2024 Biofreeze National
Championships
How to Qualify
The USA Pickleball National Championships is the premier professional and amateur tournament in the sport of pickleball. Established in 2009, the National Championships has evolved into the first and only pickleball tournament in which players must qualify to participate. The 2023 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships attracted over 9,500 fans – surpassing the attendance at the 2022 Nationals by over 4,000.
To be eligible to participate in the 2024 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships, you must have played in a qualifying tournament. There are 11 Golden Ticket tournaments being held across the United States. Below you will find answers to some of the most commonly asked questions regarding the qualification process for the 2024 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships.
Q. What is a USA Pickleball Golden Ticket?
A. A Golden Ticket event is a highlighted pickleball tournament where category and division GOLD medal winners are granted pre-registration access (Golden Tickets) to the 2024 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championship (AKA Pickleball Nationals). If you earn a GOLD medal at a Golden Ticket event, you have secured a guaranteed spot to compete at Nationals.
Golden Tickets are the only guaranteed path to register for Pickleball Nationals, the premiere year-end tournament hosted annually in November.
Q. Which Tournaments offer a USA Pickleball ‘Golden Ticket’ for the 2024 USA Pickleball National Championships?
Q. How does a player become eligible to enter the lottery for the USA Pickleball National Championships?
A. All players who participate in a Golden Ticket tournament are eligible for the lottery.
Q. How does a player become eligible to enter the lottery for the USA Pickleball National Championships?
A. All players who win a GOLD medal at a Golden Ticket Event will automatically qualify and will receive an opportunity to pre-register for Pickleball Nationals.
After all the GOLD medal winners have had an opportunity to pre-register for the tournament, players who received a SILVER or a BRONZE medal at a Golden Ticket event will be the next in line to be selected for entry based on availability and selected by a random draw.
Lastly, players who participated in a Golden Ticket event, but did not receive a medal, will be the next group to receive an invitation to enter the Pickleball Nationals. This group of players will also be based on availability and selected by a random draw.
Q. What happens if I’m a senior player in a National Championship qualifier tournament and my bracket is combined?
A. In the scenario that 70+, 75+, or 80+ brackets at a qualifying event are combined due to a lack of teams, ALL players in said bracket will receive a Golden Ticket for the National Championships. This is intended to encourage more participation at the National Championships in the 70+ age groups.
Q. Can Junior Players who have not played in a qualifying tournament still register for Nationals?
A. If you are a Junior Player who did not qualify for Nationals via a qualifying tournament, you can still register using the process below:
Send an email to nationalsreg@usapickleball.org and include the following information:
- Junior player's first and last name
- Date of Birth
- USA Pickleball membership number
- Let the registration team know that it is for JUNIOR-only events