The Chop and Drop Pickleball Tournament runs November 7 and 8, 2026 at Daniel B. Chaires Community Park, 4768 Chaires Cross Rd in Tallahassee. Southern Pickleball is running the event with Diadem Sports, with DUPR-based skill divisions from 2.5 to 4.5 and age brackets from 15+ to 80+, covering nearly every level from teenage beginners to players in their 70s and 80s. Registration runs through pickleballtournaments.com: $60 for the first event, $15 for each additional event, plus a $5 service fee per event (checked October 30, 2026).
The courts at Chaires Community Park
Chaires Community Park is a Leon County facility, not a City of Tallahassee park like most courts on this page, which means a different phone line for questions: 850-606-1470, not the city parks department number. The county added four dedicated pickleball courts here during a renovation that also resurfaced the park's tennis courts and upgraded the lighting to LED, confirmed on Leon County's own park listing (checked October 30, 2026). The courts are free to play, the lines are permanent, and players bring their own net. The park is open daylight hours every day of the week at 4768 Chaires Cross Rd. The site also has a baseball field, a basketball court, a community center and a playground, so families with mixed interests have somewhere to go while matches run.
Other places to play pickleball in Tallahassee
Tallahassee carries 19 active pickleball locations in our directory, more court capacity than most cities its size. A few worth knowing if the Chaires courts are booked for the tournament or regular open play:
- Myers Park, 1001 Miccosukee Rd: 8 free outdoor courts with permanent regulation nets, lit for night play, open sunrise to 11 p.m.
- Terry Hutton Park, 3248 Grady Rd: 6 free outdoor courts with permanent regulation nets, lit for night play, open sunrise to 11 p.m.
- Tom Brown Park, 501 Easterwood Dr: 4 free outdoor courts with permanent regulation nets, open sunrise to sunset.
- The Picklr in Tallahassee, 1415 Timberlane Rd: 10 indoor courts, membership required with drop-in available, open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Between the free city and county outdoor courts and an indoor option that runs regardless of weather, Tallahassee has enough capacity to host a sanctioned event like Chop and Drop without crowding out regular open play at the other parks. Players coming from out of town for the tournament who want to warm up beforehand have four other free courts within a short drive, plus the indoor option if rain is in the forecast.
See the full list of pickleball courts in Tallahassee, FL for hours, nets, and cost on every location in the city.