Update March 16, 2020 (11:30am PT)

As USAPA continues to monitor the national emergency over the coronavirus pandemic, effective immediately USAPA is suspending USAPA sanctioning of existing pickleball tournaments through April 15, 2020. The health and safety of all is our foremost concern. The complete list of USAPA sanctioned tournaments during this period is located at the end of this statement.

The events listed below are owned and managed by third-party tournament organizers who have received USAPA tournament sanctioning. We are doing our best to keep communication open and current with these sanctioned tournament organizers. While the USAPA is withdrawing official sanctioning of these tournaments, the decision to postpone, cancel, or proceed with the tournaments in a “non-sanctioned mode” is determined at the discretion of the tournament director and their leadership team.

Despite the suspension of USAPA sanctioning, tournament directors are encouraged to follow the recommendations and mandates of local health and government officials and take the health and safety of all players and tournament personnel into consideration.  We encourage everyone to err on the side of caution and cancel or postpone their tournaments and events for at least the next 30 days. For additional information about the below tournaments and all other USAPA sanctioned tournaments, please visit www.PickleballTournaments.com

The next scheduled USAPA Regional Championship is the Mountain Regional, May 22-27, followed by the USA Pickleball National Indoor Championships, June 9-13. These two events, as well as all remaining Regional Championships and the National Championships in Indian Wells, CA, remain scheduled as planned. We will be closely monitoring the coronavirus situation and make sanctioning and scheduling determinations as more information on the crisis becomes available.

Please bookmark this page and check back regularly, the USAPA will be updating this page on our website as developments unfold: https://www.usapa.org/usa-pickleball-statement-on-the-coronavirus/

We appreciate your patience and understanding.

USAPA SANCTIONED TOURNAMENTS WITH SUSPENDED SANCTIONING

Vero Beach Championship – Vero Beach, FL: March 14 – March 17

Sunshine Sizzler at Kings Point – Sun City Center, FL: March 16 – March 19

Hilton Head Pickleball Open – Hilton Head Island, SC: March 19 – March 22 (Rescheduled – see below)

PicklePlex Grand Slam – Punta Gorda, FL: March 21 – March 24

Southern Utah Pickleball Shootout – St George, UT: March 25 – March 28

Orange County Spring Games – Anaheim, CA: March 27 – March 29 (Rescheduled – see below)

2020 Zin 2 Win at the Templeton Tennis Ranch – Templeton, CA: March 27 – March 29 (Rescheduled – see below)

Simi Valley Town Crown – Simi Valley, CA: March 27 – March 29

MS Charity – Surprise, AZ: March 27 – March 29

Medgroup Pickleball Tournament – Swartz Creek, MI: March 28 – March 29

Texas Senior Games – Universal City, TX: March 31 – April 2

Encanterra Pickleball Tournament – San Tan Valley, AZ: April 2 – April 5

2nd Annual Wickenburg Ranch Pickleball Tournament – Wickenburg, AZ: April 3 – April 5 (Rescheduled – see below)

South Florida Open – Plantation, FL: April 3 – April 5

West Coast Classic – Santa Monica, CA: April 3 – April 5

2nd Annual Spring Heater 2020 – Santee, CA: April 3 – April 6

Pinnacle Pickleball Championship – Benton, AR: April 3 – April 5 (Rescheduled – see below)

The 3rd Annual Aaron Gifford Pickleball Benefit Tournament – Las Cruces, NM: April 4 – April 5

Horseshoe Bay Resort Senior Spring Championship – Horseshoe Bay, TX: April 7 – April 9 (Rescheduled – see below)

Riverside Court Club Smash – Kennewick, WA: April 10 – April 11

USAPA SANCTIONED TOURNAMENTS – Originally Scheduled through April 15, 2020, Rescheduled with New Dates and Sanctioned

2020 Zin 2 Win at the Templeton Tennis Ranch – Templeton, CA: April 29 – May 4

Horseshoe Bay Resort Senior Spring Championship – Horseshoe Bay, TX: June 3 – June 5

Orange County Spring Games – Anaheim, CA: August 14 – August 16

2nd Annual Wickenburg Ranch Pickleball Tournament – Wickenburg, AZ: October 2 – October 4

Pinnacle Pickleball Championship – Benton, AR: October 2 – October 4

Hilton Head Pickleball Open – Hilton Head Island, SC: October 22 – October 25

For all the latest updates, please visit www.PickleballTournaments.com. We will update the above listed sanctioned tournaments as information is received. Thank you once again for your patience and understanding.

Justin Maloof
Executive Director, USAPA

For Better or For Worse: Playing Pickleball with Your Spouse

January 30, 2020

By Jennifer & Clayton Edwards, GAMMA Contracted Players

Whenever I (Jennifer) ask people if they play mixed doubles with their spouse, the usual response I get is a chuckle and something on the lines of “It’s best if we want to stay married that we don’t.”  They are usually surprised when they find out Clayton and I are married and are playing together.

Clayton and I are unique as we both grew up playing competitive tennis, so transitioning to pickleball was pretty easy.  Clayton introduced me to pickleball when we first dating in October 2015, and a married couple was the first ones that played with us – so we thought it was normal for a husband/wife team to be playing together.

The beginning of our relationship on the pickleball court was challenging – I didn’t understand why Clayton wanted to be on my side of the court and take my shots.  But now that we have been playing at a higher competitive level, I just stay out of the way and just do my job – dink and set up the points.

Photo Credit: Jeff Arnett

Playing together is not always easy, but it has been rewarding and has strengthened our relationship.  We enjoy getting to compete and travel together for tournaments. Also, it is nice having a forever mixed doubles and practice partner.

Playing with your spouse may not be for everyone, but for those who do, here are some tips we wanted to share.

5 Tips Playing Pickleball with your Spouse

1. Start each game with a sign of affection. We start off before each match with a hug. If you’re less socially inhibited or want to psych out of your opponents, you can go in for a big sloppy kiss.
2. Take Time Outs. If one or both of you start getting mad, take a time out.
3. Most teams will try to pick on one player.  Make a game plan of stacking or when to poach to help avoid a player being isolated.
4. Even just 1 day a week can improve your game significantly. Practice dinking, 3rd shot drops, or where else you think you need work.  Make a dinking game with a friendly wager.
5. Remember it’s just Pickleball. Even at a tournament, it’s still a silly game with a silly name.  Remember that your partner is your spouse that you love and you must spend time with after the game.  Often the best parts of pickleball tournaments are the time off the court, meeting friends and travelling to new places together.

Pickleball Code of Conduct

Every person involved in pickleball (participant, official, volunteer, or representative of the USAPA & GOPB or spectator) pledges as follows:

1. I will not engage in unsportsmanlike conduct or encourage others to do so.
2. I will not engage in any behavior that would endanger the health, safety or wellbeing of others.
3. I will not engage in the use of profanity.
4. I will treat others with respect.
5. I will exhibit fairness and honesty in my dealings with others.
6. I will not flaunt my position.
7. I will not use USAPA records or materials for personal gain.
8. I will observe the Golden Rule of doing unto others as I would have them do unto me.

The above Code applies in all situations that relate directly or indirectly to pickleball play.