PickleballSkill Levels
Sign up
← All posts

World Championships hit quarterfinal Friday in Farmers Branch

By Pickleball Skill Levels · November 6, 2026 · 3 min read · Last updated November 6, 2026

The Opendoor Pickleball World Championships reach the quarterfinals on Friday in Farmers Branch, with 3,000 ranking points and a $1,648,641 payout on the line.

A packed championship pickleball court during a quarterfinal match

The biggest week of the fall is down to its last three days. The Opendoor Pickleball World Championships — a PPA Tour Major running November 2-8 at Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, Texas — reach the quarterfinals on Friday, with pro first serve at 11:00 AM, as listed on the PPA Tour event page.

The stakes are as high as the tour offers outside its finals. A Major title here is worth 3,000 ranking points in every division — enough, the tour notes, to reshuffle the season-long points race in a single weekend — and the event carries $1,648,641 in total payouts across the five pro divisions, including appearance fees. Every No. 1 seed is entered, with the field listed at the top 40-plus players.

What else is happening on Friday

Friday is also doubles day for the PPA Challenger Showdown, the season-ending event for the Challenger Series being played at the same venue. The highest-ranked players without a PPA Tour contract play men's, women's and mixed doubles pool play on Friday, with semifinals and finals in all events on Saturday — and eight of them leave Brookhaven with a 2027 PPA Tour contract.

Around the pro courts, the Friday program includes King of the Court sessions for 3.0-3.5 players (11:00 AM-12:30 PM) and 4.0-4.5 players (12:30-2:30 PM), a Special Olympics session from 2:30-4:30 PM, and the Holbrook After Party from 6:00-8:00 PM.

A ball dropping just over the net tape into the kitchen, close-up

How the weekend finishes

Semifinals follow on Saturday, and Championship Sunday starts earlier than the rest of the week, with pro first serve at 10:00 AM. Fans who cannot make it to Farmers Branch can stream every court live on PickleballTV, with the marquee rounds on national TV, including Tennis Channel coverage. Parking is at Dallas College Brookhaven Campus, Lot P3, with complimentary shuttles running to the venue entrance.

If watching the best players in the world makes you want a match of your own, our guide to playing your first tournament walks through what to expect. Want to know where your own game stands first? Take the free skill check.

Source: PPA Tour, Opendoor Pickleball World Championships event page (ppatour.com) — dates, venue, points, payout, Friday schedule and Challenger Showdown details as published there.

Now find out where YOU stand

Reading about levels is step one. The free skill check scores your six shots and names your level — and your weakest shot — in about two minutes.

Keep reading

A women's doubles team celebrating a point at the net on a sunny courtBellamy upsets Haworth as Waters claims her 45th Triple Crown in ChicagoNovember 6, 2026 · 3 min readA mixed doubles rally at the kitchen lineFahey wins two golds in one day as first-time champions break throughNovember 6, 2026 · 3 min readA first-time player checking in at a small outdoor tournament deskYour first pickleball tournament: a player's guideOctober 29, 2026 · 5 min read

Pickleball words, in plain English

Players throw these words around like everyone knows them. Here is what each one actually means.

Kitchen
The 7-foot zone right at the net. You can stand in it, but you can't hit the ball out of the air while you're there.
Dink
A soft, gentle shot that just clears the net and lands in the kitchen. It forces the other side to hit up, not down.
Third-shot drop
Your team's first shot after the serve and return. Hit it soft so it drops into the kitchen — that lets you walk up to the net.
Reset
When a hard shot comes at you, you block it softly into the kitchen instead of swinging back. It slows the point down and saves you.
Drive
A hard, fast shot hit low over the net. The opposite of a dink.
Pop-up
A ball you hit too high by accident. It hangs in the air, and the other side gets to smash it. Most points at low levels end this way.
Speed up
To suddenly hit the ball hard and fast on purpose, to rush the other side before they're ready.
Volley
Hitting the ball out of the air before it bounces.