McKinney hosts first US Senior Pickleball South Zone Championship showdown

McKinney’s first US Senior Pickleball South Zone Championship turned The Courts of McKinney Pickleball and Tennis Center into more than a neighborhood place to hit dinks and drives. From April 24-26, the facility at 3253 Alma Rd. hosted a three-day, age-group qualifier for players 50 and older, with the tournament presented by Humana and built around serious bracket play instead of casual open play.

That distinction matters. US Senior Pickleball requires membership for 2026 zone and national tournaments, and the McKinney stop fed directly into the next step on the circuit. Medalists from the South Zone Championship qualified to pre-register for the 2026 US Senior Pickleball National Championships, scheduled for Nov. 30-Dec. 5, 2026, in Casa Grande, Arizona. For the players who came through North Texas, the weekend was a chance to chase a berth on a much bigger stage.

McKinney had the infrastructure to make the event work, which is a big reason it landed the showcase. Visit McKinney calls The Courts of McKinney North Texas’s top destination for tennis and pickleball action, and the City of McKinney describes it as the premier tennis and pickleball facility in Texas. The complex sits inside Gabe Nesbitt Community Park, where indoor and outdoor courts, a pro shop, lessons, leagues, tournament rentals and a busy recreation district give visiting players a full tournament setup instead of a bare-bones stopover.

The draw goes beyond competition. Visit McKinney says players can book pickleball there for as little as $5, with special senior hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays for players 55 and older. That makes the South Zone Championship feel less like a one-off and more like part of a broader pipeline, one that can keep local courts full after the medals are handed out and the visitors leave town.

McKinney is also leaning into pickleball at multiple levels. City tourism materials say pro pickleball returned to The Courts of McKinney for the Veolia Texas Open, and Professional Pickleball Association Tour founder Connor Pardoe called North Texas “the home of professional pickleball in the United States.” That kind of positioning gives the South Zone Championship extra weight. It shows senior amateur pickleball is no longer just filling court time; it is moving travel, spending and local prestige, and McKinney is working hard to stay at the center of it.