How to Run a Profitable Pickleball Tournament: Step-by-Step Guide for Organizers

Pickleball isn’t just the fastest-growing sport in America — it’s also an amazing opportunity for anyone looking to build something fun and profitable in their community. Whether you’re hosting a small fundraiser or a larger competitive event, tournaments bring people together, create excitement, attract sponsors, and yes — they can make real money when done right. But there are also many other ways to make money in pickleball.

How to Make Money in Pickleball: Profiting from the World’s Fastest-Growing Sport

Running a good pickleball tournament isn’t just about setting up courts and handing out medals. You need solid organization, smart marketing, and a plan that makes sense financially. Whether you’re a coach, club organizer, or just someone who loves the game, this guide will walk you through how to run a tournament that brings people joy and helps you earn at the same time.

Step 1: Start With a Clear Goal

Before you start booking courts or ordering medals, figure out why you’re hosting the tournament.

• Is it a fundraiser?
• Do you want to make a profit?
• Or are you just looking to bring your local pickleball community together?

When you know your goal, every other decision becomes easier — from pricing to promotion.

If it’s a fundraiser, focus on fun and participation. But if you’re trying to make a profit, you’ll want to think about things like prize money, sponsors, and player experience that justifies a higher entry fee.

Bottom line — be clear on your purpose, and make every part of the event match it.

Step 2: Choose the Pickleball Tournament Format

Choosing the right pickleball format really comes down to what kind of experience you want your players to have. There are a lot of great options out there, but you need to pick the one that fits your goal and the style of tournament you’re hosting.

If you’re running a fundraiser, you might want a fun, social format where people mix partners and get lots of play. But if you’re planning a serious competitive tournament, you’ll want structured matches, divisions, and clear winners.

Game Formats

• One Game to 11, Win by 2 – Quick, easy, and perfect for round robin play.
• One Game to 15, Win by 2 – A good balance of playtime and pace.
• Best 2 out of 3 Games to 11, Win by 2 – The standard format for more competitive brackets.
• One Game to 15 or 21 (Rally Scoring) – Faster-paced and great for timed events or fundraisers.

Tournament Formats

• Round Robin – Everyone plays everyone; the winner is decided by total wins or points.
• Double Elimination – Lose twice and you’re out; the most common bracket style.
• Pool Play + Playoffs – Players are grouped into pools, and the top finishers advance to a final playoff bracket.
• For charity-style events, you can even run timed games or mix partners throughout the day to keep things fun and social. The key is to make sure players get plenty of court time and leave smiling.

What Categories Should You Offer?

This is where things can get tricky. The more divisions you have, the more complicated the scheduling becomes — especially if your venue doesn’t have many courts.

Here’s a common structure:

• 3.0
• 3.5
• 4.0
• 4.5
• 5.0
• Pro

Each of these levels can have Men’s, Women’s, and Mixed Doubles — and then you can also split by age:
Open (any age), 50+, 60+, 70+, and so on.

You can see how quickly the combinations add up. The more categories you add, the harder it is to keep the tournament running smoothly and on schedule.

If you’re just starting out, keep it simple. Focus on fewer divisions, make sure everyone gets enough matches, and build from there as your event grows.

Step 3: Find the pickleball venue

This is one of the most important parts of running a tournament. Some people like to start by creating a budget, but honestly, that can always be adjusted once you know where the event will be held. The venue really decides everything — how many courts you can use, how much it costs to rent, and what kind of tournament you can actually run.

When choosing your pickleball venue, make sure you know the answers to these questions:

• How many courts are available?
• Are the courts permanent or temporary?
• Do we need to bring our own nets?
• Do the courts need to be taped or lined?
• What amenities does the facility have?
• Are there restrooms and changing rooms?
• Is parking free or paid?

Once you have all this information, it becomes much easier to plan what type of tournament you can host — from small local events to larger competitive ones.

How to Find the Right Facility in Your Area

The easiest way to start is by using Google or another search engine and typing something like “pickleball facility for rent near me.” This will give you a good idea of what locations are available in your area.

You can also check:

• Local pickleball clubs or recreation centers
• Community gyms or YMCA facilities
• Schools or church gyms that allow rentals
• Parks and recreation departments for outdoor courts

The costs associated with renting a facility.

These costs will be part of your overall budgeting and will vary depending on where your tournament is held.

To give you a real-world example, here’s a look at what it costs to rent a facility in Hawaii.

At Palama Settlement in Honolulu, for instance, you can rent the full gym (4 pickleball courts) for your pickleball tournament from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. The prices below reflect the current 2025 rental rates, which can serve as a helpful reference when you’re planning your own event.

Full Gym Rental (Palama Settlement) – 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM

Rental Hours: 13 hours
Available Days: Sunday–Saturday (8 AM–9 PM, but using 7–8 for your setup example)
Facility: Full Gym

Security Deposit (Refundable)

• Full Gym Deposit: $800

Optional Equipment Rentals

If you need equipment from Palama’s inventory, here’s what you might add:

Estimated Grand Total (Rental + Equipment + Deposit)

What Are the Requirements to Rent a Facility?

Each facility will have its own specific requirements when it comes to renting their space. If you’re working with a private pickleball club, the process is usually different compared to renting a public facility managed by the city or state.

That said, most venues will ask for some of the same basic things before approving your event. The most common requirements include:

• Liability Insurance – You’ll usually need to provide a certificate of insurance naming the facility as an additional insured party.
• Security – Some venues require on-site security or a special duty police officer for larger groups.
• First Aid Station – Having basic first aid supplies, a medical professional, or a designated safety plan is often required, especially for sports events.
• Minimum Food and Beverage Spend – If the facility offers catering or has a food service partner, they might require a minimum spend as part of the agreement.

Always check directly with the facility manager — requirements can vary depending on your event size, whether food is served, and if it’s open to the public or members only.

Now that you know what kind of facility you can rent, it’s time to figure out the maximum capacity for running a tournament at that location. This will help you understand how many players you can host, how to schedule matches efficiently, and what type of format will work best for your event.

Step 4: How Many Players Can Your Facility Handle?

This step is one of the most important parts of your entire planning process because it determines how many people can participate. It also helps you understand how much you’ll need to charge later on to reach your ultimate revenue goal.

This schedule is a real example from the Hawaii Pickleball Open 2025, which hosted over 115 players and what you see here represents just one of the two tournament days. The format used was best two out of three games to 11, win by 2. There were two waves — 8:00 AM and 1:00 PM. On average, each match took about 50 minutes to complete. The event started and finished on time, demonstrating how effective organization and scheduling can make all the difference.

If you choose to run a different format, such as one game to 11, the number of participants you can accommodate will increase significantly. It really all comes down to the type of tournament you want to host and the experience you want players to have.

Step: 5 Build a Budget That Makes Sense

If you want to make money, you need to know your numbers. Write down what you’ll spend and what you expect to bring in. When you know the maximum capacity per player figure out whats the maximum revenue you can bring as well as break even point. That means that you need a specific number of player to break even.

Know Your Numbers (and Your Break-Even)

Inputs (example)

• Entry fee: $100
• Credit-card processing: 3.4%
• Hawaii GET (tax): 4.712%
• Players: 144

Scenario A — You absorb tax (not added to checkout)

• Gross collected: 144 × $100 = $14,400
• Processing fees (3.4% of $14,400): $489.60
• Hawaii GET (4.712% of $14,400): $678.53
• Net to organizer (before any other costs): $14,400 − $489.60 − $678.53 = $13,231.87

Effective net per player (before other costs):
$100 − 3.4% − 4.712% = $91.888

Here is a list of expenses assuming the dialy rent of the facility is $2000, and the tournament is 2 days. Insurance is $300 per event accoridng to K&K Insurance Group Inc, Metals $200, Balls $200, Shirts and food for plauers $25 per player,

Tournament Financial Overview

Expenses

Revenue (Entry Fee $100/player)

• Players: 144
• Gross Collected: 144 × $100 = $14,400
• Processing Fees (3.4%): $489.60
• Hawaii GET (4.712%): $678.53
• Net Revenue: $14,400 − $489.60 − $678.53 = $13,231.87

Break-Even Point

• Fixed Costs (rent, insurance, medals, balls): $4,700
• Variable Cost per Player (shirt + food): $25
• Net per Player (after fees/tax): $91.89
• Break-Even Players: $4,700 ÷ ($91.89 − $25) ≈ 71 players

 Summary

• Total Expenses: $8,300
• Break-Even Players: 71
• Net Revenue (144 players): $13,231.87
• Projected Profit: $13,231.87 − $8,300 = $4,931.87

I would caution you to charge only as much as you believe players are willing to pay. If your tournament isn’t well organized or the perceived value isn’t high, it will be difficult to attract players or successfully host future events.

The opportunity for additional revenue can come from sponsors, but make sure your entry fees alone cover your core costs. That way, the event stays profitable even without sponsorship. Aim for 15–30% profit from entry fees; if you hit that, it’s a solid return on your effort—before you even add potential revenue from sponsors and vendor booth rentals.