509 Summer Classic expands amateur pickleball to 22 courts in Richland

The 509 Summer Classic has become one of Eastern Washington’s biggest pickleball dates, and the 2026 edition stretched that footprint to 22 courts at CBRC Health & Fitness in Richland. The main event ran June 19 through June 21, with a second weekend team event set for June 27-28, a setup that pushed the tournament deeper into the regional calendar and gave amateur players a larger stage alongside the Open and Pro fields.

Club 509 said the venue layout included 16 indoor courts and six outdoor courts, with the move primarily indoors aimed at better playing conditions. The address at 1776 Terminal Drive put the event squarely in Richland, while the tournament ball was the Selkirk ProS1 and the weekend was presented by the Pickleball Pen. Vendor City added a marketplace element, and hotel specials were part of the package built around the full player experience.

For amateurs, the draw was not an afterthought. The bracket slate covered full-court singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles, with skill divisions from 3.0 through 5.0. The format was round robin with side-out scoring, and the top seeds advanced to a playoff for medals, which meant more court time and more meaningful matches for players who traveled in for the weekend. Early amateur entry was listed at $40, with amateur event fees set at $15 per event, and registration could also include a pro-rated Club 509 membership valid through July 31, 2026.

The event carried a $25,000 prize pool and free spectator admission, and Visit Tri-Cities described it as Eastern Washington’s premier summer pickleball tournament. Registration could close early if daily participant limits were reached, another sign that demand has been outrunning the available court time. Club 509 launched the Summer Classic in 2019, making 2026 the eighth annual edition.

The scale behind the numbers was hard to miss. Local coverage said the previous Summer Classic grew 189 percent year over year and drew 426 attendees, including spectators from 10 states and two countries. Club 509 also marketed the tournament to players from across Washington, the Pacific Northwest and other parts of the U.S., with Pasco airport listed as the flight gateway. That kind of reach explains why Richland keeps landing on more pickleball calendars: the Tri-Cities are no longer just hosting the amateur game, they are becoming one of its regional hubs.