"I played pickleball every morning during my 110-day stay."
In recent years, a new sport has been sweeping across India, captivating people of all ages and backgrounds – pickleball.
Combining elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis, pickleball offers a fun and accessible way to stay active, making it increasingly popular in urban centres and small towns alike.
With its easy-to-learn rules, minimal equipment requirements, and a strong social component, the sport has found a growing fanbase among fitness enthusiasts, families, and even celebrities.
It is clear that this once-niche game is rapidly becoming a popular sport across India.
We explore pickleball’s fast rise in India and the reasons for its popularity in a country where cricket reigns supreme.
How to Play Pickleball?
Pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court with a net slightly lower than tennis.
It can be played in singles or doubles, using paddles made of wood or composite materials and a perforated plastic ball, similar to a wiffle ball.
The game starts with an underhand serve, made diagonally to the opponent’s service court.
The ball must bounce once on each side before players can start volleying, known as the ‘double-bounce rule’.
Pickleball is played to 11 points, and a team must win by 2 points.
Points are scored only by the serving team when the opponent fails to return the ball within bounds or commits a fault, like stepping into the non-volley zone (also called the ‘kitchen’) while volleying.
The kitchen is a 7-foot area on either side of the net where players cannot volley the ball, which prevents spiking and encourages strategy.
Pickleball’s Arrival in India
Pickleball’s origins can be traced back to Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 1965 where three friends used makeshift equipment.
The introduction of pickleball in India can be credited to Sunil Valavalkar, the founder of the All India Pickleball Association (AIPA).
He first encountered the sport when he visited British Columbia for an Indo-Canadian Youth Exchange Programme in 1999.
Sunil was hosted by sports enthusiast Barry Mansfield, who introduced him to the sport.
Sunil said: “I played pickleball every morning during my 110-day stay. It was fun.”
But his pickleball idea came in 2006 when he visited a tennis clinic in Cincinnati.
He explained: “From 2000 to 2006, I forgot pickleball. I switched over to tennis.
“But, in Cincinnati, I had an opportunity to visit a tennis clinic.
“The coach over there gave me instructions one day ‘Sunil, sideways and swing’. That was the slogan I remembered that Barry also used while teaching me pickleball.
“Then I realised ‘oh my god, this is quite similar to pickleball’.
“Tennis is a tough sport. On the other hand, pickleball is easy. It struck me that I should probably take this sport to the people in my community.
“I started playing tennis only after 35. My reflexes on a tennis court weren’t that good.
“But, on a pickleball court, my reflexes were enough to play good shots. It gave me a lot of joy.
“While coming back from the 15-day trip to Cincinnati, I bought paddles, balls and a few promotional leaflets to India.
“From 2007, I seriously started promoting pickleball in and around my community in Mumbai.”
When he returned to India, there was initial resistance.
“It was a struggle. I taught my daughter and niece first and took them to demonstrate the sport in local clubs and parking lots.
“People were reluctant. Some even mocked me. That’s when I decided to set up the All India Pickleball Association in 2008.”
This marked a turning point as the AIPA provided structure and legitimacy to pickleball’s growth in India.
Popularity Surge after Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic provided an unexpected boost for pickleball.
People were drawn to the sport during this period due to its easy setup and suitability for socially distanced play.
It became a common sight in alleys and car parks.
In the USA, pickleball surged so much that tennis courts were repurposed for it, as four pickleball courts can fit into one tennis court.
More courts meant more players and more revenue, catching the attention of investors and sports equipment manufacturers like Selkirk, which started sponsoring players.
After the pandemic, India witnessed a similar boom.
In August 2024, a pickleball tournament with $100,000 prize money was held.
India has been hosting major tournaments and Indian pickeball players have begun to win medals in prestigious overseas competitions.
An Indian Premier League-styled league for pickleball is also set to start by the end of 2024 or early 2025.
Influence of Indian Celebrities
Pickleball’s popularity among Indian celebrities is on the rise, contributing to its mainstream appeal.
Several Bollywood stars, athletes, and other public figures have shown interest in the sport, helping to elevate its profile.
Celebrities like Leander Paes have endorsed pickleball and spoken about its fun, engaging nature, making it appealing to sports enthusiasts.
Some Bollywood actors and television personalities have been spotted playing the game recreationally, often sharing their experiences on social media, which in turn generates curiosity among their fanbase.
The likes of Varun Dhawan and Arjun Kapoor have been seen playing the sport.
Meanwhile, Samantha Ruth Prabhu joined the World Pickleball League as the owner of Team Chennai.
Celebrity participation has brought significant media attention to the sport, turning it into a trendy, social activity that is not just for professional athletes but also for leisure and fitness.
Their involvement has helped attract more people from urban areas to try pickleball, boosting its growth in metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi.
Going Professional
What began as a recreational sport has transformed into a competitive one.
Pickleball pioneer Manish Rao organised an open tournament in Mumbai in 2016 and at the time, it only had three courts and around 100 players.
There was no prize money and people played purely for enjoyment.
In 2024, the Monsoon Pickleball Championship in Mumbai offered a prize pool of $100,000.
There were nearly 800 competitors and companies like Global Sports have been instrumental in supporting the sport’s infrastructure and sponsorships.
The India Open in Mumbai was a massive success with over 700 athletes from 12 countries competing in it.
Today, India has over 1,000 pickleball courts.
Mumbai and Ahmedabad are major hubs while Delhi and Chennai are catching up.
According to Manish, approximately 10,000 players participate professionally while there are around 70,000 ‘closet players’.
Pickleball has also gained traction with corporate professionals who find it an enjoyable way to de-stress and socialise outside of work.
Will Pickleball threaten Traditional Racket Sports?
In cities like Mumbai, where space is at a premium, pickleball has gained traction in both big clubs and smaller pay-per-hour arenas.
However, with its rapid rise in India, will it overtake traditional racket sports like tennis and badminton?
That is what Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic believes as he said in July 2024:
“On a club level, tennis is endangered.
“If we don’t do something about it, globally or collectively, paddle, pickleball in the States, they’re gonna convert all the tennis clubs into paddle and pickleball.”
Djokovic’s warning is already playing out in many of India’s metro cities and in January 2025, Andre Agassi is scheduled to visit the country to inaugurate the PWR DUPR Indian Tour and League.
Many of Mumbai’s prominent clubs now have pickleball courts while other clubs around the country have converted tennis courts into pickleball ones.
At Khar Gymkhana in Mumbai, the pickleball department has over 300 members.
Vishal Chugh, the department chairman, said the new sport has quickly overshot other sports like squash (100 members), table tennis (70) and badminton (75).
He added: “Since we have so many people who want to play it and only three full-time courts besides two more additional ones in the multipurpose sports arena, we have started a grading system.
“We’re managing for now, but will request the committee for more courts soon.”
Pickleball has quickly become a popular sport among Indians and it will continue to grow.
High-quality equipment, once hard to find, is now readily available while boot camps are being organised at schools.
According to Manish, pickleball is growing by 30% annually in terms of players and courts.
While pickleball is rapidly moving towards the professional space, it still has the charm of being a community sport.
Manish says: “There is more competition than community part now.
“But, still, 50 per cent of our pickleball community is interested in recreation. We all must have heard that after 40-45, we don’t make new friends.
“But, because of pickleball, everything has changed. We have a pickleball circle. You are called for pickleball lunch and pickleball parties. We will be boring each other with pickleball stuff.”
Pickleball is trendy, fun and in the digital age, it is tailormade for instant gratification.
With its growing momentum, there is a possibility that pickleball will make its way to the Olympics.
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