The GPN Pickleball Blog

If you've ever run a pickleball tournament — or are planning to — you know that success lives and dies in the details. While great volunteers, referees, and a good venue all matter, the Tournament Director (TD) owns the strategic spine of the event: brackets, formats, schedules, scoring, and the structure that drives the player experience. This gui...

Key considerations before you get started. Ladder leagues are a great way to foster regular play, promote fair competition, and encourage player development in your pickleball community. But running a smooth and successful ladder takes more than just matching up players by skill. This guide outlines key considerations and decisions that go into pla...

​Introduction Are you passionate about pickleball and eager to foster a sense of camaraderie and competition within your local pickleball community? Running a pickleball challenge ladder could be the perfect way to achieve both goals. In this blog post, we'll delve into the intricacies of organizing and managing a pickleball challenge ladder, cover...

Pickleball, an invigorating blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis, has seen a meteoric rise in popularity across the United States, with the Sports & Fitness Industry Association reporting over 4.8 million players nationwide as of 2022. This surge reflects a staggering 39.3% increase over the past two years, drawing in a diverse crowd, f...

If you have been tasked with organizing your pickleball club, you are probably feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. You  have a list of requirements, and you are having a hard time finding a single software solution that can do it all. Your requirements probably  look something like this: Manage your membership Collect membershi...

​We just released one of the coolest features, and we couldn't be more excited. It is the ability to award digital trophies for your leagues and tournaments. Imagine being able to see all your trophies you have been awarded over the years. Just like having a trophy case! Pretty cool right?  And just like real trophies,...

 We just released a fun new feature that I think everyone will really enjoy. We are calling it "Achievements". We will be automatically awarding achievements for reaching different milestones on the site. For example, once you have played 10 matches, you will be awarded a "10 Matches Played" achievement. Achievements can be seen on all profile...

There is no app in the app store, but you can run the site as a web app. This will create an icon on your phone, and it will look and feel just like a downloaded app. ​ For an iPhone... Step 1 On any page in GPN, click the share icon at the bottom of the screen.  Step 2 Next, just scroll down on the page, and click the "Add to Home Screen" lin...

Have you ever had a question regarding a rule in pickleball?  Or how the scoring works? Or even just how to play the game? Well, most of your questions can probably be answered just by reading USAPA's official rulebook.  The rulebook covers everything including: Court size and dimensions The height of the net What is the "N...

Do you play pickleball at a set time and location each week? Are you looking to attract more players? We have just released a new tool that we think will be a game changer. We are calling it "scheduled play". When logged in, you will now see a new scheduled play icon at the top right of every page: ​ When you click that icon, you will be taken to t...

Have you ever wanted to run your own pickleball tournament? At Global Pickleball Network, we give you all the tools you need to create a pickleball tournament in just a few minutes. Here are just a few of the features our pickleball tournament software offers: Run a singles or doubles tournament Single or double elimination Round rob...

One of the most difficult aspects of playing pickleball isn't actually the sport itself.  It is finding a place to play.  Global Pickleball Network has created a great tool for finding and submitting pickleball courts.  Check out this short video showing how to search for a pickleball court near you. Once you are ready, go here ...

The growing popularity of pickleball has resulted in the development of some amazing facilities throughout the United States. Here are four of our favorites: Little Valley Pickleball Complex About: The facility hosts a variety of pickleball events including lessons, clinics, leagues, youth pickleball, and tournaments; they have hosted the USAP...

Pickleball is a simple paddle game played using a special perforated, slow-moving ball over a tennis-type net on a badminton-sized court. The following is an abbreviated form of the rules to give you a quick overview of how the game is played. Click Here to see the official rules.  Basic Rules Overview  Pickleball is played either as...

Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines many elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong into one fun and exciting game. It was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington by three dads - Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum - in an effort to entertain their kids who were bored with their usual...