KYIV PICKLEBALL OPEN 2026

Every tournament is a challenge.

When you organize a tournament for the first time, you worry about everything. When you have organized many tournaments before, you still worry just as much — the challenges simply become different.

This year, we were prepared for many things: a large number of participants, complex logistics, organizing eight different divisions, coordinating referees, volunteers, and the tournament team. But there was one thing we could not prepare for — the weather.

Kyiv Pickleball Open 2026 was set to be special even before it began. For the first time in Ukraine, the tournament was planned to be played on professional roll-out courts recently brought to Ukraine by our team. For us, this was another important step forward in the development of pickleball and in raising the standards of tournament organization.

But nature decided to test us.

A heavy downpour forced us to completely change our plans within just a few hours. It seemed that months of preparation could be at risk. And it is in moments like these that you realize sport is not only about courts, nets, and scores on the scoreboard. It is about people.

We are immensely grateful to our friends at Sunrise Academy, who immediately responded and opened their indoor courts to us. Thanks to their support, the tournament not only took place — it became a true celebration of pickleball.

70 participants

Players aged from 12 to 88 years old

Youngest participant: 12 years old

The oldest participant was 88 years old

The first two-day tournament of this format in Ukraine

The largest number of divisions ever held at a Ukrainian pickleball tournament

Children and veterans, beginners and experienced athletes, wheelchair players, athletes with prostheses, and people simply in love with the game all shared the courts together.

And that is what matters most to us.

Because every tournament we organize is about much more than winners and medals. It is about community. It is about people finding friendship, support, inspiration, and new opportunities through sport.

Every tournament is far more than what spectators see on the courts. Behind every net, every medal, every court, and every smile are people and organizations that believed in our team and in the future of Ukrainian pickleball.

We sincerely thank our partners and sponsors for their trust, support, and commitment to developing this sport alongside us. Thanks to you, we can continue creating opportunities for children, veterans, wheelchair athletes, athletes with prostheses, and everyone who wants to discover pickleball.

For the Ukrainian Pickleball Federation, partnership is much more than a logo on a banner. It is people becoming part of our story and helping make possible what seemed impossible just a few years ago.

💙 Thank you to every participant, volunteer, referee, partner, and supporter.