What Is the Senior Pro Pickleball Circuit? How It Works and Who Competes

Professional pickleball is not only a young athlete’s game. A senior pro circuit exists, and on the APP Tour it now has a name, an age structure, and its own rankings. Here is what senior pro pickleball means, how the divisions work, and who takes the court.

What is senior pro pickleball?

Senior pro pickleball is professional-level competition reserved for players aged 50 and older. It is a different tier from the age-based amateur brackets found at many local and regional tournaments, which are built for recreational and competitive players of all skill levels.

According to the APP Tour, its AARP Champions Division and AARP Masters Division make up “the premier pickleball circuit for professionals ages 50 and older.” The AARP Champions Division is open to players 50 and older. The AARP Masters Division raises the age floor to 60 and older, with the APP Tour’s rankings page also showing a separate ranking bracket for players 65 and older.

That two-tier setup means a 52-year-old former touring pro and a 68-year-old lifelong senior competitor are not chasing the same title. Each division has its own field and its own rankings.

For how senior competition works outside the pro tier, see the guide on US senior pickleball tournaments.

Not every major pro stop brands a senior pro tier the same way. Neither the PPA Tour’s own rankings and tour pages nor the US Open Pickleball Championships website lists a named, age-based professional division comparable to the AARP Champions and AARP Masters divisions. The APP Tour’s structure is the clearest, most fully documented senior pro circuit in the sport right now.

How does the senior pro circuit work?

Senior pro competition runs inside the APP Tour’s existing tournament calendar rather than as its own stand-alone tour. The APP Tour scheduled ten tournaments across the AARP Champions and AARP Masters divisions, according to the APP Tour. The division names come from AARP, the sponsor behind both the Champions and Masters categories.

Eight of those events host both divisions, with stops that include Sacramento, Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, Louisville, and Arizona, plus the season-ending Tour Championships, according to the APP Tour. The AARP Champions Division adds two more events on its own, in Overland Park and Columbus.

The flagship stop is the AARP Open, scheduled for March 26 to 29, 2026, in Seattle. The APP Tour describes the AARP Open as open to “all players from the 3.0 level to the pros,” pairing recreational players and senior pros at the same tournament site. Player registration opens through the APP Tour’s website ahead of each season, according to the APP Tour.

Format mirrors the open pro game. Each division runs men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles, according to the APP Tour’s rankings page. Results feed into the AARP Rankings, a leaderboard kept separate from the APP Tour’s main pro rankings. For more on how pro ranking systems work in general, see the guide on how pro pickleball rankings work.

Prize money is on the line at every stop. The APP Tour’s rankings page notes that Champions Division prize pools run higher than Masters Division prize pools, though neither tour has published per-event dollar figures. Brackets in both divisions follow the same single-elimination format used across most pro pickleball events. See the guide on how pickleball tournament brackets work for the mechanics.

Who competes in senior pro pickleball?

The AARP Champions and Masters divisions draw a mix of competitors. Some built their careers on the open pro tour and moved into the Champions Division once they turned 50. Others reached the senior pro level by climbing the amateur and senior ranks over years of play.

Because the AARP Open welcomes players from the 3.0 level through the pros on the same weekend, spectators can watch recreational and senior pro players share a tournament site, according to the APP Tour.

Pickleball has also pulled athletes over from other racquet sports. For a look at that path, see the guide on tennis pros switching to pickleball.

Because both divisions carry cash prizes and feed a dedicated rankings leaderboard, competing at the senior pro level is a paid tier of the sport, not a casual side bracket. It is built specifically for elite players in their fifties, sixties, and beyond, according to the APP Tour.

Frequently asked questions

What is the senior pro pickleball circuit? According to the APP Tour, senior pro pickleball is professional competition for players 50 and older, organized as the AARP Champions Division and AARP Masters Division inside the APP Tour’s schedule.

What age do you have to be for senior pro pickleball? The AARP Champions Division is open to players 50 and older, and the AARP Masters Division is open to players 60 and older, according to the APP Tour’s rankings page.

How many senior pro tournaments are there? The APP Tour lists ten tournaments across the AARP Champions and AARP Masters divisions, according to the APP Tour.

What is the AARP Open? The AARP Open is the flagship event of the APP Tour’s senior pro divisions, held March 26 to 29, 2026, in Seattle, and open to players from the 3.0 level through the pros, according to the APP Tour.

Is senior pro pickleball different from senior amateur pickleball? Yes. Senior pro divisions carry professional rankings and prize money, while senior amateur tournaments use skill and age brackets built for recreational and competitive players who are not chasing pro rankings points.

Do senior pros play the same format as open pro divisions? Yes. The AARP Champions and AARP Masters divisions run men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles, the same event lineup used in the APP Tour’s open pro divisions, according to the APP Tour’s rankings page.

Where are senior pro pickleball results published? The APP Tour publishes AARP Rankings as a leaderboard separate from its main pro rankings, according to the APP Tour.

Does the PPA Tour or the US Open have a senior pro division? Neither the PPA Tour nor the US Open Pickleball Championships lists a named senior pro division on its own website. The APP Tour’s AARP Champions and AARP Masters divisions remain the sport’s most clearly documented senior pro structure.

Senior pro pickleball runs on real structure: age cutoffs, two named divisions, and a rankings system built by the APP Tour. To find pickleball tournaments and events near you, visit the Pickler Junction tournaments and events directory.

Written by the Pickler Junction Team.