ahm NPL ’26 Draft Show (Professional Teams Pickleball) – The First Ever. Live. Friday.

NPL Pro Tour, Announcements, Australia News

The Draft is coming. And this time, you can watch every single pick happen in real time.

This Friday, 13th March at 10am AEDT, the ahm NPL ’26 Draft Show goes LIVE on the NPL YouTube channel, broadcasting directly from the HQ of ahm Health Insurance — the Official Sponsor of the NPL. For the first time ever, all 48 picks across 12 teams will be made on-air, live, for the world to see.

This is Australian pickleball’s version of draft night. And it’s a big deal.

📺 Watch Live 📅 Friday, March 13th — 10am AEDT 🖥️ NPL YouTube Live 📍 ahm Health Insurance HQ

⚠️ REGISTRATIONS CLOSE MIDNIGHT — TUESDAY 11TH MARCH

Before we get to the Draft Show itself — if you haven’t registered yet, you have until midnight tonight (Tuesday 11th March) to lock in your spot for ahm NPL ’26.

This is Australia’s first ever full-length teams pickleball season. Not a one-dayer. Not a weekend tournament. A proper, structured, multi-round league season — seven rounds across the country, followed by a Finals weekend in Melbourne in late August. If you’ve ever wanted to be part of something genuinely new in Australian sport, this is the moment.

Once registrations close, that’s it. The pool is locked, the Draft happens, and the season begins.

🏆 THE DRAFT SHOW — WHAT TO EXPECT

Twelve franchise teams. Forty-eight picks. One live broadcast.

On Friday morning, team coaches and managers will take the podium at ahm HQ and make their selections in real time. By the time the show wraps up, every player will know their team, every team will know their squad, and the 2026 ahm NPL season will officially be underway.

It’s the kind of moment that Australian pickleball has never had before — and it’s only possible because of the players, the teams, and the support of ahm Health Insurance, who are making this whole thing happen at scale.

Set your alarm. Tell your friends. We’ll see you on YouTube at 10am.

📅 2026 SEASON — DATES REMINDER

Here’s the full picture for the season ahead:

Online Draft — March 13 Round 01 — April 25 Round 02 — May 9 Round 03 — May 16 Round 04 — May 22–24 Mid-Season Draft — June 1 Round 05 — June 27 Round 06 — July 11 Round 07 — July 25 Finals — August 28–30, Melbourne

📋 FORMAT — HOW IT WORKS

ahm NPL ’26 runs on a best-of-5 sets structure, with each set played to 15 points. Here’s how each match breaks down:

Set 1 — Women’s Doubles | First to 22, rally scoring Set 2 — Men’s Doubles | First to 22, rally scoring Set 3 — Women’s Singles | First to 15, traditional scoring, players switch at 8 points Set 4 — Men’s Singles | First to 15, traditional scoring, players switch at 8 points Set 5 — Mixed Doubles | First to 22, rally scoring — teams choose their best mixed pairing

One notable change from last season: no more DILLBREAKER™. The winner-takes-all tiebreak format has been retired. Every set counts, every point matters, and the team that takes three sets wins the match.