Franklin U.S. Open Pickleball Championships Celebrates 10th Anniversary in Naples

Pickleball has traveled a long way from a backyard diversion to a sport where the world's largest sportswear company signs its first-ever paddle deal, and 55,000 fans cross state lines to watch. That convergence arrives in Naples from April 11-18 when the Franklin U.S. Open Pickleball Championships marks its 10th anniversary at the USOP National Pickleball Center, and for players in the 3.5-to-4.0 range, the week offers something rarer than a medal: a free live classroom in front of the game's best.

The scale makes a strong case on its own. Last year's event drew 3,400 players from all 50 states and 40 countries across 59 courts at East Naples Community Park, with more than 55,000 spectators attending over the week. The 10th-anniversary staging is being positioned as the most expansive edition yet, with expanded on-site activations and partner programming running the full eight days.

Anna Leigh Waters, the world's No. 1-ranked female player in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles per the PPA Tour, DUPR, and PickleWave, headlines the pro draw. Her recent Nike signing, the brand's first pickleball partnership, places one of the sport's most recognizable names at the center of a week that doubles as the sport's largest commercial showcase. Watching Waters work the kitchen in a live match is a master class in dink sequencing and speed-up selection that instructional video simply cannot replicate at competitive pace, and that kind of proximity is precisely what makes the U.S. Open worth the trip for recreational players.

Access is, remarkably, free. All pro and amateur matches across the facility's 59 courts require no admission ticket, only a $10 daily parking fee with proceeds benefiting the Kiwanis Club. Seats on the Zing Zang Championship Court, where finals and semifinal brackets conclude on April 18, require a lottery ticket. The open-court format lets anyone willing to move between courts get an unobstructed look at the mechanics most relevant to club-level play: the reset sequences pros use to neutralize an incoming speed-up, the disciplined serve-return-and-advance that collapses the third-shot problem, and how elite doubles pairs dictate NVZ tempo long before a ball gets attacked.

Off the courts, the US Open Expo tents and Vendor Village run throughout the week with hands-on access to new paddle technology, apparel, and footwear ahead of retail availability. Live music runs on the Lightstrike Patio each afternoon alongside food trucks and sponsor activations. Amateur brackets span age categories from 19+ through 80+, with both skill-based and age-only draws running through the week. Entry into the amateur draw runs approximately $165 for singles, doubles, and mixed combined, handled through Pickleball Den, which also manages brackets and match updates live during the event.

The player lottery, introduced in 2019 to handle surging demand, has already closed for 2026. Players targeting the 2027 draw should watch for the registration window, which opens in early 2027.

"There's a sense of history around this tournament," one competitor noted ahead of this year's edition, "and that creates an environment where you want to play your best." A decade in, the U.S. Open has made that statement structurally true: 59 courts, the sport's top-ranked pro in the draw, and a gate policy that puts amateur players forty feet from the best pickleball on the planet at no charge beyond parking.