July 25 (Reuters) - Pickleball World Rankings (PWR) is launching a global ranking system similar to tennis for the popular paddle sport, along with a world tour and major tournaments like Grand Slams, PWR said at its launch event in Dubai.

The PWR World Series will kick off in March 2025 with a $1.5 million prize money for its Middle East stop, the PWR said in a statement. The PWR World Tour events, scheduled worldwide, will offer $15 million prize money.

"This is the highest prize money ever offered in the sport," PWR's CEO and founder Pranav Kohli said. "We are delighted to be the team taking pickleball to the next level both on and off the court."

Pickleball, a popular sport in the U.S., has seen an increasing international presence with Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) announcing last week that it would hold ranking events outside the country for the first time next year.

Pickleball was featured in the Miami Open in March. Major League Pickleball, a professional league where former NBA champion LeBron James is part of a team's ownership group, aims to have 40 million pickleball players by 2030.