place in pickleball where they feel like they belong.”

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That philosophy was on full display during Rumble at the River, Relentless Rally’s inaugural event held on July 4 at Toledo Pickle Co. in Toledo, Ohio. Unlike a traditional doubles tournament, Relentless Rally transforms the game into a team competition where strategy, teamwork and endurance become just as important as athletic ability.

Teams of four battle through multiple phases of competition. While the format includes round-robin play and bracket competition familiar to experienced players, Cunningham has also incorporated elements inspired by reality television. Teams survive each phase together, but success comes with difficult decisions. Strong performances earn advantages, struggling teams face setbacks, and eliminated teammates can fight their way back into the tournament.

The format creates constant drama without changing the game itself.

“The rules of pickleball don’t change,” Cunningham explained. “What changes is the environment around it. Every point matters because every point can affect your team’s future.”

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For Cunningham, endurance has been the common thread throughout his life.

Growing up in the 1970s and ’80s, he was fascinated by people who refused to quit.

“As a Generation Xer, we grew up admiring people like Evel Knievel,” he said. “He would attempt something impossible, crash spectacularly, recover, and then come back and try it again. That idea of resilience stayed with me.”

His own athletic career reinforced those lessons. Cunningham competed in cross country and track before entering television, where he quickly developed a reputation for handling physically demanding productions.

While filming Expedition Impossible, he famously outran a group of camels during a six-mile sequence, capturing the footage while staying ahead of the contestants. Later, he even organized an eight-mile race against a horse, with the horse carrying a rider while Cunningham competed entirely on foot, to explore the limits of human endurance.

His work has also taken him around the world, including assignments in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and other challenging environments.

During the production of Glory Hounds for Animal Planet, Cunningham spent weeks embedded with a Marine Corps working dog team, filming patrols through areas threatened by improvised explosive devices.

“Those experiences taught me that endurance isn’t just physical,” he said. “It’s mental. It’s emotional. Most people think they’re empty when they’re really not. I honestly believe that when someone feels they’ve reached their limit, there’s usually another 15 or 20 percent still left inside them.”

That belief ultimately became the foundation of Relentless Rally.

The tournament isn’t simply about surviving longer than the competition. It’s about discovering what teammates can accomplish together.

Unlike traditional pickleball tournaments that focus primarily on doubles partners, Relentless Rally emphasizes the success of an entire team. Stronger players mentor developing players. Every member contributes. Every teammate matters.

“The team aspect is what makes this special,” Cunningham said. “It’s amazing to watch players encouraging each other, making strategic decisions together, celebrating together and overcoming adversity together. It becomes bigger than just one match.”

One of the biggest surprises from the inaugural event came from the player feedback.

Competitor Bree, an ultramarathon runner, immediately connected with the endurance concept.

“She told me that anything involving endurance is exactly what she’s looking for,” Cunningham said. “That was really validating because that’s the audience I hoped we would reach.”

Another competitor, Aaron, walked off the court after nearly six hours of play with a smile.

“He looked at me and said, ‘I could go another six hours.’”

Perhaps the most meaningful feedback came from Sarah, a player whose team was eliminated earlier than expected.

Rather than focusing on the loss, Sarah appreciated the opportunity to compete alongside and against players with significantly more experience.

Cunningham believes that’s one of Relentless Rally’s greatest strengths.

“I learned from my father that if you want to improve, you have to compete against people who are better than you,” he said. “That’s how you grow. Relentless Rally naturally creates opportunities for different skill levels to play together. Better players elevate newer players, and newer players become more confident because they’re part of the experience. It’s one of the most rewarding things we’ve seen.”

Cunningham also believes his television background allows Relentless Rally to deliver something beyond competition.

Every tournament is designed to feel like an event.

Professional lighting, music, custom graphics, live announcing and original branding combine to create an atmosphere that is as entertaining for spectators as it is rewarding for players.

His long-term vision is for every host city to put its own unique stamp on the tournament while preserving the Relentless Rally identity.

“I want every city to have its own personality,” he said. “Different cities. Different challenges. Different prize purses. One Relentless Standard.”

Following the success of Rumble at the River, Cunningham is already planning future events and believes the format has the flexibility to grow into four-hour, eight-hour, twelve-hour and eventually twenty-four-hour endurance competitions.

“We’re building something that celebrates the human spirit,” he said. “Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced player, whether you’re playing your first tournament or your hundredth, everyone reaches a point where they have to decide if they’re willing to keep going.”

For Cunningham, that’s what Relentless Rally has always been about.

Not simply winning.

But discovering how much more is left when you think you’ve reached your limit.

Endurance Lives Here.

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