The PPA Tour is Back in Action for the Veolia Pickleball National Championships

Not even 24 hours after the New Jersey Fives were crowned the 2026 Major League Pickleball (MLP) champions, qualifiers were taking place at the Cary Tennis Center, in North Carolina for the PPA Veolia Pickleball National Championships.

This is the start to the 2026 - 2027 season for the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour. With over 20 tour stops during the season, this one is extremely important, as it is one of the four SLAMs on tour.

There are some new things the tour is rolling out, so we will cover those, plus take a look at the draws and partnerships for the National Championships.

New items for the PPA Tour in 2026/2027

World Pickleball Rankings

There has been plenty of coverage regarding the newly formatted World Pickleball Rankings on the PPA Tour. With the emergence in the last three years of PPA Australia, PPA Tour Asia, PPA Tour Europe, PPA Tour Canada, the PPA Challenger Series, and more, the World Pickleball Rankings helps centralize one system to know who the best of the best is.

It is fairly simple: 50% of a players points come from gender doubles points earned, 35% comes from mixed doubles points, and 15% comes from singles points. This has been slightly controversial in terms of the percentage for singles, but we will see how this plays out over the course of the season.

For more information on the World Pickleball Rankings, check out our coverage:

New Automated Line Calling on Side Courts

In late 2025, the United Pickleball Association (UPA) announced a partnership with Owl AI to automate line calls. That partnership has been in the works since then, and will debut with eight courts for the first time in Cary. The automated line call system has been used quite a bit up until now to dial it in, but not to this magnitude.

The UPA is the holding company over both the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball

8 courts with auto line calling tomorrow in Cary! pic.twitter.com/6BRWIy17fG

Side Switch at Six - Every Game

This one is simple. Previously, in a best two out of three match, the following would take place: Team A starts on side one and finishes a game on side one. They then go to side two and play game number two. If the match was tied after two games, Team A would again start on side one. Whenever a team reached six points, both teams would switch sides one more time, so Team A would end on side two, in a three game match.

With the new implementation, every time a team hits the score of six, they switch sides. This seems to be a more fair way to compete. Time will tell us how the players feel.

Removal of Bronze Medal Matches

This one is going to be hailed by both players and fans alike. Let’s be honest - many of the top players did not like playing bronze matches, even if there were a lot of points up for grabs. Now, the two semifinalists earn the same amount of points. And they don’t have to stay another whole day to play a match on Grandstand Court for bronze. 

Personally, I am a huge fan of this move.

Weather Outlook in Cary

The weather has been stifling in Cary, thus far. Humidity levels are through the roof and so are the temperatures. Player hydration is becoming an issue and it is only Wednesday. In addition, it looks like a good chance of rain for both Saturday and Sunday. Make sure to follow PPA Tour socials (or me on X) to stay up to date on weather delays or time changes.

Broadcast Schedule for the PPA Veolia National Championships

Tuesday, September 1

• Round of 128 & Round of 64 - 10am - 6pm ET - pickleballtv

Wednesday, September 2

• Round of 32 - 10am - 6pm ET - pickleballtv

Thursday, September 3

• Round of 16 - 9am - 5pm ET - pickleballtv
• Round of 16 - 11:30am - 5pm ET - Tennis Channel

Friday, September 4

• Quarterfinals - 10am - 6pm ET - pickleballtv
• Quarterfinals - 11:30am - 5pm ET - Tennis Channel

Saturday, September 5

• Semifinals - 9am - 5pm ET - pickleballtv
• Semifinals - 11am - 5pm ET - Tennis Channel

Sunday, September 6

• Championships - 10am - 4pm ET - pickleballtv
• Championships - 11am - 4pm ET - Tennis Channel

Now let’s take a look at the draws.

Women’s Singles

PPA Tour

Top Storylines:

• 825 - As of publishing, this is the number of days since Anna Leigh Waters' last match loss on the PPA Tour
• Sofia Sewing is making her PPA Tour debut after signing earlier in the year and she is the 46 seed - she is easily a top 10 talent, but needs to earn points to prove it - North Carolina is a great place to start
• (24) Keilly Ulery is coming off her second PPA Challenger gold in Atlanta this past weekend and looking to make a deep run, but will have to get past Dunlap and Lea Jansen just to make the quarterfinals

Predictions:

• Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters, (3) Kaitlyn Christian, (8) Kiora Kunimoto, and (4) Brooke Buckner
• Finals: Anna Leigh beats Kiora Kunimoto for the title

Men’s Singles

PPA Tour

Mixed Doubles

PPA Tour

Women’s Doubles

PPA Tour

Men’s Doubles

PPA Tour