From backyard pastime to professional leagues: The rise of pickleball in India

Not all of us have had the luxury or opportunity to play tennis. For one, accessibility and space are limited in cities. A tennis court requires space. It is a rectangle, with the total footprint being much larger than the playing lines themselves. A singles court is 78 feet in length and 27 feet wide, a huge space in an urban setting. The sport also requires immense strength and stamina. But pickleball, an emerging sport that is catching on in India, needs very less space and little or no strength. It also has a low setup cost. Pickleball court dimensions are exactly the same for both singles and doubles play and take up roughly one-third the space of a tennis court. Moreover, the sport is both age-agnostic and gender-agnostic, making it more democratic where games are concerned.

This efficiency of space allows developers and sports innovators to hack the urban landscape, turning underutilised parking lots, building rooftops, and small backyards into athletic hubs. Unlike tennis, pickleball has easily found its way into urban lifestyles in metros like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi, where space comes at a premium.

The popularity of pickleball in India has surged over the last two years. Active participation has seen a 150% jump from approximately 60,000 active players in 2024 to more than 150,000 in 2026. The Indian pickleball market is projected to reach ₹7,500 crore by 2030. Similarly, there has been a six-fold surge in the number of dedicated courts, from 200 in early 2024 to more than 1,200 operational courts by early 2026.

How pickleball came to India

Its backyard accessibility was what attracted Sunil Valavalkar, a sports innovator and corporate leader, who introduced it in India in 2006 after his visit to the US two decades ago. He found it a convenient sport that could easily become a backyard pastime. He introduced it to his family, friends and neighbours and went on to establish the All India Pickleball Association in 2008. During the pandemic, pickleball became a popular hobby as it is a non-contact sport requiring less space.

But more than the sporting appeal of pickleball, it is its cross-generational pull that is attracting people. It draws players from children to senior citizens as it does not require a specific skill set or training and requires little strength. It is being touted as a corporate wellness sport, easier to learn than tennis but providing a better workout than other social games.

The sport can be called a hybrid between badminton, tennis and table tennis. It is suitable for both indoor and outdoor play. The paddle used is either made of wood or composite material while the perforated ball is the size of a base ball but much lighter.

The pull of community

While it is played competitively, pickleball is viewed as a community game with pickleball gatherings becoming occasions for networking and socialising in India. The sport has spawned Whatsapp communities, and even cafes and co-working spaces now have courts. It not only has become a way for professionals to take breaks from work to play a game, but also made its way into people’s lives as a weekend activity to unwind. Two88 Pickleball Lounge Club in Gurugram charges ₹288 per person for entry. Its Instagram handle reads, “Come for the Game, stay for the Conversations”. The La Riva Club in Gurugram is another badminton and pickleball hub that calls itself the “gateway to a sport that is taking the world by storm.”

Professionalisation of pickleball

As of early 2026, the sport is being treated as a major commercial and professional asset. From a ‘pay and play’ concept it’s moving into the high-stakes professional leagues. The Indian Pickleball League was inaugurated in December 2025. Some old-guard tennis professionals like Gaurav Natekar are now leading the charge for this space-efficient game. The World Pickleball League was launched with corporate backing and emulates the IPL model. ‘For it to become a sustaining and long-term sport, we need to ensure that the people and companies that are entering into the game are in it for the right reasons and the long-term development of the ecosystem,’ explains Gaurav Natekar, Co-founder and CEO of the World Pickleball League, while speaking to The Hindu.

Pickleball on Instagram

The game has also seen a meteoric rise on social media, with Gen Z and millennials finding it extremely ‘Instagrammable’ as it brings together lifestyle, sport and entertainment. In fact, new pickleball hubs in India are being built with social media in mind. Indoor courts use vibrant neon lighting that stands out on phone cameras. The sport’s popularity on social media in India is driven by celebrities who lend it an aspirational ‘cool’ factor. Cricketers like Hardik Pandya and actors like Aamir Khan have all been spotted on a pickleball court. The social nature of the game makes it easy to capture some candid moments on camera too.

Parting shots

The era of the sprawling sports complex might come to an end if the density of population in cities is anything to go by. Pickleball with its humble court sizes and community-led ecosystem might just be the option we are looking for.