Pickleball New Zealand Association (PNZA) is excited to host the 2026 NZ Open proudly brought to you by Summerset Retirement Villages. This tournament will be run from Monday 28 Sept 2026 through until Sunday 4 Oct 2026 at the Albany Sports Centre, Auckland featuring 60 aged and skill related divisions played on an indoor hard court facility of 24 courts, excellent court viewing, lots of bathrooms, showers throughout the centre and plenty of onsite parking. We will also have a photographer and live streaming for the event.
Please read all the following information to help you understand how the days and divisions will run:
* Your first division is included in the registration fee.
* Each additional division costs $30 per event
* Please review all the details and note the different dates and expected start times for each division.
* All divisions are round robin for the pool play section then if you qualify for the next stage it will be single elimination knock out from then on.
* A minimum of three games is guaranteed.
* You ideally should have your partner sorted at time of registration
* If you select "partner required" you must have a partner confirmed by the close of registration or when the division reaches maximum teams, whichever one happens first, priority will be given to those teams where both players have entered and teams on the waiting list that have both players confirmed
* For all divisions you can play up however you can't play down or outside your age category (i.e. a person of any age can play in the Open however if you are 52 you can't play in the 60+ divisions).
* DUPR will be used to confirm player's division eligibility at time of registration.
* Because DUPR updates dynamically, small changes don’t automatically move players between divisions. If your rating has increased significantly, more than 0.25 and you would prefer to play up, we are happy to accommodate.
* The Tournament Director may also move players up in cases where a player's rating has increased more than 0.25 to ensure fairness of the division.
* Events may be merged if less than four participating players/teams in a division subject to the Tournament Director's discretion.
* Medals will be awarded for gold, sliver and bronze for all divisions.
* Prize money will be awarded for gold, silver and bronze for all divisions as follows:
Open Singles Divisions Gold $300 / Silver $150 / Bronze $75 per player
All Other Singles Divisions Gold $100 / Silver $75 / Bronze $30 per player
Open Gender / Mixed Doubles Divisions (awarded per team) Gold $600 / Silver $300 / Bronze $150
All Other Doubles Divisions (awarded per team) Gold $200 / Silver $150 / Bronze $60
Age Eligibility Policy – A player’s age group for this tournament is determined by the age they will reach during the 2026 calendar year (1 January–31 December 2026), not their age on the day of play. Players must enter the division corresponding to the age they turn in 2026. Example: A player who turns 50 in November 2026 is eligible for the 50+ division at the 2026 NZ Open even though they aren't yet 50 years of age. A player who is 60 years of age can choose to play in the 50+ divisions.
Any other questions or queries, please contact Ange Brady ambrady12@gmail.com or 021 082 41835
(The best way to contact Ange is via email however please note if Ange doesn't answer her phone please text her and she will call you back).
