Pickleball Tournaments in Nashville
Quick Answer: Pickleball tournaments in Nashville run year round at indoor clubs and city courts. Big dates include the Music City Open in February, the World Pickleball Tour Nashville Open in August, the Pickle Paw Classic in October, and Senior Nationals in December. Entry fees run about $40 to $95 as of August 2026.
A pickleball tournament is a scheduled competition where players sign into brackets by skill rating, age, or both, then play a fixed number of matches for medals or prize money. Nashville has two advantages most cities do not. It has a pair of large climate-controlled clubs, and it sits close enough to Knoxville and Hendersonville that a weekend drive opens up the rest of the Tennessee calendar.
What Are the Biggest Pickleball Tournaments in Nashville?
Four events carry the most weight, and they land in different quarters of the year.
- Music City Open, February 12 to 15, 2026 at Pickleball Kingdom Nashville South. A Champions Series Pickleball event, the series formerly known as the National Pickleball League.
- World Pickleball Tour Nashville Open, August 8 to 9, 2026 at Pickleball Kingdom Nashville North in Hendersonville.
- Music City Pickle Paw Classic, held each October at Centennial Sportsplex. The 2025 edition was the fifth annual, October 25 and 26.
- Pickleball Power Play Senior National Championships, December 3 to 6, 2026 at Pickleball Kingdom Nashville North, for players 50 and over.
Add the house tournaments and leagues that both Pickleball Kingdom locations run between those dates and there is rarely a month with nothing to enter. Our pickleball tournaments and events directory tracks what is currently open.
How Much Prize Money Is at Stake at the Music City Open?
The 2026 Music City Open carried $70,000 in prize money across its pro divisions.
The pro side pays the top six finishers. First place in both the 40-plus and 50-plus divisions was worth $3,000 per team, per event, as of August 2026. Pro entry was $175 per event with a one-time registration fee, and the pro split-age format pairs one partner aged 40 to 49 with a partner over 50.
Amateurs get their own brackets at the same venue. Initial registration includes one event, and each additional event was $50 as of August 2026. Age brackets run 40-plus, 50-plus, and 60-plus in men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed. Amateur divisions use pool play into single elimination, while pro divisions play best of three games to 11.
Can Anyone Enter a Nashville Tournament?
Yes, and the August event is the easiest door.
The World Pickleball Tour Nashville Open is an unsanctioned amateur series. Entry was $70 plus $30 per event as of August 2026. Divisions span skill levels 3.0 through 5.0 with age brackets at 19-plus, 30-plus, 40-plus, 50-plus, 60-plus, and 70-plus when enough players register. The format guarantees six matches through round robin play plus a bracket, with games to 11, win by 2.
Prize-money formats show up locally too. Pickleball Power Play’s Nashville stop charged $65 per event and returned 100 percent of that fee to the winners in Open divisions. With four teams in a bracket, first place took the whole pot. With seven or eight teams, the split ran 50, 30, and 20 percent across the top three.
Where Do Nashville Tournaments Actually Happen?
Three venues do most of the hosting, and two of them are indoors.
Pickleball Kingdom Nashville South at 5035 Harding Place runs 14 indoor courts and hosts the Music City Open. Pickleball Kingdom Nashville North at 90 Volunteer Drive in Hendersonville runs 12 indoor courts and hosts both the World Pickleball Tour stop and Senior Nationals. Centennial Sportsplex at 222 25th Ave N has 12 courts lined for pickleball and hosts the Pickle Paw Classic, which drew more than 200 players in 2025 and raised money for Friends of Metro Animal Care and Control. Gold medalists there took home Nashville Predators tickets.
Centennial is also the cheapest place in town to practice. Dedicated court rental was $10 per hour and drop-in open play was $10 per person as of August 2026. Our guide to pickleball courts in Nashville maps the rest, and the public court listings cover the suburbs.
What Does Entry Cost, and When Should You Sign Up?
Plan on $40 to $95 for a base fee, plus $30 to $50 for each extra bracket.
Prices climb as the date gets closer, and the jumps are steep. The 2026 Powerball Tennessee State Championship in Knoxville, run by the PPA Tour and Southern Pickleball, charged $70 during its early bird window from March 1 to April 1, then $85 through May 31, then $95 from June 1 for a June 5 start. Registering nine weeks early saved $25 before you added a second event.
Two more habits save money and stress. Confirm your partner has paid, since doubles brackets do not lock until both entries clear. And check which rating system the organizer uses before you pick a division, because a self-rating that does not match your DUPR can get you moved or removed.
Do Nashville Tournaments Use DUPR?
Most of them do, either for placement, for results reporting, or both.
Pickleball Power Play verified division placement against Pickleball Brackets and DUPR ratings and reported scores to both. Larger events lean on DUPR to keep 3.5 brackets from filling with sandbaggers. If your rating is blank or stale, read up on what a DUPR rating is in pickleball and play a few logged matches first.
Nashville also works as a base for regional travel. Virginia Beach hosts a PPA Tour week every October, and our guide to pickleball tournaments in Virginia Beach covers the amateur brackets that run alongside the pros.
FAQ
Where can I find a list of pickleball tournaments in Nashville?
Start with pickleballtournaments.com and pickleballbrackets.com, which carry almost every sanctioned and unsanctioned event in Middle Tennessee. Both Pickleball Kingdom clubs post their own house events. Our directory pulls the city listings together in one place.
Do I need a partner to enter?
For doubles, yes, and both of you must register and pay before the bracket locks. Some events keep a partner request board, though nothing is guaranteed. Singles brackets are the fallback if nobody is available.
Are there tournaments for beginners in Nashville?
The World Pickleball Tour Nashville Open starts at 3.0, which is a reasonable first-tournament level. Local club events often go lower. If you are still learning the two-bounce rule and where the non-volley zone starts, play open play for a season first.
How long does a tournament day last?
Plan on five to eight hours even if your bracket looks small. Round robin formats guarantee multiple matches, and delays stack up as the day goes. Bring food, since venue snack bars run out.
Is the Music City Open only for pros?
No. It carries amateur divisions in men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed at 40-plus, 50-plus, and 60-plus, alongside the pro draws. Amateur registration includes one event and additional events cost extra. The pro prize pool does not apply to amateur brackets.
What is Senior Nationals and can I play?
The Pickleball Power Play Senior National Championships is a 50-and-over event set for December 3 to 6, 2026 at Pickleball Kingdom Nashville North. Matches are best two of three games to 11, win by 2, with round robin play. Players who medaled at qualifying Senior Tour events receive discount codes.
How many people play pickleball now?
The Sports and Fitness Industry Association counted 24.3 million US players in 2025, up from 4.2 million in 2020. That growth is why brackets close early. Register the week entries open rather than the week before play.
Where do out-of-town players stay?
Most Nashville events sit south of downtown near Harding Place or north in Hendersonville, so a hotel near the venue beats one on Broadway if you have an 8 a.m. match. Our travel and lodging listings cover pickleball-friendly stays.
Nashville rewards players who plan a season instead of a weekend. Pick your February bracket now, use the summer events as tune-ups, and let DUPR sort out where you actually belong. The pickleball clubs directory is a good next stop if you want a home court between tournaments.
Written by the Pickler Junction Team.
