by Kelly Campbell
While Naples is widely considered the pickleball capital of the world, it’s not the Florida city making headlines this month. Pickle Games Miami announced in late June that Miami is set to host the “world’s largest pickleball festival” in 2024. The festival plans to take place on 100 courts at Miami Marine Stadium.
Although not dubbed the pickleball capital of Florida, pickleball is a big dill in Miami and has been continuously growing for years. It’s been difficult to keep up with public demand for pickleball in the city, which has over 10,000 pickleball players, so a tournament of this magnitude will likely be a welcome addition.
“The Pickle Games Miami is a festival and tournament founded to bridge that gap between the competitive pickleballers and first-timers, as well as the general public looking to have a high-energy weekend,” Pickle Games Miami co-founder Steve Suarez said in a statement.
We’re excited to see how the Miami 2024 pickleball festival pans out and how an event of this size will transform the pickleball space and inspire future events. Read on to discover everything we know now about the festival, learn more about other prominent pickleball events and tournaments and their growth rates, and see how these large (and growing) pickleball events help legitimize pickleball as a core US sport.
Everything We Know About the 2024 Miami Pickleball Festival
Here’s everything we know (so far) about the “world’s largest pickleball festival” coming to Miami in 2024:
- Hosted by Pickle Games Miami
- Will take place at the Miami Marine Stadium with 100 bayfront courts
- Will occur in early 2024, January 13-14
- Doubles and Mixed Doubles competitions across age divisions as well as a Pro Division. Opportunities are available for all levels.
- In addition to pickleball, the festival features live music, food vendors, and specialty vendors
- Ticket prices not yet released
- Early Bird Registration available for $400/team
Anticipated Tournament Growth & What it Means For Pickleball
Naturally, as pickleball continues growing, so will tournament size, scope, and frequency. With the increase in picklers, particularly picklers who go on to start pickleball companies that increase pickleball accessibility and capabilities, tournaments have transformed over the past few years. First, there is the greater demand in general – more players looking to compete leads to increased tournament size, generating more revenue, which leads to larger-scale events each year, which spreads pickleball awareness and encourages more players to pick up a paddle. But perhaps even more impactful than an increased demand is the improvement in pickleball technology. Advancements through scheduling technology, rating systems, online forums that connect players, online sign-ups, increased broadcasting and pickleball coverage, social media advertising for events and tournaments, etc., have all allowed pickleball tournaments to accommodate players as the sport spreads throughout the country. It’s easier than ever to find a tournament, sign up, and compete.
Compared to where we first started, pickleball technology has completely evolved to revolutionize how we as a pickleball community organize, promote, and interact regarding tournaments. In our blog, The Evolution of Standardized Pickleball Rating Systems –– featuring DUPR, WPR, IPTPA, and UTPR, we discuss why a standardized rating system is crucial to legitimizing pickleball as a core sport in the US and discuss the different options we have now for rating systems. Pickleballtournaments.com powers pickleball tournaments around the world and allows players to easily find and sign up for major pickleball tournaments. Working together to improve tournament processes so we get better with each one will work to make pickleball a more legitimate major US sport sooner than we ever thought possible.
Largest Pickleball Tournaments & Their Growth
Here are some of the most prominent annual pickleball events and tournaments and how they’ve grown to keep up with pickleball demand.
USA Pickleball Nationals – The first USA Pickleball Nationals tournament took place in 2009 in Buckeye, AZ. There were 400 participants over 12 temporary courts. It was the first tournament to use the software program pickleballtournaments.com. The 2023 National Championship will showcase over 3,500 players (a 50% increase from 2022)with over 65 courts and an estimated 25,000 spectators. It is set to have the largest prize in its history – over $150,000.
Minto US Pickleball Open – The first US Open for pickleball took place in 2016 with 800 participants and 2,000 spectators. The 2023 event was held in April and showcased over 3,000 players in the 64-court East Naples Community Park in Naples, Florida. This event is one of the most well-known pickleball events ever and has consistently contributed to overall pickleball growth.
PPA Championship – The PPA (Professional Pickleball Association) Championship is one of the last and most highly-anticipated events of the PPA Tour. In recent years, the PPA Championship and PPA Tour have grown tremendously. In 2022, PPA Tour matches were covered by a National TV network, the first time a pickleball match was aired on national television. The PPA tour also sponsored celebrity pickleball events and introduced new tournaments. With their new partnership with Major League Pickleball, we can expect the PPA Tour and championship to grow even more in 2023.
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