How pickleball tournaments usually run
Most club and community tournaments are doubles, split into divisions by skill level or rating and often by gender and age: men's, women's and mixed. Pool play comes first, usually one game to 11 or 15 against every team in the pool, then the top teams move into a bracket played best two out of three to 11.
Ratings matter to players, so many events list a rating range for each division and check it when teams register. Others simply use self-rated skill levels like 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0.
Formats you can run
Every format uses the same registration, payment and live tournament page.
- Pool play, then single or double elimination brackets.
- Bracket only, with byes handled for any number of teams.
- Consolation brackets: a custom bracket lets you choose which teams play in it.
- MLP team format (Growth plan) for club team challenges.
Keeping courts moving
Each match has a court and a start time, and you can name courts the way your facility does. Auto-assign spreads bracket matches across your courts and won't schedule past your finish-by time.
If one court runs late, run auto-assign again: played matches stay where they are and the rest shift. Send a quick announcement to every player by email, or by text and push on plans that include them.