🔥 INQUIRER SIGNATURE PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT — GAME ON!

This November, the Philippine Daily Inquirer is bringing corporate Manila to the court. The Inquirer Signature Pickleball Tournament (Corporate Cup) lands at Paloo Four Ecom, Pasay City on November 8, 2026 — an all-day, by-invitation showdown where selected companies field their best 3-player squads for a shot at bragging rights. Whether your team's just finding its footing in the Beginner/Novice division or bringing real game to Intermediate, this is where office rivalries get settled — on the court.

🙌 REGISTRATION

• Entry Fee: PHP 10,000 per team
• Registration: One representative registers and pays on behalf of their team. All players must create and link both a DUPR account (https://www.dupr.com/) and a Sports Sync account (https://www.sportssync.asia/) before registering.
• Registration Deadline: October 24, 2026, or until all slots are filled.
• Registration is non-refundable. Should a player withdraw before the tournament, their team must field a replacement who meets the qualification criteria.

🎚️ QUALIFICATION & ELIGIBILITY

• This is a by-invitation event, open exclusively to employees of invited companies, with team slots allocated per company. Each team fields 3 players, with at least 1 woman required on the roster.
• Two Skill Divisions
• Beginner/Novice: For players with less than 1 year of pickleball experience, no background in tennis, and no podium finish in Novice or Intermediate competition. Players with a DUPR rating above 3.0, at 60% reliability or higher, are not eligible for this division.
• Intermediate: For players with no podium finish in Advanced-level competition. Players with a DUPR rating above 3.99, at 60% reliability or higher, are not eligible for this division.
• Players may only compete in one skill division.
• No Duplicate DUPR Accounts: Players may not hold more than one DUPR account.
• No DUPR Manipulation: Players may not intentionally lose games during the registration period to lower their rating and qualify for a lower division.
• The organizing committee may request additional information from any player during screening to confirm they're in the right division.

🪜 TOURNAMENT FORMAT

• Teams are grouped into pools of 3 to 4 for round robin play. Each match is 3 games, with every player required to play in 2 of the 3 games — each time with a different partner from their own team.
• Before each match, a coin toss decides the order of picks between three options:
• ACT/REACT — one team reveals its pairing first each game, the other reacts and matches; roles alternate by game.
• SERVE/RECEIVE — the serving team serves all 3 games.
• COURT END — the starting end alternates game to game, beginning with the chooser's preference.
• The coin toss winner picks first, the loser picks second, and the winner is left with whatever's remaining.
• After round robin, the top 2 teams from each pool advance to single elimination — best of 3 games per match — seeded by standing, with play-ins, quarterfinals, or byes depending on how many teams make the cut.
• Elimination rounds continue until just 4 teams remain for the semifinals.
• One twist: whichever pair you field in the semifinal, you'll need a different pair for the medal matches.

🏓 GAME RULES

• Round Robin to Quarterfinals: Rally scoring, race to 15, change ends at 8, 1 timeout per team
• Semifinals & Championship: Rally scoring, race to 21, change ends at 11, 1 timeout per team
• Teams have 5 minutes to report to their assigned court once announced — miss the window, and it's a 0-15 forfeit.
• One 5-minute medical timeout is available per match, starting once the tournament medic arrives on court.
• No substitutions are allowed — an absent or injured player means a forfeited game for the team.
• All matters not covered here follow the official USA Pickleball (USAP) Rulebook, 2026 Edition.

🔝 POOL SEEDING & TIEBREAKERS

• Where round robin records are tied, seeding for the elimination round is determined by, in order:
• Total Game Wins Head-to-Head Result (for 2-way ties) Score Differential (for 3-way ties — total points scored minus points allowed across all pool matches)

Rally your squad. Represent your company. The Inquirer Signature Pickleball Tournament is calling. 🏓