Practical guides for pickleball players and organizers — from finding games at your level to running a multi-division club.
You don't need a membership to play in KC. Here's every free, public, outdoor pickleball court across the metro — by suburb, with which are dedicated, which are lined for pickleball, and which have lights.
KC summers are humid and the winters are cold — so where do you play indoors? A complete guide to the metro's dedicated clubs, racquet clubs, and community-center gyms, with how access works at each.
Everything you need to know before your first season — from choosing a format to managing registrations, scheduling courts, and keeping players engaged all season long.
Single elimination, double elimination, or round-robin? Each format has trade-offs for fairness, time, and player experience. Here's how to pick the right one.
No — DUPR is back online (re-checked Sep 15, 2026). What's confirmed about the September outage and security incident, what players report, and what's still unknown.
Overland Park has been called America's most pickleball-obsessed city — and it has more courts than any other KC suburb. Here's where to play, from Chicken N Pickle to the free park courts.
Kansas City has more dedicated pickleball clubs than almost any Midwest metro — but they work very differently. Here's an honest comparison of membership, pay-per-play, courts, and vibe to help you pick.
New to pickleball in KC? Here's exactly how to start — where to take your first swings, how skill levels work, what gear you actually need, and how to find beginner-friendly games near you.
Olathe is one of the fastest-growing pickleball spots in Johnson County — home to two dedicated indoor clubs plus free public courts. Here's where to play, indoors and out.
Lenexa pairs indoor rec-center play with two of the best free outdoor parks in Johnson County — including the 8 dedicated courts at Bois D'Arc. Here's where to play.
From indoor open play at the Shawnee Civic Centre to free outdoor courts at Herman Laird and Listowel parks — a quick guide to playing pickleball in Shawnee.
Leawood covers both ends of the game: SW19's 10 indoor courts with no membership, and the free striped courts at Leawood City Park. Here's where to play.
Ready for more than open play? Here's how organized pickleball works in KC — leagues, tournaments, and clinics, where to find them, and how to run your own.
Court size, gear, scoring, and how hard each is on your body — an honest side-by-side of pickleball and tennis, plus whether you can play pickleball on a tennis court.
They both use solid paddles and look similar at a glance — but pickleball and padel are very different sports. Here's how the courts, walls, scoring, and vibe compare.
They share a court size but almost nothing else. Ball vs. shuttlecock, net height, paddle vs. racquet — how pickleball and badminton really compare.
Both use solid paddles and a small ball — but one's on a table and one's on a court. How pickleball and table tennis compare on scale, scoring, and skills.
Platform tennis is the winter paddle sport played on a heated court with screens. Here's how it differs from pickleball — and how the whole paddle-sport family fits together.
How do you rank teams fairly when records are tied? A deep dive into the statistics that matter — and how to set up your standings so players trust the results.
Practical strategies for recruiting new players, retaining regulars, building a community culture, and scaling your operations without burning out as an organizer.
Score disputes and missing results are the #1 headache for league organizers. Here's a system for collecting scores reliably — and handling the edge cases gracefully.
DUPR's outage this month was a reminder: any rating provider can go down. Here's how to keep a league or tournament running — recording results, keeping standings, and communicating with players — without depending on a third-party service being up.
Can't log back into DUPR, or worried a recent match disappeared? Here's what's actually confirmed about the outage, what players are reporting about the login loop, and how to keep your own record of your matches so it isn't dependent on any single app.
Every pickleball player eventually needs a number. Here's a plain, neutral explainer of DUPR, self-rating, and the other systems you'll run into — what each measures, how it's earned, and where it fits.
Opinion: when a single rating service goes dark, the whole sport's scoreboard goes with it. An argument for ratings that are portable, transparent, and backed up — and an honest account of why that's harder than a Reddit thread makes it sound.