ACE PICKLEBALL CLUB - CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Team Event

We're looking forward to hosting you for the upcoming Championship Series tournament. Everything you need to know about this tournament in terms of rules, match formats, approved paddles and more is listed here. If you have any questions related to these rules, connect with a Member Specialist at your Club. 

2026 Championship Series Tournament Rules

Player Eligibility Requirements:

  • All players must be members in good standing at the date of the tournament

  • All members, regardless of age, are eligible to play in the tournament

  • Players are only allowed to play in one Skill Level within the tournament

Match Formats:

These Championship Series tournaments are played in two segments:

Initial Pool Play

  • Teams are placed into pools of 2, 3, 4 or 5 teams

  • Each team plays all other teams within their pool

  • Matches are 1 game to 11, win by 1

  • Pool standings and tiebreakers within and across pools for playoff spots are based on:

    • Total number of wins in pool play

    • Head to Head winner (requires a 3-1 or 4-0 games won victory)

    • Total number of Points won across all games in Pool Play

    • Total number of Points lost across all games in Pool Play

    • Coin toss by tournament official

  • Determining a Wild Card Team: Wild Card Teams are selected to move on to the playoffs when there are 3 Pools within a Skill Level. Winners of each of the 3 Pools move on and a “Wild Card” team moves on to the playoffs. A Wild Card team is chosen from across the 3 Pools using the following criteria:

    • Total number of Game Wins (only used if the number of teams in every Pool is equal), then…

    • Best Average Point Differential throughout the entire Pool Play segment of the event is used, then…

    • Total Points Acquired by each team throughout the entire Pool Play segment of the event is used, then…

    • Total Points Allowed by each team throughout the entire Pool Play segment of the event, then…

    • Coin Flip by Ace Pickleball Club Representative

Playoff Round(s)

  • Top finishers from Pool Play will advance to the playoff round(s) as follows based on the number of Pools in the Division.

    • 2 teams - 1 pool = 1 final match.  This Final match will be an extended version of standard playoff match.  It will include 6 games so that all partners will pair with each other for a single game.  If the match is tied 3-3 games won, then a standard playoff tiebreaker will be played.

    • 3 teams - 1 pool - top 2 teams go to a final match

    • 4 teams - 1 pool - top 2 teams go to a final match

    • 5 teams – 1 pool - top 2 teams go to a final match

    • 6 teams - 2 pools of 3 - top team from each pool goes to a final match

    • 7 teams - 2 pools of 3 and 4 - top team from each pool goes to a final match

    • 8 teams - 2 pools of 4 and 4 - top 2 teams from each pool goes to a semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 9 teams - 3 pools of 3 - top team from each pool and a “Wild Card” team chosen from the tiebreaker system across all pools goes to semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 10 teams - 3 pools of 3,3,4 - top team from each pool and a “Wild Card” team chosen from the tiebreaker system across all pools goes to semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 11 teams - 3 pools of 3,4,4 - top team from each pool and a “Wild Card” team chosen from the tiebreaker system across all pools goes to semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 12 teams - 3 pools of 4,4,4 - top team from each pool and a “Wild Card” team chosen from the tiebreaker system across all pools goes to semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 13 teams - 4 pools of 3,3,3,4 - top team from each pool goes to semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 14 teams - 4 pools of 3,3,4,4 - top team from each pool goes to semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 15 teams - 4 pools of 3,4,4,4 - top team from each pool goes to semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 16 teams - 4 pools of 4,4,4,4 - top team from each pool goes to semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 17 teams- 5 pools of 3,3,3,4,4 - top team from each pool and 3 “Wild Card” teams chosen from the tiebreaker system across all pools goes to a quarter final match, followed by a semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 18 teams- 5 pools of 3,3,4,4,4 - top team from each pool and 3 “Wild Card” teams chosen from the tiebreaker system across all pools goes to a quarter final match, followed by a semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 19 teams- 5 pools of 3,4,4,4,4 - top team from each pool and 3 “Wild Card” teams chosen from the tiebreaker system across all pools goes to a quarter final match, followed by a semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

    • 20 teams- 5 pools of 4 teams - top team from each pool and 3 “Wild Card” teams chosen from the tiebreaker system across all pools goes to a quarter final match, followed by a semifinal playoff match followed by a final match

  • There are only 1st and 2nd place finishers in the Team Event. There is no 3rd place awarded for this format.

Selecting Side and Serve:

  • Before the start of play, one team member will hold a “1” or a “2” behind their back. A member of the opposing team will guess the number. Whichever team “wins” gets to make the choice of choosing a side to start the match from, choosing to serve first (or second), or deferring to the other team to make the choice of side/serve.

  • Teams will switch ends of the court after one team reaches 6 points.

Forfeits and Withdrawals: 

  • If either/both players are more than 5 minutes (length of the warmup period) late to the starting time for their bracket, they forfeit the match and are disqualified from the tournament.   

  • Teams arriving late and receiving a forfeit and disqualification can play the remaining matches within their draw for practice if both teams agree to play, but those matches WILL NOT BE scored for tournament purposes. 

  • If a team has to forfeit/ is disqualified, the team will be withdrawn from the tournament software and each match that the team was scheduled to play will receive no score input.  Previously played matches will still be reported to DUPR but will not count toward the Division Standings. 

Tie Breaker Rules

Pool Play:

Tiebreakers within and across pools for playoff spots are based on:

  • Total number of Wins across all games in Pool Play (assuming all pools have an equal number of teams)

  • Head to Head Results (if applicable)

  • Total number of Points won across all games in Pool Play

  • Total number of Points lost across all games in Pool Play

  • Coin Toss by tournament official

Playoffs:

  • Pool play matches will not play Tie Breakers. Only Playoff 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 2 and 4) will remain on the court until either team reaches 6 points.

    • The second rotation of players (Players 1 and 3) will remain on the court throughout the remainder of the game.

ADDITIONAL RULES

  • Teams will be requested to submit a Rank Order player list prior to the event.

    • APC will rank order your players from 1 to 4 if this information is not submitted by the team prior to the deadline.

    • Once APC has rank ordered your team due this deadline being missed, the ranking order made by APC will be final and no changes will be made after that time.

    This list should identify your top/best player as #1, next best player as #2, next best player as #3 and the remaining player at #4.

    • Players will be play together in the following matchups during pool play:

      • Players 1 & 2

      • Players 3 & 4

      • Players 1 & 3

      • Players 2 & 4

    This list will determine which players from your team are paired with which other players from your team for various games throughout the event.

    The rank order list will be used for ALL games/matches held throughout the competition and cannot be changed from match to match or game to game.

    • If either/both players are more than 5 minutes (length of the warmup period) late to the starting time for their bracket, they forfeit the match and are disqualified from the tournament.

    • Teams arriving late and receiving a forfeit and disqualification can play the remaining matches within their draw for practice if both teams agree to play, but those matches will not be scored for tournament purposes.

    • If a team has to forfeit or is disqualified, the team will be withdrawn from the tournament software and each match that the team was scheduled to play will receive no score input.

  • Only paddles that are on the USA Pickleball or UPA-A Pickleball list of certified paddles on the date of play are eligible for play in APC Championship Series events.

  • The official ball of the Championship Series is the standard ball used at the Ace Pickleball Club where the tournament is being played.

    • Line calls are the responsibility of the players. In matches that involve a referee a line call can be appealed to the referee. If the referee can make a definitive call, the referee’s call will stand. In situations where the referee is unable to make a definitive call, the player call will stand.

    • A player can stop a point if they feel that the pickleball in play is cracked. If the ball is in fact cracked, the point will be replayed. If the ball is not found to be cracked, the team that stopped play will lose the point.

    • Players are allowed to receive coaching from outside parties only during timeouts and between games.  Coaching during play is not permitted.  In situations where players feel the opponents are getting outside coaching during play, they should halt play and seek a club representative to resolve the issue.

    • Timeouts

      • Each team can take a single 1-minute timeout in each game that is played.

      • Medical timeouts are granted on an as-needed basis. Any time a medical timeout is requested, players should seek a club representative to cheek on the player and assess the situation and determine if a medical timeout will be granted. A max of 10 minutes will be allocated to the medical timeout and that clock will start at the time the player states that they need a medical timeout.

    • Any on-court dispute within a match without a referee that can’t be resolved by the players, should be brought to the pool manager or tournament staff so that they can help resolve the dispute.

    • Club Representative Referees - in games where a club representative is the referee for a match, that referee will be responsible for: watching for service faults, foot faults at the kitchen line and will be available to appeal line calls made by players.  If the referee can make a definitive call on the appealed ball, the referee’s call will stand.  In situations where the referee is unable to make a definitive call, the player call will stand.  These referees will be tracking along with the score, but players will be calling the score prior to each point.

    • Official Referee - in games where an official/certified referee is the referee for a match, that referee will be responsible for: all items mentioned above for a Club Representative Referee as well as being the official scorekeeper for the match.

    • Club officials have the right to disqualify players and remove teams from play for any action deemed to be unsportsmanlike.  Examples of unsportsmanlike conduct include but are not limited to the following:

      • Objectionable language directed at another person

      • Profanity (including hand gestures)

      • Aggressive arguing

      • Throwing a paddle

      • Intentional or aggressive abuse of a pickleball

      • Intentional or aggressive physical contact with a player, official, or spectator

      • Intentionally or aggressively hitting a pickleball outside of game play

  • Players are not permitted to wear headphones or earbuds during play unless they are needed for a medically approved hearing need.

  • The first-place team from each Skill Level/Age Group in these tournaments will automatically qualify to play in the local club’s Club Championship