CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES FAQ

  • a. A series of 6 local member-only tournaments held throughout the year designed to create fun, competitive outlets for our members.

    b. Each event is a qualifying tournament to get into the 7th event – the APC National Championship.

  • As a member at Ace Pickleball Club, there is no cost for you to participate in this event.

  • All players must have an active membership with APC both at Registration and continuously through the date of the APC Championship Series event they participate in.

    • Please note that Trial Members are not eligible to participate in APC Championship Series events.

  • a. Men’s Doubles

    b. Women’s Doubles

    c. Mixed Doubles

    d. Team Event

  • a. March 22-23 – Men’s and Women’s Doubles

    b. April 26-27 – Team Event

    c. May 31-June 1 – Mixed Doubles

    d. August 23-24 – Men’s and Women’s Doubles

    e. September 13-14 – Team Event

    f. October 11-12 – Mixed Doubles

  • Open Play will not be available during tournament hours.  Open Play will be available to members after the tournament events are completed each day – usually around 6pm. 

  • Any paddle that is currently on the USA Pickleball or UPA-A Pickleball list of certified paddles is eligible for play in the National Championship.

  • No, tournament scores will not be submitted to DUPR.

  • More than 20 Ace Pickleball Club locations will have the opportunity to host at least one APC Championship Series event in 2025.

    • The winners from each local event bracket (i.e., 3.5 Men’s Doubles - 50+ age group, 4.0 Team event, 3.0 Mixed Doubles Under 50 age group) will automatically qualify to participate in the season-ending National Championships.

    • 2nd and 3rd place finishers from local events will have the opportunity to register for the National Championship during the 2nd-4th wave of registrations.

    • Please reference the “When/ How can I register to play in the event” question in the National Championship FAQ section for more information about Eligibility for the National Championship.

  • a. Free opportunity for competition and networking with other members

    b. Bragging rights for you and your partner

    c. Opportunity to win your local Championship, but more importantly…

    d. Opportunity to qualify to play for even greater rewards at the APC National Championships

  • All questions related to the Championship Series should be addressed to your local Club’s Management Team or emailed to championships@acepickleballclub.com.  One of our team members will respond to your email as quickly as possible.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S DOUBLES FAQ

  • Skill Levels available:

    • Beginner (2.5), Intermediate (3.0), Intermediate Plus (3.5), Advanced (4.0), Advanced Plus (4.5) and Open (5.0+).

    Age groups available:

    • Under 50, and 50+.

    All beginner level brackets will have combined age groups. (Ex: Men’s Beginner All Ages and Women’s Beginner All Ages)

  • Events to be played on Saturday, August 23rd:

    • All Men’s Doubles for the 50+ Age Groups

    • All Women’s Doubles for the Under 50 Age Groups

    • Beginner Level – All Ages Combined

    Events to be played on Sunday, August 24th:

    • All Men’s Doubles for the Under 50 Age Groups

    • All Women’s Doubles for the 50+ Age Groups

    • The format of play is Pool Play followed by a Playoff.

    • All Championship matches are played as 2 out of 3 games to 11, win by 1

    • Full format details can be found within the Rules document that can be accessed here.

  • Players 50 and older are able to play in either the Under 50 age group or the 50+ age group, but cannot play in both events.  All players are only allowed to register for a single event within the tournament.  Players registering for more than on event will be withdrawn from both events they have registered for.

  • Registration will open on Wednesday July 30th at Noon local time and closes at midnight on Wednesday, August 13th.  Once the registration site goes live an email will be sent to all members and we will provide a link here and in other areas of the Championship Series website.

  • The tournament will take approximately 4-5 hours to complete should your team make it all the way to the final match.

  • Work with your Club Management to take advantage of opportunities to get connected with other members that are also seeking partner through our Find a Partner activities. 

  • Open Play will be available on Saturday, August 23rd following tournament play, which is expected to be around 6pm. 

TEAM EVENT FAQ

  • 4-person teams competing against each other in multi-round matches.

  • Nothing – all tournaments within the Championship Series are included in your membership.

    • Any current member is eligible to play in the tournament

    • All players need to have active memberships at the date of the tournament

    • Please note that Trial Members are not eligible to participate in APC Championship Series events.

    • Beginner (2.5) – All ages play together

    • Intermediate (3.0) – All ages play together

    • Intermediate Plus (3.5) – All ages play together

    • Advanced (4.0) – All ages play together

    • Advanced Plus (4.5) – All ages play together

    • Open (4.75+) All ages play together

    • The entire event takes place the weekend of September 13th and 14th, however each gender group will only compete on one of those days

      • Saturday, September 13th – Women’s Teams and the OPEN Division

      • Sunday, September 14th – Men’s Teams

  • BEGINNER through ADVANCED PLUS Skill Levels:

    • Men’s Teams (4 men on a team) vs other Men’s Teams

    • Women’s Teams (4 Women on a team) versus other Women’s Teams

    • Each team will rank order their players 1, 2, 3, 4 based on skill level within the team.

      • Club Management will have the authority to alter the rank order supplied by the team.

      • The final approved rank order will remain in place throughout the tournament

    OPEN Skill Level:

    • Men and women play with and against each other in this Division.  4-person teams are developed through a draft process regardless of gender.

    Match Format:

    • Game 1 – Players #1 and #2 from each team will play a doubles game to 11, win by 1

    • Game 2 – Players #3 and #4 from each team will play a doubles game to 11, win by 1

    • Game 3 – Players #1 and #3 from each team will play a doubles game to 11, win by 1

    • Game 4 – Players #2 and #4 from each team will play a doubles game to 11, win by 1

  • The tournament will take approximately 4-5 hours to complete should your team make it all the way to the final match

  • Registration will open on Wednesday August 20th at Noon local time and closes at midnight on Wednesday September 3rd.  Once the registration site goes live an email will be sent to all members and we will provide a link here and in other areas of the Championship Series website.

  • Traditional Scoring will be used for all tournament games

  • Pool play matches will not play Tie Breakers.  Only Semi-final and Final matches will play Tie Breakers. 

    The Tie Breaker for this team event is a combination of doubles match ups from both teams that play against each other in a single game played to 11 win by 2.  Each team will send out their double’s teams in a predetermined order as listed below:

    • The first rotation of players (Players 1 and 2) will remain on the court until either team reaches 2 points. 

    • The second rotation of players (Players 3 and 4) will remain on the court until either team reaches 4 points. 

    • The third rotation of players (Players 1 and 3) will remain on the court until either team reaches 6 points. 

    • The fourth rotation of players (Players 2 and 4) will remain on the court until either team reaches 8 points. 

    • The fifth rotation of players (Players 1 and 2) will remain on the court until the game is completed. 

  • Only 1st place finishing teams will receive invites to participate in the APC National Championships.

  • Work with your Club Management to take advantage of opportunities to get connected with other members that are also seeking teammates through our Find a Partner activities.

  • Open Play will be available on Saturday April 26th following tournament play, which is expected to be around 6pm.

MIXED DOUBLES FAQ

  • Nothing – all tournaments within the Championship Series are included in your membership.

  • Skill levels available

    • Beginner (2.5)

    • Intermediate (3.0)

    • Intermediate + (3.5)

    • Advanced (4.0)

    • Advanced + (4.5)

    • Open (5.0+)

    Age groups available

    • Under 50 and 50+

  • The tournament will take approximately 4-5 hours to complete should your team make it all the way to the final match

    • Start times for each skill division will be available the Saturday prior to the tournament

    • All 50+ Skill Levels will play on Saturday and all Under 50 Skill Levels will play on Sunday 

    • Any current member is eligible to play in the tournament

    • All players need to have active memberships at the date of the tournament

    • Please note that Trial Members are not eligible to participate in APC Championship Series events.

    • The format of play is Pool Play followed by a Playoff.

    • All Championship matches are played as 2 out of 3 games to 11, win by 1

    • Full format details can be found within the Rules document that can be accessed here.

    • Registration opens on September 17th and closes at midnight on October 1st. Once the registration site goes live, an email will be sent to all members, and we will provide a link here and in other areas of the Championship Series website. 

    • You must have a defined partner in order to register for the event

  • Work with your Club Management to take advantage of opportunities to get connected with other members that are also seeking a teammate through our Find a Partner activities.

  • Players 50 and older are able to play in either the Under 50 age group or the 50+ age group but cannot play in both events. All players are only allowed to register for a single event within the tournament. Players registering for more than on event will be withdrawn from both events they have registered for.

  • Only 1st place finishing teams will receive invites to participate in the APC National Championships.

  • Open Play will not be available during tournament hours. Open Play will be available to members after the tournament events are completed each day.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FAQ

  • The APC National Championship is an opportunity to:

    • Celebrate Ace Pickleball Club nationally

    • Opportunity to network with fellow APC members nationally

    • Participate in a fun, competitive environment for all qualified players and guests

  • a. Free opportunity for competition and networking with other members from Ace Pickleball Clubs across the country

    b. Opportunity to represent your local Ace Pickleball Club at a national level

    c. Opportunity to be an Ace Pickleball Club National Champion

    d. Opportunity to win part of the $250,000 minimum prize pool

  • As a member at APC, there is no cost for you to participate in this event.  Players must pay their own travel expenses related to playing in these events

  • The APC National Championship event will have a minimum prize pool of $250,000

  • The 2026 National Championship will be played across two clubs in the Dallas Texas area. 

    • Ace Pickleball Club – Frisco

      • 2930 Preston Road, Frisco, TX, USA

    • Ace Pickleball Club – Plano

      • 4801 West Park Boulevard #270, Plano, TX, USA

  • Jan 29-Feb 1, 2026

    • Thursday, January 29, 2026 - Women’s Doubles

    • Friday, January 30, 2026 – Team Event

    • Saturday, January 31, 2026 – Mixed Doubles

    • Sunday, Feb 1, 2026 – Men’s Doubles

  • 11 clubs and more than 800 members are already qualified to play.  By the end of the Championship Series events in October, we will have more than 17 clubs and almost 2,000 qualified players across 4 tournament events/formats.

  • Eligible Players will register for the National Championship through our normal tournament registration software.

    • Eligible players will receive specific registration instructions via email beginning October 1, 2025.  The registration process will open on November 1, 2026.

    Registration will take place in waves. 

    • Wave 1 will include 1st place winners from all local Championship Series events.  These teams will have the first chance to register for the National Championship.  All 1st place winners will have the chance to register from November 1-Nov 10.  During this period, there will be NO LIMITS placed on the number of teams that can register for any Skill Level/Age Group.  If you won locally, then you are guaranteed to get into the National Championship if you register during these dates.

    • Wave 2 will take place from Nov 11 – Nov 18.  During this wave of registration, we will continue to accept registrations for a select number of Skill Level/Age Groups slots to fill the field in those divisions.  The number of Wave 2 open slots by Skill Level/Age Group will not be determined until after Wave 1 registration is complete.  These limited Open Slots will be available on a first come-first serve basis to all 1st place teams that did not register during Wave 1 AND:

      • any local Championship 2nd place winners

    • Wave 3 will take place from Nov 19-25.  During this wave of registration, we will continue to accept registrations for select Skill Level/Age Groups to fill open slots in those divisions.  These open slots will be available on a first come-first serve basis to all groups from Wave 1 and 2 AND:

      • any local Championship Series 3rd place winners

    • Wave 4 will take place from Nov 26 – Nov 30.  During this wave of registration, we will continue to accept registrations for select Skill Level/Age Groups to fill open slots in those divisions.  These open slots will be available on a first come-first serve basis to all groups from Wave 1-3 AND any additional APC members wishing to participate in the National Championship that have already played a local Championship Series event.

  • Qualified players must be members from the time that they participated in the qualifying Championship Series event until the date of the National Championship.  Failure to maintain membership will disqualify a player from participating in the National Championship.

    • If your partner is no longer qualified to play (either no longer a member at APC, has not been a consistent member at APC, or is otherwise unable to participate in the event), you are able to select a replacement player.  Replacement players must meet the following criteria:

      • They must be a current APC member and remain a member through the National Championship dates

      • They must have played in an APC Championship Series event during 2024

        • Their participation must have been in the same event that you are qualified in (Men’s, Women’s, Mixed or Team)

        • Their participation must have been at the same skill level or below as the skill level you qualified for with your previous partner (Open Skill Level replacement players for the Team Event also need to have been drafted in the same 1, 2, 3 or 4 position/slot or lower as the player they are replacing)

        • Their participation must have been at the same age level or higher as the age level you qualified for with your previous partner

  • Yes.  We are currently developing these relationships with hotels near the playing venues.  Stay tuned for hotel partnership discounts that will be available to Ace Pickleball Club members.

  • All questions related to the National Championships should be emailed to championships@acepickleballclub.com.  One of our team members will respond to your email as quickly as possible.