I have been shuttling my kids to tennis tournaments for the past 10+ years so I was intrigued by the opportunity to actually play in a tournament myself. There is a pickleball tournament most every weekend somewhere in the country and here in Arizona where I live, I found one on the calendar and I decided to play. I want to share what it was like to find and play in a local pickleball tournament for those who also have the goal to play some competitive matches as their pickleball skills improve.
How to Find a Pickleball Tournament Near You
Over the summer I attended a pickleball tournament near me to watch the players play and to gauge if I was at a level where I could compete. I felt I would be fine since I am like a lot of other pickleball players in that I have years of experience playing tennis, and if nothing else I am a step ahead of some of the beginner players. At least that was my way of thinking.
While at the tournament I stopped by the registration desk and asked the person at the desk how the pickleball tournament process worked. He explained how the tournament process works and how to go about finding, registering, and playing in my very first tournament. I wasn’t aware at the time that there are quite a few pickleball tournaments in Arizona, I just needed some direction on how to find them.
The nice thing about the tournaments that are held is that there are competition brackets for most every skill level that cover a wide range of age groups. Tennis tournaments are normally either adult or junior tournaments, while pickleball tournaments have brackets for both juniors and adults in the same tournament. The tournament I played in had brackets for those under 18, and several adult competition brackets divided up by age ranges.
To find most pickleball tournaments near you, visit the website pickleballtournaments.com and perform a search for pickleball tournaments near you. This is how I found the pickleball tournament that I played in and this is where you can start the process. I didn’t know just how many Arizona pickleball tournaments there were until I got on that website and started checking upcoming tournaments around Phoenix and other areas of the state.
The tournament I played in was a legacy pickleball tournament played at the Legacy Bell Bank Sports Park in Mesa, Arizona. There were over 100 participants in the 2-day tournament, and it was a fun experience for my first time playing.
Over the summer I attended a pickleball tournament near me to watch the players play and to gauge if I was at a level where I could compete. I felt I would be fine since I am like a lot of other pickleball players in that I have years of experience playing tennis, and if nothing else I am a step ahead of some of the beginner players. At least that was my way of thinking.
While at the tournament I stopped by the registration desk and asked the person at the desk how the pickleball tournament process worked. He explained how the tournament process works and how to go about finding, registering, and playing in my very first tournament. I wasn’t aware at the time that there are quite a few pickleball tournaments in Arizona, I just needed some direction on how to find them.
The nice thing about the tournaments that are held is that there are competition brackets for most every skill level that cover a wide range of age groups. Tennis tournaments are normally either adult or junior tournaments, while pickleball tournaments have brackets for both juniors and adults in the same tournament. The tournament I played in had brackets for those under 18, and several adult competition brackets divided up by age ranges.
To find most pickleball tournaments near you, visit the website pickleballtournaments.com and perform a search for pickleball tournaments near you. This is how I found the pickleball tournament that I played in and this is where you can start the process. I didn’t know just how many Arizona pickleball tournaments there were until I got on that website and started checking upcoming tournaments around Phoenix and other areas of the state.
The tournament I played in was a legacy pickleball tournament played at the Legacy Bell Bank Sports Park in Mesa, Arizona. There were over 100 participants in the 2-day tournament, and it was a fun experience for my first time playing.
How Does a Pickleball Tournament Work?
We arrived to our legacy pickleball tournament early so we could complete the check in process early and find an open court to warm up and practice before our first match. The check in process was efficient and the small line that had formed early in the morning moved quickly. We checked in, collected our tournament t-shirt that was part of our registration fee and headed to an open court to warm up.
I played in the Men’s Doubles division with my partner and each of us paid a registration fee of $90 per player to play in this tournament which I thought was pretty steep. For comparison, tennis tournaments only cost about $35 per player for USTA Junior tournaments and not more than $50 per tournament normally for an adult tennis tournament.
I thought the fee was pretty steep, but we played anyway because I wanted to see what the experience was like. The Legacy Sports facility in Mesa, Arizona is one of the largest amateur sports facilities in the country and includes 41 pickleball courts on their sports facilities campus. This facility is rather new so I understand it costs money to run a large sports complex, but $90 per player for a pickleball tournament is not sustainable even though more than 100 players paid the fee for this tournament.
The tournament was very organized and well run and I like that they had music playing over the loud speaker which gave the tournament a “young and fun” vibe for the players.
As the 8:00 a.m. tournament start time approached we received a text to our phones noting that we needed to report to our court to prepare for our first match. This was the process throughout the day, each time a new match started players would receive a text to their phone to let them know where to go next to play which I thought was quite efficient.
How Many Games are in a Pickleball Set?
The tournament scoring was pretty straight forward with each team playing their opponent in a pickleball set. A pickleball set consists of three games played up to 11 points and requiring the winner of the game to win by two points. So for example, if the game is tied at 10-10, the winner would need to win 12 – 10 to win that game. The winner of the set has to win 2 out of 3 games.
We moved from court to court as the tournament progressed to play our new opponent and each pickleball set had a referee on court to officiate the match. He or she called serve faults or foot faults in “the kitchen” and the players called lines on the main perimeter of the court. The server was not allowed to serve until the referee said the score before each point.
I thought that was a fun touch since most tennis tournaments don’t have a chair umpire for each match. All tournament registrants paid a $15 referee fee as part of their tournament registration to play in the tournament.
How Do You Prepare for your First Pickleball Tournament?
You have been playing pickleball regularly with your group and now you want to test your skills against a higher level of competition in a tournament setting. Congratulations on getting your skills to the level where you are ready to play tournaments and compete against other pickleball players.
Knowing that you are ready to compete on the court, how do you prepare for your first pickleball tournament and know what to bring with you on tournament day? Having participated in tennis tournaments for over 10 years, and now with my first pickleball tournament under my belt, I can give you some tips that have worked well over the years.
On tournament day, start the morning right by eating a good, nutritious breakfast to give your body a good start. I like to eat scrambled eggs since that is a great source of protein for an athlete to start their day.
It’s hot here in Arizona for half the year so I try to hydrate well and at a steady rate all day both before and during the tournament. I start drinking water and hydrating 30 minutes to an hour before a tournament starts to prepare the body for play that day.
Pack your pickleball bag with at least two paddles that are USA Pickleball approved paddles because the referee will inspect all paddles before the match starts.
Bring some pickleballs with you to warm up with before play begins. The tournament will select which ball they will use for actual play, so we just warmed up with whatever outdoor balls we had in our bag.
Wear comfortable court shoes as you will play quite a few games on tournament day, so you want to be sure the shoes you choose are comfortable for extended play. I had an extra pair of tennis and pickleball court shoes in the car in case I needed to change at some point during the day.
I also bring an extra shirt to change into once play is done. You will be playing multiple games and you will sweat quite a bit. For me, it is always nice to have a clean and dry shirt to change in to for the ride home once play is done. Who likes to sit in sweaty clothes for any longer than you have to once play has been completed.
Bring plenty of water and hydrate continuously so you stay ready. I always bring healthy snacks to tournaments which may be granola bars or my favorite tournament snack which is a banana. You may be aware that a banana is a favorite match day snack for tennis players because they are a healthy source of carbohydrates, potassium, and vitamins and minerals. I recommend packing a banana with you to snack on in between pickleball sets for a quick pick me up.
Most tournaments will be outdoors so make sure to apply sunscreen before you hit the court to protect your skin from any harmful rays. And if you will be out at the tournament for most of the day, try to apply multiple times to maintain the sunscreen coverage throughout the tournament.
The last thing I try to bring with me is a chair so either myself or a family member has a place to sit near the court where our family member is playing. The outer courts at a tournament aren’t designed for spectator seating so “bring your own” is the solution to solve this problem.
Good luck to you on your tournament day, let me know in the comments how your first tournament went and how you did. I would love to share some of our pickleball and tennis journeys with each other.