🏆 ASIA PICKLEBALL UNIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIP 2026

PLAYER'S HANDBOOK Rules & Regulations

1. 📍 EVENT DETAILS

Tournament Dates: 31 Jul - 3 Aug 2026.
Location: Bangkok, Thailand.
Venue: Mahidol University, 999 Phutthamonthon Sai 4 Road, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand.
Registration Dates: 10 Apr 2026 (Registration open) - 30 Jun 2026 (Registration close).
Registration Fees: Individual Event: USD 50 per participant. Team Challenge: USD 180 per team.
Registration Link: https://www.afpickleball.org/apjn-apun2026
Download Player's Handbook: https://www.afpickleball.org/_files/ugd/611ea6_7c3c34f8ef3e470facd6c20a7c421f44.pdf

31 Jul 2026, Fri: Morning: Men's Singles 19+, 50+, Women's Singles 19+, 50+. Afternoon: Men's Singles 35+, Women's Singles 35+.
1 Aug 2026, Sat: Morning: Men's Doubles 19+, 50+, Women's Doubles 19+, 50+. Afternoon: Men's Doubles 35+, Women's Doubles 35+.
2 Aug 2026, Sun: Morning: Mixed Doubles 19+, 50+. Afternoon: Mixed Doubles 35+.
3 Aug 2026, Mon: Team Challenge (MLP) Collegiate and Open. (Note: Schedule may be subject to changes. Please refer to pickleballtournaments.com for updates).

Entries Requirement: Open to international university students, faculty, alumni, and incoming students with confirmed university placement.
Team Exception: For the team event, collegiate students from different universities are allowed to form a team and compete together.
Skill Levels: No Skill Divisions - The tournament is open to all skill levels.
Reporting Time: All teams must check-in 30 minutes before your first match. Check-in at registration counters must be done daily.
Equipment: * Official Balls: USA Pickleball approved Zocker 5-Star Pickleball in neon green.
- Court Type: Tennis courts with temporary pickleball tape lines. Total 20 indoor and outdoor courts.
- Paddle Standards: All paddles used must be UPA-A or USAP certified.

Divisions: Men's, Women's, and Mixed Doubles/Singles for 19+, 35+, and 50+ age categories. A minimum of 4 teams is required to start a division; otherwise, the division will be merged.
Scoring System: All matches will use side out/traditional scoring.
- Singles: Each match is 11 points.
- Doubles: Each match is 15 points.
- There is no deuce, first to reach 11 or 15 wins.
Progression: * Round 1 (Round Robin): Minimum 3 to maximum 5 teams per group. Top 2 teams from each group promote to Round 2.
- Round 2 (Single Elimination): Knock-out stage leading to medal matches.

Divisions: Team Collegiate and Team Open.
Team Size: Teams are made up of exactly 4 players (minimum two males and two females).
Team Scoring Rules:
- Rally scoring applies to all Team Challenge matches. Games are played to 21, first to reach 21 wins the game. Teams change ends at 11 points.
- One 60-second timeout is allowed per team, each game.
- Players do not switch sides with their partner during serving; there is a designated right-side and left-side player. The right-side player serves when the score is even, and the left-side player serves when the score is odd. Players may only change sides during timeouts and end changes. Stacking is permitted.
Round 1 (Round Robin Matches): Order of play is Women's Doubles (1 pt), Men's Doubles (1 pt), Mixed Doubles #1 (1 pt), and Mixed Doubles #2 (2 pts). All 4 games are played for seeding purposes.
Round 2 (Single Elimination Matches): Order of play is WD, MD, XD1, XD2, and then Dreambreaker if needed. The first team to win 3 games is the winner. The match stops as soon as one team wins 3 games.
Dreambreaker: Played as singles, serving from both sides based on score. Every four (4) rallies, a new player rotates in for each team. The rotation order is determined before starting and cannot be changed. The team that chose "React" during the mixed doubles coin toss determines their rotation first; the "Act" team determines theirs after viewing the first team's rotation.

Governing Rules: The tournament is governed by the APUN 2026 Player's Handbook and adopts the USA Pickleball (USAP) 2026 Official Rulebook.
Officiating: All matches will be non-officiated except for medal matches.
Timeouts: One (1) one-minute timeout per game, per team. A player may be granted only one (1) medical time-out per match.
Authority: Tournament Directors reserve the right to amend the rules or reschedule fixtures as deemed necessary. All decisions are final.

Medals: Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals shall be awarded to all divisions.
Ceremony: The prize presentation ceremony will be held soon after the final. All prize winners must be present personally in neat attire.
Golden Ticket: The top three (3) teams in the Collegiate Team Challenge division will earn a 'Golden Ticket' to compete at the Collegiate World Championships in Dallas, Texas, USA. Details will be announced later.