The 2026 Pickleball English OPEN will welcome over 2,800 players to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham next month — a 22 per cent increase on the 2025 field and the largest indoor pickleball tournament ever staged outside the United States, with 60 courts deployed across the UK’s biggest exhibition venue to accommodate demand that has outpaced all previous years.
Key Takeaways
- More than 2,800 players have registered for the 2026 English OPEN (11–16 August), representing a 22 per cent increase on 2025’s 2,300-plus field from over 40 countries
- The tournament has relocated to NEC Birmingham — the UK’s largest exhibition venue — to handle the record demand, with 60 indoor courts planned across multiple interconnected halls
- The scale positions the English OPEN as the most significant competitive pickleball event outside North America and a genuine fixture on the global tournament calendar
The 2026 Pickleball English OPEN will bring more than 2,800 players to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham next month, marking a 22 per cent increase on the 2025 field and the clearest demonstration yet that competitive pickleball infrastructure in Europe is now operating at major-event scale.
The tournament, which takes place from 11 to 16 August, has been relocated from Telford International Centre to accommodate the record field. Sixty courts will be built across multiple interconnected halls at the NEC — the UK’s largest exhibition venue — creating what Pickleball England describes as the largest indoor pickleball event in the world.
The 2,800-plus registrations surpass the 2,300-plus players who competed at the 2025 edition, which drew participants from more than 40 countries. The scale of demand has forced organisers to rethink not just venue capacity but the infrastructure required to support what is now the premier competitive event in European pickleball.
Karen Mitchell, Chair and Co-Founder of Pickleball England, said the record field validated years of investment in competitive infrastructure. “The scale and flexibility of the venue allow us to deliver an experience like never before — for players, spectators and partners alike,” Mitchell said. “With demand already at unprecedented levels, this move ensures we can continue to grow the event and showcase the very best of our sport on a truly world-class stage.”
The NEC, which opened in 1976 and has hosted over 36,000 events across its 50-year history, provides infrastructure typically reserved for flagship sporting and cultural events such as Crufts and Spring Fair. The venue welcomes 2.3 million visitors annually across more than 500 events, and its transport links by air, rail and road are seen as critical to supporting the English OPEN’s expanding international reach.
Context: What’s Driving the Record Field
The 2,800 registrations reflect two converging factors: the UK’s domestic participation base and the tournament’s growing role as a geographic alternative to North American competition.
Pickleball England, founded in January 2019 and recognised by Sport England as the official governing body in December 2024, now has over 18,000 registered members. The organisation estimates there are 65,000 players and more than 1,200 venues across the UK, creating the local demand required to fill a tournament of this scale whilst maintaining strong international representation.
But the bigger factor is geographic. For players across Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia, Birmingham offers easier and cheaper access than flying to the USA for equivalent-scale tournaments. The 40-plus countries represented at the 2025 edition suggest the English OPEN is becoming a genuine fixture on the global competitive calendar, not just a regional alternative. The 2026 numbers confirm that trend is accelerating.
The relocation to the NEC — announced after registrations had already exceeded the previous year’s total — indicates confidence that the demand trajectory is sustainable rather than speculative. Pickleball England is not gambling on future growth. It is responding to demand that already exists and building infrastructure to match it.
Why It Matters
The significance of the 2,800 registrations lies not in the number alone, but in what it signals about the geographic distribution of competitive pickleball infrastructure. The USA remains the dominant force in professional play, but the infrastructure and participation base required to challenge that dominance — or at least to operate independently of it — is now being built in Europe.
Sixty indoor courts in a single venue is a logistical and financial commitment that places the tournament in direct comparison with major US events. The registration numbers suggest players are treating it as such. The 2026 English OPEN at the NEC will be the clearest demonstration yet of whether European infrastructure investment can sustain a competitive ecosystem that operates on its own terms rather than as a satellite of the American circuit.
The tournament will take place from 11 to 16 August 2026 at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, with registration details available through Pickleball England.
Further Reading
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Chris Beaumont
Founder and Editor-in-ChiefChris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine. Chris follows the global game closely, reporting on the latest news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball Podcast, interviewing people at…
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