Rarely does a prestigious championship include a plethora of competitions and multiple championships, but that’s what makes pickleball tournaments so exciting. A look at the most prominent pickleball tournaments highlights what tournaments you should put on your to-do list.
U.S. Open Pickleball Championships
Every tournament-style sport has a US Open title that everyone strives to win, and pickleball is no different. In April, the US Open Pickleball Championships is a week-long affair in Naples, Florida, which many picklers consider the crown jewel of the beloved sport. After all, being able to say you are a US Open champion at anything would be awesome.
During this week-long, fun-filled foray, it’s a festival-like atmosphere for the fans as the best pickleball players battle it out. The US Open saw 3,000 players with paddles compete for various championships on the 64 courts, giving out over $100,000 altogether. The Johns men highlight the tournament, as Ben and his brother Colin won the men’s doubles championship. Ben added another victory to his legendary resume by winning the mixed doubles title with Simone Jardim.
USA Pickleball National Championships
The beautiful thing about pickleball tournaments is the number of people and matches that happen over nine days. During the 2022 National Championships, nearly 2,300 professional and amateur competitors duked it out throughout nearly 4,200 matches. With this type of nonstop action, it’s not surprising that over 5,550 fans witnessed the extravaganza in Indian Wells, CA, which is the largest crowd for any pickleball event ever.
The highlight of the week-plus-long event was that Anna Leigh Waters asserted herself as one of the game’s best players, taking home the triple crown. The 15-year-old Waters proved that it’s never too early to play this popular game, winning the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles championships.
IFB Bainbridge Cup
The concept of an international championship arose because of pickleball’s remarkable worldwide expansion in recent years. Pickleball has spread around the globe since 2010, with formal events happening in several countries across many continents.
The foundation of the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) was to coordinate and push the sport’s worldwide growth. Hence, they established the Bainbridge Cup, an international platform for the first intercontinental team tournament in pickleball. The 2022 Cup will be in Mumbai, India, in early December. Other hosts of the tournament include Spain, the United States, and Italy.
Learning about the most prominent pickleball tournaments helps you mark your calendar. There are thousands of picklers in these tournaments. Still, you could find yourself in the action if you pick up the paddle and get to work, which is something you cannot say in other sports.
