By Jennifer Lucore & Alex Hamner

After launching the USA Pickleball Association in 2005 , the board of directors voted in late 2007 to establish its first national tournament . The purpose was to showcase the best pickleball talent in both open and age-group categories .

This was the first large major event using a new one-of-a-kind software program called PickleballTournaments . com .

Nationals was the only tournament USA Pickleball , the sport ’ s governing body , owned and ran until 2017 , when it created USA Pickleball regional tournaments — and 2018 brought the prestigious “ golden ticket ” for winners , which guaranteed entry into Nationals .

In 2018 , USA Pickleball said , “ What began as an event that drew mostly senior participants now started to capture the interest of younger players and high-level tennis players who were crossing over to pickleball . Dominance by players from Washington , Arizona , California and Florida gave way to players from a wider representation all over North America . Word had spread about the importance of the dink game and players began to realize that without it , competing at the higher levels would not be possible .”

Here ’ s a quick Nationals summary :

From 2009-2014 , the first six USA Pickleball Nationals were held at Sun City Festival in Buckeye , AZ .

The 2015 USA Pickleball Nationals VII was jointly hosted by Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort Pickleball Club and Robson Ranch Community in Casa Grande , AZ .

In 2016 , the USA Pickleball Nationals VIII tournament was hosted by Palm Creek Resort , AZ .

In 2017 , the tournament name was changed to USA Pickleball National Championships and was again played at the Palm Creek and Robson Ranch communities in Casa Grande , AZ .

For 2018 and 2019 , USA Pickleball partnered with Desert Champions , LLC , and moved the tournament to world-renowned Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells , CA .

In 2020 , the national championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic .

The 2021 and 2022 championships were at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells , CA . •

Alex Hamner and Jennifer Lucore began playing and competing in pickleball in 2010 and have both been inducted into the Pickleball Hall of Fame . They are on the Board of Directors at Naples Pickleball Center , the Pickleball Capital of the World . They are best known for winning Women ’ s Open Doubles at Nationals for four consecutive years ( 2011-2014 ). For more pickleball fun , visit Jennifer ’ s blog at allpickleball . com .

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS CASH AWARDS

2009-12 $ 7,000

2013 $ 8,125

2014 $ 14,000

2022 $ 150,000

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