{"id":3620,"date":"2026-05-18T12:53:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T03:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/news\/mlp-season-opens\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T19:47:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T10:47:51","slug":"mlp-season-opens","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/news\/mlp-season-opens\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Before MLP 2026 Kicks Off -- The Full Picture of 20-Team Integration, 6-Player Rosters, and 3-Week Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>5\u670822\u65e5\u30c0\u30e9\u30b9\u958b\u5e55\u300120\u30c1\u30fc\u30e0\u4e00\u672c\u5316\u3067\u69cb\u9020\u304c\u5909\u308f\u308b2026\u30b7\u30fc\u30ba\u30f3<\/h2>\n<p>Major League Pickleball\uff08MLP\uff09\u306e2026\u30b7\u30fc\u30ba\u30f3\u304c5\u670822\u65e5\u3001\u30c6\u30ad\u30b5\u30b9\u5dde\u30c0\u30e9\u30b9\u3067\u958b\u5e55\u3059\u308b\u30025\u6708\u304b\u30898\u6708\u306b\u304b\u3051\u3066\u30ec\u30ae\u30e5\u30e9\u30fc\u30b7\u30fc\u30ba\u30f39\u5927\u4f1a\u3001\u30df\u30c3\u30c9\u30b7\u30fc\u30ba\u30f3\u30c8\u30fc\u30ca\u30e1\u30f3\u30c81\u56de\u3001\u30d7\u30ec\u30fc\u30aa\u30d53\u9031\u9593\u3092\u5b9f\u65bd\u3059\u308b\u51dd\u7e2e\u30b9\u30b1\u30b8\u30e5\u30fc\u30eb\u30022025\u5e74\u306b\u89b3\u5ba2\u52d5\u54e152%\u5897\u3001\u30b9\u30dd\u30f3\u30b5\u30fc\u53ce\u51652\u500d\u8d85\u3092\u8a18\u9332\u3057\u305fMLP\u306f\u30012026\u5e74\u306bPremier\/Challenger\u306e2\u90e8\u5236\u3092\u5ec3\u6b62\u3057\u3001\u516820\u30c1\u30fc\u30e0\u304c\u540c\u4e00\u30ea\u30fc\u30b0\u3067\u7af6\u3046\u4f53\u5236\u3078\u79fb\u884c\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n<p>\u30c1\u30fc\u30e0\u30ed\u30b9\u30bf\u30fc\u306f\u7537\u59733\u540d\u305a\u3064\u306e\u8a086\u540d\u306b\u7d71\u4e00\u3002DreamBreaker\u5236\u3084\u30dd\u30a4\u30f3\u30c8\u914d\u5206\u306e\u5237\u65b0\u3001\u30ad\u30e3\u30c3\u30b7\u30e5\u30c8\u30ec\u30fc\u30c9\u89e3\u7981\u3082\u52a0\u308f\u308a\u3001\u30eb\u30fc\u30eb\u30fb\u904b\u55b6\u9762\u3067\u8907\u6570\u306e\u5909\u66f4\u304c\u540c\u6642\u306b\u5b9f\u65bd\u3055\u308c\u308b\u3002<\/p>\n<h2>Full 2026 season schedule<\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Tournaments<\/th>\n<th>Schedule<\/th>\n<th>Location<\/th>\n<th>Notes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Regular-season event 1<\/td>\n<td>May 22-25<\/td>\n<td>Dallas (TX)<\/td>\n<td>Opening event<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Event 2<\/td>\n<td>May 28-31<\/td>\n<td>Columbus (OH)<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Event 3<\/td>\n<td>June 4-7<\/td>\n<td>St. Louis (MO)<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Event 4<\/td>\n<td>June 11-14<\/td>\n<td>Austin (TX)<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Event 5<\/td>\n<td>June 17-21<\/td>\n<td>St. Petersburg (FL)<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Event 6<\/td>\n<td>June 25-28<\/td>\n<td>New York (Randall's Island)<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mid-season + Event 7<\/td>\n<td>July 8-12<\/td>\n<td>Grand Rapids (MI)<\/td>\n<td>Held together with the Beer City Open<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Event 8<\/td>\n<td>July 16-19<\/td>\n<td>San Diego (CA)<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Event 9<\/td>\n<td>July 23-26<\/td>\n<td>Chicago (IL)<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Final regular-season event<\/td>\n<td>July 30 \u2013 August 2<\/td>\n<td>Orlando (FL)<\/td>\n<td>Disney ESPN Wide World of Sports\u521d\u958b\u50ac<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Playoffs Week 1<\/td>\n<td>August 7-9<\/td>\n<td>Dallas (TX)<\/td>\n<td>12 teams advance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Playoffs Week 2<\/td>\n<td>August 14-16<\/td>\n<td>Newport Beach (CA)<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Championship Weekend<\/td>\n<td>August 28-30<\/td>\n<td>New York<\/td>\n<td>Season's final showdown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Each team plays 5 of the 9 events and contests 23 group-play matches. Each event is made up of 11 teams (only the Orlando final has 12), and after Thursday-to-Saturday round robins, the top 4 teams advance to Sunday.<\/p>\n<h2>Major rule changes for 2026<\/h2>\n<h3>6\u4eba\u30d5\u30eb\u30ed\u30b9\u30bf\u30fc\u5236\u306b\u7d71\u4e00<\/h3>\n<p>All teams register 6 players on the roster, 3 men and 3 women. Until 2025, Challenger teams had a 4-player setup, but it was unified along with the league's consolidation. Four or more players can be used per match, and in the DreamBreaker tiebreak, any 4 from the roster (2 each of men and women) can be selected.<\/p>\n<h3>Revamped point allocation<\/h3>\n<p>\u8a66\u5408\u5358\u4f4d\u306e\u30dd\u30a4\u30f3\u30c8\u914d\u5206\u304c\u5909\u308f\u308b\u3002<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Regulation win: 3 points<\/li>\n<li>DreamBreaker win: 2 points<\/li>\n<li>DreamBreaker loss: 1 point<\/li>\n<li>Regulation loss: 0 points<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u30a4\u30d9\u30f3\u30c8\u9806\u4f4d\u30dd\u30a4\u30f3\u30c8\u306f25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-1-1\u3068\u4e0a\u4f4d\u306b\u50be\u659c\u3059\u308b\u8a2d\u8a08\u30021\u5927\u4f1a\u306e\u7d50\u679c\u304c\u9806\u4f4d\u3092\u5927\u304d\u304f\u5de6\u53f3\u3059\u308b\u4ed5\u7d44\u307f\u3060\u3002<\/p>\n<h3>Cash trades unlocked<\/h3>\n<p>For the first time in MLP history, cash trades\u2014buying and selling players for money\u2014became possible. Previously only one-for-one trades were allowed, but the minimum draft bid is set at $10,000 for the first four slots and $1,000 for the fifth and sixth. A waiver period is also set for July 1.<\/p>\n<h2>\u30c1\u30fc\u30e0\u518d\u7de8\u3068\u30d3\u30b8\u30cd\u30b9\u52d5\u5411<\/h2>\n<p>NY Hustlers\u306fBrooklyn Pickleball Team\u3068\u5408\u4f75\u3002Nashville Chefs\u3068DC Pickleball Team\u306f\u58f2\u5374\u4ea4\u6e09\u4e2d\u30672026\u5e74\u30b7\u30fc\u30ba\u30f3\u306f\u4e0d\u53c2\u52a0\u3068\u306a\u3063\u3066\u3044\u308b\u300220\u30c1\u30fc\u30e0\u4f53\u5236\u3078\u306e\u79fb\u884c\u306b\u4f34\u3044\u3001\u30d5\u30e9\u30f3\u30c1\u30e3\u30a4\u30ba\u306e\u4fa1\u5024\u304c\u4e0a\u6607\u3057\u3066\u3044\u308b\u3002<\/p>\n<p>DoorDash\u304c\u51a0\u30b9\u30dd\u30f3\u30b5\u30fc\u3092\u52d9\u3081\u3001Skechers\u304c\u30c9\u30e9\u30d5\u30c8\u306e\u30d7\u30ec\u30bc\u30f3\u30c6\u30a3\u30f3\u30b0\u30d1\u30fc\u30c8\u30ca\u30fc\u3068\u306a\u3063\u305f\u30022025\u5e74\u306e\u30b9\u30dd\u30f3\u30b5\u30fc\u53ce\u5165\u304c\u524d\u5e74\u6bd42\u500d\u8d85\u3092\u9054\u6210\u3057\u305f\u52e2\u3044\u306f\u7d99\u7d9a\u4e2d\u3060\u3002<\/p>\n<h2>\u9078\u624b\u52d5\u5411\u3068\u6ce8\u76ee\u30c1\u30fc\u30e0<\/h2>\n<p>\u30bb\u30f3\u30c8\u30eb\u30a4\u30b9\u30fb\u30b7\u30e7\u30c3\u30af\u306ePatriquin\/Tardio\u306e\u7537\u5b50\u30da\u30a2\u30ea\u30f3\u30b0\u306f\u3001\u30d4\u30c3\u30af\u30eb\u30dc\u30fc\u30eb\u5c02\u9580\u30e1\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2Pickleball.com\u306e\u30a2\u30ca\u30ea\u30b9\u30c8Jim Kloss\u304b\u3089\u300c\u30ea\u30fc\u30b0\u6700\u5f37\u306e\u7537\u5b50\u30da\u30a2\u300d\u3068\u8a55\u4fa1\u3055\u308c\u3066\u3044\u308b\u3002<\/p>\n<p>\u30cb\u30e5\u30fc\u30b8\u30e3\u30fc\u30b8\u30fc5s\u306b\u306f\u5404\u30c1\u30fc\u30e0\u306e\u30c9\u30e9\u30d5\u30c8\u30fb\u5951\u7d04\u9078\u624b\u304c\u63c3\u3046\u3002LA\u30de\u30c3\u30c9\u30c9\u30ed\u30c3\u30d7\u30b9\u306b\u306fBen Johns\u304c\u5728\u7c4d\u3057\u3001Hunter Johnson\u3001Catherine Parenteau\u3068\u5f37\u529b\u5e03\u9663\u3092\u6577\u304f\u3002<\/p>\n<h2>Impact on Japanese players<\/h2>\n<p>\u65e5\u672c\u304b\u3089MLP\u3092\u8ffd\u3046\u30d7\u30ec\u30fc\u30e4\u30fc\u306b\u3068\u3063\u3066\u30012026\u30b7\u30fc\u30ba\u30f3\u306f\u8907\u6570\u306e\u53c2\u8003\u70b9\u304c\u3042\u308b\u3002<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>How to watch<\/strong>: All matches are streamed on MLP's official stream. The final event at Disney ESPN Wide World of Sports is also expected to air on ESPN networks<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tactical reference<\/strong>: With the six-player roster system, matchup strategy within teams becomes more complex. Usage patterns in doubles and mixed can also be applied to team competitions in Japan (<a href=\"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/news\/jpa-pjf-merge-pickleball-japan-pj-april-2026\/\">Pickleball Japan<\/a>such as organizer-hosted tournaments)<\/li>\n<li><strong>The DreamBreaker format<\/strong>: The 4-player-selection tiebreak system also serves as a reference for Japan's grassroots tournaments as a model for running events with small teams<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>\u30d7\u30ed\u30c4\u30a2\u30fc\u3068\u30ea\u30fc\u30b0\u306e\u4e8c\u8ef8\u5316<\/h2>\n<p>2026\u5e74\u306fPPA\uff08Professional Pickleball Association\uff09\u3068MLP\u306e\u95a2\u4fc2\u304c\u3055\u3089\u306b\u9032\u5316\u3059\u308b\u3002<a href=\"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/news\/ppa-finals-toysrus\/\">PPA Finals<\/a>Through it, the two axes of the pro tour and league play have taken root, and players now pursue both individual ranking and team results.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/news\/apollo-pickleball-investment\/\">The Apollo \u00d7 DoorDash 225-million-dollar investment<\/a>\u306b\u8c61\u5fb4\u3055\u308c\u308b\u3088\u3046\u306b\u3001\u30d4\u30c3\u30af\u30eb\u30dc\u30fc\u30eb\u7523\u696d\u5168\u4f53\u3078\u306e\u8cc7\u91d1\u6d41\u5165\u304c\u52a0\u901f\u3057\u3066\u3044\u308b\u3002MLP\u306e3\u9031\u9593\u30d7\u30ec\u30fc\u30aa\u30d5\u62e1\u5927\u306f\u3001\u653e\u6620\u6a29\u30fb\u30c1\u30b1\u30c3\u30c8\u53ce\u5165\u306e\u6700\u5927\u5316\u3092\u72d9\u3063\u305f\u3082\u306e\u3067\u3042\u308a\u3001NBA\u3084MLB\u3068\u540c\u69d8\u306e\u30d7\u30ec\u30fc\u30aa\u30d5\u5546\u6226\u30e2\u30c7\u30eb\u3078\u306e\u79fb\u884c\u3068\u8aad\u307f\u53d6\u308c\u308b\u3002Jr. MLP\u30a2\u30de\u30c1\u30e5\u30a2\u5927\u4f1a\u3084Minor League Pickleball\uff08MiLP\uff09\u30a4\u30d9\u30f3\u30c8\u3082\u4f75\u50ac\u3055\u308c\u3001\u80b2\u6210\u30fb\u30d5\u30a1\u30f3\u7372\u5f97\u306e\u4e21\u9762\u3067\u30a8\u30b3\u30b7\u30b9\u30c6\u30e0\u304c\u62e1\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u308b\u3002<\/p>\n<h2>Practical information<\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Item<\/th>\n<th>Details<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Official website<\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/majorleaguepickleball.co\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">majorleaguepickleball.co<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Ticket purchase<\/td>\n<td>Tixr (the St. Louis and Disney final are Ticketmaster only)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Broadcast<\/td>\n<td>MLP official stream \/ ESPN networks (partial)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Number of teams<\/td>\n<td>20 teams (single-league system)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Roster<\/td>\n<td>6 players in all, 3 each of men and women<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Number of appearances<\/td>\n<td>5 of the 9 events per team<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Playoffs<\/td>\n<td>12 teams, three weeks (Dallas \u2192 Newport Beach \u2192 NY)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Title sponsor<\/td>\n<td>DoorDash<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>\u307e\u3068\u3081\uff1a\u69cb\u9020\u5237\u65b0\u3092\u5b9f\u884c\u3059\u308b\u91ce\u5fc3\u7684\u306a\u30b7\u30fc\u30ba\u30f3<\/h2>\n<p>MLP 2026\u30b7\u30fc\u30ba\u30f3\u306f\u300120\u30c1\u30fc\u30e0\u4e00\u672c\u5316\u30fb6\u4eba\u30ed\u30b9\u30bf\u30fc\u30fb\u30ad\u30e3\u30c3\u30b7\u30e5\u30c8\u30ec\u30fc\u30c9\u89e3\u7981\u30fb3\u9031\u9593\u30d7\u30ec\u30fc\u30aa\u30d5\u3068\u3044\u30464\u3064\u306e\u69cb\u9020\u5909\u9769\u3092\u540c\u6642\u306b\u5b9f\u884c\u3059\u308b\u30025\u670822\u65e5\u306e\u30c0\u30e9\u30b9\u958b\u5e55\u304b\u30898\u670830\u65e5\u306eNY\u30c1\u30e3\u30f3\u30d4\u30aa\u30f3\u30b7\u30c3\u30d7\u307e\u3067\u3001\u7d043\u304b\u6708\u306b\u51dd\u7e2e\u3055\u308c\u305f\u30b9\u30b1\u30b8\u30e5\u30fc\u30eb\u306f\u9078\u624b\u306b\u3082\u89b3\u5ba2\u306b\u3082\u5bc6\u5ea6\u306e\u6fc3\u3044\u4f53\u9a13\u3092\u63d0\u4f9b\u3059\u308b\u3002<\/p>\n<p>\u30bb\u30f3\u30c8\u30eb\u30a4\u30b9\u30fb\u30b7\u30e7\u30c3\u30af\u3068\u30cb\u30e5\u30fc\u30b8\u30e3\u30fc\u30b8\u30fc5s\u306e\u512a\u52dd\u4e89\u3044\u304c\u8ef8\u306b\u306a\u308b\u3068\u898b\u3089\u308c\u308b\u304c\u3001\u30ed\u30b9\u30bf\u30fc\u62e1\u5927\u3068\u30ad\u30e3\u30c3\u30b7\u30e5\u30c8\u30ec\u30fc\u30c9\u306e\u5f71\u97ff\u3067\u30b7\u30fc\u30ba\u30f3\u4e2d\u306e\u52e2\u529b\u56f3\u304c\u5909\u308f\u308b\u53ef\u80fd\u6027\u3082\u9ad8\u3044\u3002Disney ESPN Wide World of Sports\u3067\u306e\u30ec\u30ae\u30e5\u30e9\u30fc\u30b7\u30fc\u30ba\u30f3\u6700\u7d42\u6226\u306f\u3001\u30d4\u30c3\u30af\u30eb\u30dc\u30fc\u30eb\u304c\u30e1\u30b8\u30e3\u30fc\u30b9\u30dd\u30fc\u30c4\u306e\u65bd\u8a2d\u3092\u4f7f\u7528\u3059\u308b\u8c61\u5fb4\u7684\u306a\u77ac\u9593\u3068\u306a\u308b\u3002<\/p>\n<h3>Source<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pickleball.com\/news\/mlp-announces-full-2026-may-august-season-schedule\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MLP announces full 2026 May-August season schedule \u2013 Pickleball.com<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/majorleaguepickleball.co\/news\/summary-of-2026-competition-updates\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Summary of 2026 Competition Updates \u2013 MLP\u516c\u5f0f<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/majorleaguepickleball.co\/events-2026\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Events 2026 \u2013 MLP\u516c\u5f0f<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedinkpickleball.com\/major-league-pickleball-announces-new-20-team-format-end-of-challenger-level-in-2026\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MLP 2026: New 20-Team Format Explained \u2013 The Dink<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pickleball.com\/news\/previewing-mlp-2026-assessing-offseason-moves\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Previewing MLP 2026: Assessing offseason moves \u2013 Pickleball.com<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The MLP 2026 season opens May 22 in Dallas. We break down the full structural overhaul: scrapping the Premier\/Challenger split for a unified 20-team league, six-player full rosters, and newly legalized cash trades.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ssp_meta_description":"","swell_btn_cv_data":"","pt_pr_sponsor":""},"categories":[93,53],"tags":[123,106],"region":[],"class_list":["post-3620","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","category-news","category-overseas","tag-year-2026","tag-mlp"],"acf":{"summary":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/3620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3620"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=3620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}