Road to Bologna 2026: Pickleball Qualifying Tournament in Oppido Mamertina

Tennis Club Oppido «Gianni Caruso» · Oppido Mamertina, Costa Viola, Calabria

5 September 2026 – 6 September 2026

Italy's national pickleball circuit Road to Bologna 2026 comes to the Aspromonte: on 5 and 6 September 2026 the Tennis Club Oppido «Gianni Caruso», on Corso Aspromonte in Oppido Mamertina, hosts a qualifying tournament worth 1,000 points towards the National Master in Bologna. Five amateur draws are on the schedule: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. The circuit is part of the TPRA programme of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP) and is open to players ranked between N.C. and 2.3, holding either a competitive or a non-competitive federal licence. Entries are handled online through the tpra.fitp.it portal, on the page of each individual draw. The National Master that closes the circuit takes place in Bologna from 24 to 29 November 2026, during the Davis Cup Finals, in a hall of the Bologna trade fair set aside for pickleball. For information about the Calabrian stop you can contact Emanuele Costa on +39 393 942 6605; the tournament coordinator is Andrea Giuseppe Sarica, +39 334 836 5025.

National pickleball comes to Oppido Mamertina

On 5 and 6 September 2026 the courts of the Tennis Club Oppido «Gianni Caruso», on Corso Aspromonte in Oppido Mamertina, host a stop of the Road to Bologna 2026 national pickleball circuit. It is a qualifying tournament worth 1,000 points: results earned on these courts in the Piana count towards the ranking that leads to the National Master in Bologna at the end of November.
For the area this is more than a weekend of sport. Pickleball is the fastest growing racquet sport of recent years and the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation is building a proper national calendar around it, so seeing a stop assigned to a club in the Aspromonte means the Oppido facility is considered ready to host players travelling in from outside the region.

What the Road to Bologna 2026 circuit is

Road to Bologna is a national singles and doubles circuit run within the TPRA programme of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation. Its stops are spread across affiliated clubs throughout Italy and award points according to final placing; the total collected over the season decides who reaches the closing stage.
Eligible rankings run from N.C. to 2.3, which makes the circuit an amateur competition rather than an elite one. Players can enter with either a competitive or a non-competitive federal licence, provided it is valid for pickleball. Men's, women's and mixed categories are all on the programme.
The Oppido Mamertina stop sits in the 1,000-point band, the highest among the qualifying tournaments: that is what makes it worth the trip for anyone building a ranking with November in mind.

The five draws played on 5 and 6 September

The official poster lists five amateur draws, all played over the same two days of 5 and 6 September 2026. Each category has its own page on the TPRA portal, with rules, entry fee and the current state of the entry list:
Men's singles: tournament page
Women's singles: tournament page
Men's doubles: tournament page
Women's doubles: tournament page
Mixed doubles: tournament page
Nothing prevents you from entering more than one draw: singles and doubles are played over the same weekend, and many players use the trip to collect points on two fronts.

How to enter the Oppido Mamertina tournament

Entries are handled online at tpra.fitp.it, the federal platform for amateur competition. The process is straightforward: open the page of the category you want to play, check that your ranking falls within the eligible range, and complete the entry with your federal credentials.
A valid FITP Pickleball licence is required, either competitive or non-competitive. Players who are not yet registered can arrange it through their home club before entries close.
For questions about travel, playing times or logistics it is best to contact the organisers directly: Emanuele Costa, +39 393 942 6605. The stop is coordinated by Andrea Giuseppe Sarica, +39 334 836 5025.

The National Master in Bologna, 24 to 29 November 2026

The circuit closes in Bologna from 24 to 29 November 2026, during the Davis Cup Finals. A hall of the Bologna trade fair is set aside for pickleball, with courts laid out to host the finals split by category, gender, singles and doubles.
Playing a national final inside the setting of the Davis Cup is the reason the circuit is called Road to Bologna: the Master is not a standalone tournament but part of the federal programme built around the biggest tennis event of the Italian year. Anyone stepping onto the courts in Oppido Mamertina on 5 and 6 September is taking the first steps along that road.

TC Oppido «Gianni Caruso», the home of tennis in the Aspromonte

The Tennis Club Oppido «Gianni Caruso» keeps alive one of the oldest tennis traditions in the Piana: founded in the mid-1970s, by the 1990s it was already running a Serie A women's tournament. Today the recently renovated municipal courts on Corso Aspromonte are home to the men's Serie D2 and women's Serie D teams, to the club's tennis school and, every August, to the Città di Oppido Mamertina National Tournament.
Pickleball is the newest addition to that calendar. For a club that has spent fifty years putting down local roots, hosting a national circuit stop in a new discipline means opening its courts to a different audience and a different movement, without giving up anything it already does.

What pickleball is, and why it has caught on

Pickleball is played on a court the size of a doubles badminton court, with a low net, solid stringless paddles and a perforated plastic ball. The serve is struck underhand and games are played to 11 points, win by two. In front of the net there is an area where the ball cannot be hit out of the air, the non-volley zone, which forces soft play and takes raw power out of the equation.
Those rules explain how quickly the sport has spread. The court is small, rallies are long, the learning curve is quick and different generations can play together without a wide gap in level. For anyone coming from tennis or padel the transition is almost immediate, but the tactics are a different matter and have to be learned from scratch, which is why amateur tournaments like this one almost always throw up a surprise or two.

Getting to Oppido Mamertina and what to see nearby

Oppido Mamertina is reached by car on the A2 Autostrada del Mediterraneo, taking the Rosarno or Gioia Tauro exit and heading inland along the roads that climb up from the Piana. The most convenient railway station is Gioia Tauro, about seventeen kilometres and a little over twenty minutes away by car; the Strait airport at Reggio Calabria is roughly sixty kilometres away, Lamezia Terme some eighty kilometres further.
Players travelling in for the tournament will find a territory worth an extra day. Two kilometres from the town lie the ruins of Oppido Vecchia, the medieval settlement abandoned after the 1783 earthquake and now an archaeological park, with the remains of its castle and cathedral. In the rebuilt town there are Piazza Duomo, the neoclassical cathedral whose bell tower is among the tallest in Calabria, and the MuDOP diocesan museum. Local bars, restaurants and places to stay are gathered on the page listing businesses in Oppido Mamertina.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Road to Bologna stop in Oppido Mamertina played?

On Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September 2026. All five amateur draws are played over these two days; the poster does not give starting times, which the organisers pass on to entrants once the entry lists have closed.

Where does the tournament take place?

At the Tennis Club Oppido «Gianni Caruso», Corso Aspromonte SNC, 89014 Oppido Mamertina (RC), Calabria, on the club's municipal courts.

Which categories are on the programme?

Five amateur draws: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. Players may enter more than one category.

Who can take part, and which rankings are eligible?

The circuit is open to FITP Pickleball members ranked between N.C. and 2.3. Both competitive and non-competitive licences are accepted, as long as they are valid.

How do I enter?

Online through the tpra.fitp.it portal, on the page of the category you want to play. The links to all five draws are listed on this page, in the section covering the competitions.

How many points does the tournament award?

The Oppido Mamertina stop is a 1,000-point qualifying tournament, counting towards the ranking of the national Road to Bologna 2026 circuit.

When and where is the National Master held?

In Bologna from 24 to 29 November 2026, during the Davis Cup Finals, in a hall of the Bologna trade fair set aside for pickleball.

Who should I contact for information about the Calabrian stop?

Emanuele Costa on +39 393 942 6605. The event coordinator is Andrea Giuseppe Sarica, +39 334 836 5025.

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