National
Nations field teams that battle head-to-head. Each tie runs men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed — round-robin with rotating partners, so depth wins, not a single star.
Country vs country- Open
- Kids
- Junior
- Senior
- Master
← Road to Da NangThe format · Da Nang 2026
How the Cup works
Two competitions share one week: nations playing each other Davis Cup-style across five age categories, and an open draw anyone can enter. Here's how a country actually wins it.
The shape of itTwo events,
Two events,
one week
The name covers two different competitions running in parallel. Most confusion about the Cup comes from treating them as one.
Individual
Players enter directly and are drawn by age group and DUPR — the global rating system used to seed brackets so you compete against genuinely level opponents.
Open entry · by rating- Age groups
- DUPR skill tiers
- Singles & doubles
The national event is the one that makes headlines. A tie between two countries is decided across men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed, played round-robin with rotating partners — reporting on the format describes it as Davis Cup crossed with the team dynamics of Major League Pickleball.
The consequence is the interesting part: you cannot carry a nation with one star. Rotating partners means every player on the roster gets exposed, so squad depth decides ties. That is the single most useful thing to understand before watching.
Alongside it, the International Pickleball Tournament is open entry, drawn by age group and DUPR rating so you play genuinely level opponents. It is why a club player from India can compete in the same venues, the same week, as the national teams.
- Edition
- 4th edition · First ever held in Asia
- Dates
- Aug 30 – Sep 6, 2026
- Host
- Da Nang, Vietnam
- Nations
- 80+ expected
- Athletes
- 5,000+
- Prize pool
- $500,000
The national eventFive squads,
Five squads,
one flag
Countries can enter a team in each category, scored separately — which is how a nation finishes high overall without winning the marquee title.
What each category means
- Open.The flagship. No age limit — a country's strongest players, and the title everyone measures a nation by.
- Kids and Junior.The age-group teams. India's U14 and U18 squads were picked on merit at the Ahmedabad trials rather than by ranking.
- Senior and Master. The 50+ and 60+ brackets, where India has historically been strongest — most of its 2025 gold came from senior draws.
5,000+
Athletes
across all draws
81
Nations
& territories
156
National teams
Open · Senior · Master · Junior · Kids
$500K
Prize pool
across all draws
Go deeperBoth events,
Both events,
in detail
Pickleball World Cup
The flagship country-vs-country championship — Open, Senior, Junior, Kids and Master teams. This is where Team India competes.
Meet Team India →Heineken International Tournament
A companion event running the same week — anyone can enter by skill rating (3.0–5.0), with Pro, Junior and Wheelchair draws alongside.
How to enter →- How does the Pickleball World Cup work?
- Nations field teams that play each other head to head. A tie is decided across men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles, played round-robin with rotating partners — so a country needs depth across its whole roster rather than one outstanding player. Running alongside it is a separate open tournament that any player can enter, drawn by age group and DUPR rating.
- What are the five team categories?
- The national-team competition is split into Open, Kids, Junior, Senior and Master. A country can field a squad in each, and they are scored separately — which is why a nation can finish high overall without winning the marquee Open title.
- How many countries play in the Pickleball World Cup 2026?
- 81 nations and territories are in Da Nang, with more than 5,000 athletes across the national-team and individual events. The national competition alone has 156 team entries across the Open, Senior, Master, Junior and Kids divisions.
- Which edition is the 2026 Pickleball World Cup?
- Da Nang 2026 is the fourth edition and the first ever held in Asia, after previous editions in Peru and the United States. Some outlets have reported it as the third edition and given an end date of September 9; the event runs August 30 to September 6.
- Can anyone play in the Pickleball World Cup?
- Not in the national-team event — that is by country selection, which in India means the IPA's selection process. But the International Pickleball Tournament runs the same week and is open entry, drawn by skill rating from 3.0 to 5.0 plus Pro, Junior and Wheelchair divisions.
- What is the prize money at the Pickleball World Cup 2026?
- The prize pool for Da Nang 2026 is 500,000 US dollars across the events.
Format details as described in official announcements and contemporary reporting, last checked August 3, 2026. Coverage of this event is inconsistent — some outlets report Da Nang as the third edition and give an end date of September 9. We follow the organisers and the Vietnamese host reporting: fourth edition, August 30 to September 6. Verify against the official site before making plans.