PKLYN Classic: MLP 12

All MiLP matches follow USA Pickleball rules except where noted below. The Tournament Director has final authority on any situation not covered here.

Scoring

Rally scoring, games to 21, win by 2. A point is awarded on every rally, regardless of who served — unlike traditional pickleball where only the serving team can score.

The "freeze" rule: the winning point must be scored on your serve. If you're up 20–19 and win a rally while receiving, the point doesn't count — the score stays 20–19 and the serve passes to you. You must then win the next rally while serving to close out the game. Trailing teams never freeze — if you're behind, every rally you win scores normally.

Serving within rally scoring:

• The player on the right side serves when their team's score is even (0, 2, 4…).

• The player on the left side serves when their team's score is odd (1, 3, 5…).

• Players stay on their assigned side the whole game — no rotating after points.

• Teams can swap player sides at the 11-point end change or during a timeout, but must announce it before play resumes.

End changes: teams switch ends when the first team reaches 11 points. Players don't switch ends between games within a match — whichever end you finished on, you start the next game on.

Match Format

A Match consists of 4 Games in this order:

1. Women's Doubles

2. Men's Doubles

3. Mixed Doubles (pairing 1)

4. Mixed Doubles (pairing 2)

Lineup declarations: the Away team declares their mixed doubles pairings first; the Home team declares after seeing Away's lineup.

Coin toss: before each match, captains meet for a coin toss. The winner picks one of three options, the loser picks from the remaining two, and the winner takes the last:

1. Home or Away team

2. Serve or receive to start every game

3. Which end to start Women's Doubles on

Home team reacts to Away's mixed lineup and declares their DreamBreaker order first. Away team reacts to Home's DreamBreaker lineup and declares mixed first.

All 4 games are played in round-robin matches regardless of score — a 3–0 match still plays the 4th game because point differential matters for seeding.

DreamBreaker (Playoff Matches Only)

If a playoff match is tied 2–2 after the four games, the winner is decided by a singles DreamBreaker. Round-robin matches that end 2–2 simply stay tied.

• Format: singles, one player from each team on court at a time.

• Scoring: rally scoring, game to 21, win by 2.

• Rotation: all 4 teammates rotate in, each playing 4 rallies before swapping to the next. Rotation repeats in the same order until the game ends.

• Lineup: Home team declares their full rotation order first; Away team declares after.

• Serving: standard singles rule — serve from the right when your team's score is even, left when odd.

• End change: when one team reaches 11.

• Timeouts: 1 per team.

Pace of Play

• 5 minutes total to warm up before a match starts — this includes figuring out home/away and starting the first game.

• 2 minutes between games within a match. No additional warm-up. If a team isn't ready at the 2-minute mark, they forfeit their timeout for that game.

• 5 minutes between the final mixed game and the DreamBreaker — 1 minute for Home to declare their full singles lineup, 1 minute for Away to declare theirs.

Timeouts

• 1 timeout per game per team (up to 1 minute).

• Plus a 1-minute break at the 11-point end change.

Tournament Structure & Seeding

Round robin → single-elimination bracket.

• Teams play every other team in their pool during round-robin.

• With 8 teams in a division, the top 2 from each pool advance to semifinals. Semifinal winners play for gold; semifinal losers play for bronze.

Seeding tiebreakers (in order):

1. Matches won

2. Point differential percentage — points scored minus points allowed, converted to a %

Substitutions & Injuries

• Pre-event subs are allowed as long as the new player's DUPR doesn't push the team over the division's max aggregate.

• If a sub is made for an injured player mid-event, the sub stays in for the rest of the event — a player subbed out can't be subbed back in later.

• If a team can't field all required players, that game is a 21–0 forfeit.

• If a player is injured mid-game and can't finish, the team retires from that game. The retiring team keeps their score; the opposing team is awarded 21 (or whatever's needed to win by 2).

Line Calls & Coaching

• Only the 4 players on court during a game can make line calls and fault calls.

• Non-playing teammates can coach from the sideline only when the ball is not in play, as long as they don't interfere with continuous play or disrupt the opposing team.

Paddles

Paddles must be on the Official USA Pickleball Approved Paddle List or the UPA-A Approved Paddle List. Using a non-approved or delaminated paddle can result in loss of game or match.

Conduct

Players who mistreat fellow players, officials, or staff will receive one verbal warning from the Tournament Director or referee. Subsequent offenses may result in ejection from the tournament.

Additional FAQ

• I don't have a DUPR yet — can I play? Yes, you'll be slotted at the division's default NR rating (12 → 3.0, 14 → 3.5, 16 → 4.0) and your team's aggregate must still fit.

• What Ball? Diadem Ball

• What if my rating jumps right before the event? You're locked in at registration — you won't get bumped.

• Do I need matching outfits? Encouraged, not required. It's part of the fun.

• What happens if someone gets injured? You can sub in another rated player pre-event; mid-event, a sub must stay for the duration. Missing a player = 21-0 forfeit of that game.

• Paddle rules? Must be on the USA Pickleball OR UPA-A approved list.

• Can we coach from the sidelines? Yes — non-playing team members can coach when the ball is dead, as long as they don't disrupt play.