What’s a Pickleball Tournament Like?

Road trip to Beer City Open in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Grand Rapids, MI - July 9, 2021 – I headed north to Pure Michigan for an adventure away from very hot and sunny Florida in July and discovered a Pickleball Tournament in Grand Rapids. I had to hit the brakes and stop in at the Beer City Open to see what an Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) tournament looked like.

Check-in tent.

In ways it was like any other sporting event with an organized check-in tent where you pick up your swag bag and a t-shirt along with a schedule and court assignments. There were sponsor banners all around, food trucks, first aid, and some vendors with gear and clothing for sale.

Being new, it was a bit overwhelming with many courts and sections going on for players 3.5 ratings and above and all age brackets. The sport has really boomed with many young competitors as well as plenty of tennis players who have joined in. Players were talking about how the tournament filled up in just 3 hours after the entries opened.

Melody Woodsum, referee and tournament player.

Divisions included Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. I was lucky to run into Melody Woodsum, a player and a referee, who is the mom of an equestrian friend of mine from Illinois. She had a few minutes between games to give me the scoop.

This tournament was run as a Double Elimination with a Consolation Bracket, which means that if a player/team loses, they will fall to a consolation bracket, where they continue to play until the player/team loses for a second time. The best a player/team from the consolation bracket can do is bronze or third place. Only the players/teams remaining in the winner’s bracket will play for gold/silver or first/second place. All games must be won by two points.

Matches are the best two out of three games that are played to the score of 11 with players changing sides at six. The consolation match is played to 15, changing sides when the score reaches eight.

Numerous courts hosted the division matches.

It was great to wander around and watch singles and doubles matches. The schedule and results were clearly posted on the pickleballtournaments.com website under the event. Of course, the highlight for players was the medal presentation for each division to honor the winners. Players declared as professionals earn prize money as well with the amount depending on whether it’s a Tier 1 (over $50,000) or Tier 2 event ($49,000 and under). Beer City Open is a Tier 2 event.

One of many medal presentations.

It was great fun to watch the matches and maybe even an inspiration to up my game to play in a tournament someday. There are leagues and unsanctioned tournaments to enter as well for lower level players just getting started. I’m sure I’ll head for some of those before taking on the big league!

You can watch the Beer City Open tournament live on APPtour.org July 9-11, 2021.

Official USA Pickleball rules can be found at USApickleball.org.

Until the next adventure, keep on playing!

Game on!