Hosting a pickup game usually means a group chat spiraling out of control — chasing who's actually coming, adding guests nobody's met, and following up on court fees days later. It's more admin than pickleball.

Open Play on PaddleBag fixes that. Host a session in minutes, get it in front of players near you, and manage the whole thing — roster, invites, guests, payments — from one page.

What Is Open Play?

Open Play is a live schedule of pickup pickleball sessions. As a host, you post a game — date, time, court, format — and it's instantly visible to players nearby, or shareable as a direct invite link to your own group.

Host a Game in Minutes

  1. Set it up — Date, time, court, and format. Takes under a minute.
  2. Choose how it fills — Share a private invite link to your regulars, or open it to the local schedule so nearby players can find and join on their own.
  3. Run it from one place — Confirm players, add guests who aren't on PaddleBag yet, and settle court fees or payment confirmation right in the built-in session chat.

Why Hosts Use It

  • No more chasing headcounts — See your confirmed roster live, not buried in chat scroll.
  • Fill spots faster — Public sessions surface to players near your court, so open slots don't sit empty.
  • Guests welcome, no friction — Add a guest who isn't signed up yet; they don't need an account to join your session.
  • Payments stay in context — Handle court-fee confirmation in the session chat instead of a separate Venmo screenshot thread.
  • Free, every time — No fee to host, no fee to fill a roster.

For Players Too

Players get the flip side: browse Open Play sessions near their city or home court, join with one tap, or follow an invite link straight into a host's game — no login required just to look.

Who It's For

Built for regular hosts running weekly pickup sessions who are done managing rosters by hand, and for players who want a real game to show up to without hunting five group chats.

Host Your First Open Play

No sign-up fees, no setup hassle. Post your session, share the link, and let Open Play handle the roster.

Host an Open Play →

Open Play is part of PaddleBag, the free platform for pickleball players to track games, find courts, and connect with the local pickleball community.