How PPA Prize Money Works
A complete breakdown of PPA Tour prize money distribution, including event types, contract tier multipliers, discipline payouts, and how to read a PPA payout table.
Overview
The PPA Tour (Professional Pickleball Association) is the largest professional pickleball tour by total prize money distributed. PPA events offer payouts from Winner through Round of 32 across five disciplines: Men's Singles (MS), Women's Singles (WS), Men's Doubles (MD), Women's Doubles (WD), and Mixed Doubles (XD). Each discipline carries its own separate prize pool.
Prize amounts are determined by two factors: the event type (which sets the base payout table) and the player's contract tier (which applies a multiplier to that base). This means two players finishing in the same position at the same event can earn very different amounts.
Event Types
PPA events are classified into four tiers, each with progressively larger prize pools:
| Event Type | Description | Prize Level |
|---|---|---|
| Slams | The most prestigious PPA events with the largest draws and highest stakes | Highest |
| Finals | Major events second only to Slams in purse size | High |
| Cups | Mid-tier tour events with competitive prize pools | Medium |
| Opens | Standard tour stops with the most accessible entry and smaller purses | Standard |
View current payout tables for each event type on the PPA Prize Money page.
Contract Tier Multipliers
PPA prize money is adjusted by a player's contract tier. The published payout tables show the full (Gold Card) amounts. Other tiers receive a fraction of those amounts:
| Tier | Multiplier | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gold Card | 1.0x (full payout) | All distributed — no new Gold Cards being issued |
| Standard | ~0.4x | Most common among contracted pros |
| Futures | TBD | New tier for upcoming players — none signed yet |
| Unsigned | Lowest tier | Open tournament entry, lowest payouts |
Payout Structure
PPA events pay out from Winner through Round of 32. The standard placement order is:
- Winner
- Second Place (Runner-up)
- Third Place
- Fourth Place
- Quarter-Finals (5th–8th)
- Round of 16 (9th–16th)
- Round of 32 (17th–32nd)
If a draw has fewer than 32 entries, payouts are distributed to all available placements. Prize money decreases significantly at each stage — the winner typically earns many times more than a Round of 32 finisher.
Disciplines
Each PPA event offers five separate draws, each with its own prize pool:
- MS — Men's Singles
- WS — Women's Singles
- MD — Men's Doubles
- WD — Women's Doubles
- XD — Mixed Doubles
Players competing in multiple disciplines can earn from each one independently. Top earners typically enter three or more disciplines per event, which is a significant factor in overall prize accumulation.
Example: Reading a PPA Payout
Suppose a PPA Slam publishes a Gold Card winner payout of $10,000 for Men's Doubles. Here's how that translates by contract tier:
| Tier | Multiplier | Winner Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Gold Card | 1.0x | $10,000 |
| Standard | ~0.4x | ~$4,000 |
| Unsigned | Lowest | Varies |
This same tier adjustment applies to every placement. A Gold Card player eliminated in the Quarter-Finals earns significantly more than an Unsigned player eliminated at the same stage.
Where to Find Current PPA Payouts
DinkBank maintains up-to-date PPA payout tables broken down by event type, discipline, and contract tier:
All figures are DinkBank Confirmed or DinkBank Estimate based on official tour documentation. See the Methodology page for details on how payouts are calculated and verified.