World Pickleball Record: Two Friends from Michigan Play 28 Hours Straight and Make History

Brad Haverkamp and Caleb Dang, two residents of Grand Rapids, Michigan, have officially broken the Guinness World Record for the longest singles pickleball marathon, after 28 hours of continuous play. An extraordinary achievement, fueled by resilience, friendship… and a worthy charitable cause.

A Guinness World Record Crushed by More Than Four Hours

On November 22, 2025, Brad Haverkamp and Caleb Dang will take to the court at the All In Pickleball Gym in Byron Center, Michigan, with a crazy goal: to break the Guinness World Record for the longest singles pickleball match.

For 28 consecutive hours , the two friends traded shots, smashes, and drops without ever truly stopping. The previous record, set by Matt Chambers and Alex Bean in November 2021 in Provo, Utah, was 24 hours and 13 minutes . Haverkamp and Dang shattered it by nearly four hours, an impressive margin that testifies to their determination.

It was in February 2026 that Guinness World Records officially validated their attempt, confirming that they now hold the title for the longest singles pickleball game ever played .

The Implacable Rules of Such a Record

Breaking a Guinness World Record for marathons is not simply a matter of physical endurance. The rules are strict and methodical:

• 5 minutes of break allowed per hour of play, this time can accumulate.
• Haverkamp and Dang adopted a rhythm of 3 hours of play, 15 minutes of break .
• Any breach of the break rules can invalidate the attempt (which happened to them during a first doubles attempt in November 2024).
• The entire session must be recorded in continuous video, with witnesses present at all times.

Caleb Dang describes these breaks as an illusion of rest: "By the time you change your shoes, go to the bathroom and stretch, you're already back on the court."

The Mental Hell of the 28 Hours

While the body can be conditioned to prolonged effort, it is the mind that quickly becomes the true adversary in this type of challenge.

Caleb Dang frankly admits: "At some point, your brain shuts down and you're on autopilot. I could just as easily have been unconscious for the middle 20 hours."

Brad Haverkamp, ​​on the other hand, approached the challenge with a different philosophy: "You plan, you prepare, you make sure you have food, you decide how to use your breaks, and then you keep going." This methodical approach allowed him to clearly prevail: he won 87 of the 141 games played during the 28 hours of play.

An Attempt Driven by a Moving Story

Beyond the sporting achievement, this record has a profoundly human dimension. Brad Haverkamp lost his daughter Olivia in 2020. In her memory, the Olivia Haverkamp Early Learning Center was founded. For this event, Brad chose to make a donation to Gift of Life Michigan, an organization dedicated to organ, eye, and tissue donation, for each of the 24 volunteers who contributed to the success of the attempt.

"When you lose someone you love, especially when they're young, you realize that tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. You want to use every day to do good," says Brad.

This charitable approach had already motivated their first aborted attempt in November 2024, during an event called "Paddles for a Purpose" .

A Path Strewn with Obstacles

This record wasn't broken on the first try. In November 2024 , Brad Haverkamp had already attempted to break the doubles record (a different category) with a team of four players, including Caleb Dang. After 14.5 hours of play at the All In Pickleball Gym, the team had to withdraw due to unintentional errors in managing breaks, a poorly enforced rule that invalidated their attempt.

This bitter disappointment paradoxically strengthened their motivation. They revised their approach, opted for the singles category, and returned more determined than ever.

Pickleball, a rapidly growing global sport

This record comes amid the explosive growth of pickleball worldwide. Born in 1965 in Seattle , the sport, a fusion of tennis, badminton and ping-pong played on a smaller court with a perforated ball, had approximately 22.7 million players in the United States by 2025 according to USA Pickleball.

The sport is also developing rapidly in the United Kingdom, India and Australia , and is breaking numerous Guinness World Records:

• Fastest service (man) : Zane Navratil with 112.65 km/h (September 2024).
• Fastest strike (female) : Elizabeth Pritchard with 94.95 km/h (January 2025).
• Most consecutive volleys in a team : 113 in one minute, by the Rossetti brothers (December 2025).

Key Takeaways

Much More Than a Record

28 hours of pickleball is not just an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. It's the story of two friends who transformed their passion into an act of generosity, their pain into strength, and their resilience into inspiration.

For Brad Haverkamp and Caleb Dang, that endless night at Byron Center will forever be etched in their memories as one of the best of their lives. And for pickleball, it perfectly symbolizes the global enthusiasm surrounding this decidedly unique sport.