Pickleball players across Oʻahu and beyond are gearing up for the second annual Hawaiʻi Pacific Health ESPN Honolulu Open, set for October 8 through 11 at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center. Organizers are calling it Hawaiʻi's largest pickleball tournament, and this year's edition adds more than 33 indoor courts along with a brand-new collegiate invitational.
The tournament has grown fast. According to HAWAIʻI Magazine, last year's inaugural event drew more than 1,000 players, with competitors traveling in from the neighbor islands, the U.S. mainland, and even Japan. Organizers say they hope to welcome even more players from beyond the islands this time around, betting on the sport's continued momentum to fill the Kamehameha Exhibit Halls once again.
Matt Apana, general manager of ESPN Honolulu, confirmed the tournament's return for a second year, according to the magazine's report. The event is co-produced with ESPN Honolulu, which the magazine notes provides an elite venue and format for pickleball players across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. Registration runs $95 per player, and anyone who signs up before September 1 is entered to win round-trip tickets for two to Japan.
A New Path for College Players
This year's tournament includes a collegiate invitational, a first for the event. Per HI Now Daily, the new division brings student-athletes from the University of Hawaiʻi, Indiana University, and the University of Virginia to Oʻahu, an effort aimed at building out competitive collegiate pickleball beyond the islands. HI Now Daily also identifies former professional golfer Tadd Fujikawa, who gained national attention in 2007 as the youngest player to qualify for a PGA Tour weekend cut, as the tournament director overseeing operations.
The tournament's indoor setup accommodates everyone from amateurs to professionals, and it features a vendor product expo alongside the competition brackets. Registration and the latest event details are posted at honoluluopen.com.
Built on 45 New Courts
The Hawaiʻi Convention Center laid the groundwork for this kind of large-scale event in late 2024, when it invested in 45 new rollout mat courts to turn its Kamehameha Exhibit Halls into a premier indoor pickleball destination, according to the Hawaii Convention Center Blog. That portable infrastructure is what allows the venue to host dozens of championship-caliber courts under one climate-controlled roof, a rarity in a region where outdoor conditions can otherwise dictate play.
Local demand for that kind of setup is easy to trace. As of mid-2025, the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation maintained 194 public pickleball courts across 96 parks on Oʻahu, but only 36 of those are dedicated courts with permanent nets, according to Aloha State Daily. The same outlet reported that a June 2025 study by the PodPlay Pickleball Business Guide ranked Hawaiʻi third among U.S. states in pickleball court density, with 5.12 courts per 100,000 residents.
Proceeds Support Waimānalo Nonprofit
A portion of the tournament's net proceeds benefits Hui Mahiʻai ʻĀina, a Waimānalo-based nonprofit that supports Oʻahu's houseless community through housing resources, agricultural education, and self-sufficiency programs, as reported by Maui Now. The organization runs an agricultural village focused on community restoration, giving entry fees from paddlers a direct line to local social services.
The tournament's growth also tracks a broader national surge. Pickleball participation nationwide reached 24.3 million players in 2025, a 171% increase over three years, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association's 2026 report as cited by Pickletile. ESPN Honolulu has leaned into that momentum locally, too, launching a weekly pickleball radio broadcast on 92.7 FM and 1420 AM hosted by Chris Hart in January 2025, according to Hawaii Business Magazine. The same outlet reports that the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority backs the Honolulu Open as an annual sports tourism draw meant to bring out-of-state athletes and visitors to the islands during traditionally slower travel months.
