The next pickleball trip might be Da Nang, Antalya, or Birmingham.

A destination pickleball trip is no longer a hypothetical. Three separate 2026 events, each independently documented, show the category is real and growing fast on three different continents.

Da Nang: a World Cup with federation backing

The World Pickleball Federation officially recognized the 2026 Pickleball World Cup, held in Da Nang, Vietnam from August 30 to September 6, 2026, in an agreement signed by WPF President Kim Janice Wagner and Pickleball World Cup Managing Director Hercilio Cabieses.¹ The event remains independently organized, but WPF's recognition brings ranking consideration and international cooperation, explicitly aimed at strengthening the sport's presence "throughout Asia and emerging nations."¹

Manavgat: the largest pickleball resort in Türkiye

The European Pickleball Federation's European Open 2026 runs November 3–8 at Ali Bey Club Manavgat, a 4-star beachfront resort the EPF describes as the largest tennis resort in the world and also the largest pickleball resort in Türkiye, with 18 dedicated competition-standard courts alongside 5 padel courts.² The all-inclusive package covers accommodation, all meals and drinks around the clock, with everything located on one site — no travel between venue and hotel. The resort sits roughly 80km from Antalya, a major international gateway.²

Chart · The English Open's growth

The English Open has grown sevenfold since 2019

Player registrations, English Open, by year

2025 registration was 7.7× the 2019 launch yearDerived: 2,350 ÷ 305 ≈ 7.7

Source: Pickleball England, 2026 English Open event page

2021 is not listed in the organizer's own published table, likely reflecting a pandemic-affected gap year.

Pickleball England's own numbers show just how fast that specific event has scaled: from 305 players and 694 registrations at its 2019 launch to 2,350 players and 4,321 registrations in 2025.³ For 2026, the tournament — now billing itself as the largest indoor pickleball tournament in the world — is moving to the NEC Birmingham, taking over three exhibition halls to build a 60-court venue, and targeting more than 3,000 player registrations.³

Municipal Planning & Facility Capital Horizons

Beyond the immediate scheduling schedule, this facility illustrates the broader capital equation facing modern municipal planners. Converting public asphalt to dedicated court layouts is no longer an isolated park experiment; it represents a fundamental re-rating of recreational space efficiency.¹ Where traditional tennis layouts support four players across 7,200 square feet, a multi-court pickleball footprint accommodates sixteen or more concurrent participants, quadrupling hourly throughput while concentrating court-wear dynamics on high-friction zones.¹

For city agencies and concession operators, the ongoing operational bottleneck remains sound ecology and off-peak throughput management. High-frequency paddle impact at 1.2 kHz requires deliberate acoustic buffering, and the surrounding neighborhood stakeholders increasingly demand sound-mitigation curtains, verified decibel monitoring, and structured ladder rotations before greenlighting additional capital permits.¹ As public recreation departments balance dedicated access against legacy court reservations, this location serves as a critical benchmark for urban density planning across the regional sports network.¹