The United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), Inc. is proud to announce that a new and improved USPTA Pickleball Certification. USPTA members may obtain USPTA Pickleball Certification by one of 17 USPTA Division Head Pickleball Testers. All USPTA Head Division Pickleball Testers have extensive experience with the sport, both as a player and a teacher, and have received extensive in-person training by the IFP Academy.
The USPTA plans to rapidly build out its network of USPTA Pickleball Certification Testers across the country to accommodate the increasing demand for Certified Pickleball Instructors at racquet facilities due to the sport's immense popularity.
You must first be a USPTA Certified Tennis Instructor or USPTA Certified Professional to qualify for USPTA Pickleball Certification. The cost for the USPTA Pickleball Certification is $229. NOTE: Withdrawal from a Pickleball Certification Workshop less than 1 week before the event will incur a $75 cancellation fee.
"It was time for the USPTA to take control of pickleball certification. Modeled after our successful tennis testing protocols, each division will have a Head Pickleball Tester who will work with other USPTA pickleball testers in their respective divisions to certify USPTA professionals for this growing activity."
Pickleball is increasingly popular, and the sport is projected to continue to grow for the foreseeable future. Therefore, having a USPTA Pickleball Certification is a valuable asset for tennis-teaching professionals looking to advance their careers by providing their club and club members with pickleball programming and instruction.
USPTA Tennis Instructors and Professionals will be encouraged to become certified pickleball tennis professionals on top of their existing tennis certification.
Key points:
- Members must have at least a Tennis Instructor certification to apply for the Pickleball Tennis certification
- There is only one membership fee, whether you are certified as a tennis-teaching professional or both tennis and pickleball
- There will be only one billing cycle (current USPTA cycle – Jan. 1-Dec. 31)
- The application fee is $229 per certification
- Pickleball certification tests will be conducted by USPTA Pickleball Coach Developers
- The on-court workshop consists of approximately 3 hours of education and 1 hour of testing
- The written exam is online that you can take after the workshop and must pass as part of the pickleball certification
This is a teaching category requiring successful completion of on court testing and an online Written Exam, leading to a certification rating of Professional.
Certification is intended for those at least 18 years old who derive or intend to derive a major portion of income from teaching pickleball. To qualify for certified membership, a professional must meet all application, exam, and experience requirements, and must agree to abide by the USPTA Code of Ethics. Non-U.S. citizens who cannot legally work in the United States, but do meet all other requirements for certified membership, may join the Association as International Division members. International members are not covered by the protection of USPTA's on-court liability insurance policy. Non-U.S. membership does not imply that USPTA sponsors these members to immigrate to the United States to work as tennis-teaching professionals. U.S. labor certification laws apply in these cases.
**If you are already IPTPA certified, you do not need to get re-certified. You will automatically be grandfathered in. Please submit proof of your certification to membership@uspta.org to receive your credit.