Pickleball Tournament Play, the Format, and the Rules
By Joyce Yoo Babbitt
Hello, Upper Valley pickleball players. Allow me to introduce Joyce, an avid pickleball player, certified coach, and tournament player. Joyce is known as the “driller” for her love of fine-tuning her game to become tournament-ready! She is a tournament player in all four events (mini-singles, singles, doubles, and mixed) and is an IFP International Federation Pickleball Academy-certified instructor. You can find her at Maxfield (outdoor courts in White River Junction) and the River Valley Club, where she is training for the next tournament. Her email is joyceyoobabbitt@gmail.com
Pickleball Tournament Play, the Format, and the Rules
By Joyce Yoo Babbitt,
Pickleball is evolving, and as more and more people grow the game, I seek to focus on two things for myself: intentional practice play and creating a fun team sport culture. What I am wanting to do is get better with practicing with various people who seek to compete in tournaments. And as for tournaments, I seek to grow from the competition and pressure.
Here’s what I like about tournaments:
Allows you to grow in the heat of the moment and learn from those experiences.
Gives you an opportunity to talk with your partner about how to get better.
Helps you to know how to lose with grace and what to work on in your game.
Notice I didn’t say anything about winning. Perhaps it is because I lose more than I win or that I don’t focus on that any more and just see pickleball tournaments as a learning experience.
As I developed the format for “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” MLP Tournament, I wanted to think about making this a learning experience and to see everyone walk away with new friends.
What I know about tournaments is…
It can be expensive, so I have kept the cost low. No registration fee, just Day Pass Fee to faculty.
Most organizers want to also play, yet find it hard to manage the scoresheet, so I’m asking team captains to manage their cumulative points.
Format and rules are important and need to be written out before the tournament, so below is the information. Please share with your team.
What is MLP? Major League Pickleball
Here's a breakdown of our version of MLP format:
- Team Composition: Each team consists of four players (numbered 1-4)
- Game Format: Matches include four games
- Scoring: Games are played to 11, 15, or 21 points using rally scoring depending on your time constraint (11=1 hour, 15= 1.5 hours, 21=2.0+hours)
- Server stays put. Based on an odd or even score number will determine the server.
- Each team has players numbered 1 - 4.
- Know Your Team Letter and Your Number
First game is Team A 1/2 and Team B 1/2 play, while Team A 3/4 and Team B 3/4
Second game is Team A 2/3 and Team B 3/4 play, while Team A 3/4 and Team 1/2
Third game is Team A 1/3 and Team B 2/4 play, while Team A 2/4 and Team B 1/3
Fourth game is Team A 1/4 and Team B 2/3 while Team A 2/3 and Team B 1/4
If we have 3 teams we would have everyone keep the same partner, and again play 4 games.
First game 1/2A v1/2B. 3/4Av 3/4C 1/2C v 3/4B
Second game 1/2A v 1/2C 3/4A v. 1/2B 3/4B v 3/4C
Third game 1/2Av 3/4B 3/4A v. 1/2C 1/2B v. 3/4 C
Fourth game 1/2A v 3/4C 3/4A v 3/4B. 1/2B v. 1/2C
What Is Precision Pickleball? It is traditionally known as skinny or mini singles, but Joyce renamed it to emphasize accuracy and precision on your shots.
📣The sense of camaraderie is essential here. Noise-making and cheering on your team are highly encouraged. 📣
Game to 15:
Each game is played to 15 points, with a two-point advantage needed to win.
Freeze Rule:
When a team reaches 15 points, they are "frozen." This means they can only score points on their serve.
Opponent's Freeze:
If the opposing team reaches 15 while the first team is frozen, the second team is also frozen and must win the game on their serve.
Joyce's Precision DreamBreaker Showdown:
If 2 teams are playing, we can accumulate the points and rank who will be on court 1 and court 2. A DreamBreaker playing Precision Pickleball (aka skinny singles) is played using rally scoring to 15. Each team's four players rotate through taking turns for four rallies. It is capped at 15. Must serve to win .
Rotation:
In the DreamBreaker, players rotate in a set order, each playing four rallies (4 points) before the next player rotates in.
For the dream breaker, since the third team will be playing in the play rotation, we will determine based on cumulative points who has come in first place and second place.
Our third place team plays the winner.
If we have a third team that came in third place will be included in the Precision Pickleball DreamBreaker Benchwarmer Rise to the Top: They will compete to attempt a throw down of the first place winners.
In conclusion, running a pickleball tournament is a ton of fun and lots of work in organizing. A labor of love is what I call it, especially for friends. Rally scoring is the way to go to keep the tournament moving. I hope my format might be helpful to anyone who is interested in running an MLP tournament league.
Alex here again- thanks, Joyce! And to the readers of this guest blog post, I look forward to seeing you on the courts. Thanks,
Alexander Baker, PPR-certified coach and owner of Upper Valley Pickleball, a blog and coaching website! If interested in taking lessons, go to my Bounce website here