Paddling through: Pickleball catches India’s fancy, hooks big sponsors for first-ever championship

Sponsor interest

Along with the league, around six to seven brands have shown interest in investing in the championship which makes its debut in India.

ITC Bingo has come on board as the title sponsor while Skechers is the official kitting partner. Both brands have a partnership for five years.

"ITC wanted to be part of the growth of a new sport in our country. And since pickleball is a new sport they wanted to be associated with us right from the grassroot development. For the next five years, they wish to promote the game at the grassroot level," Arvind Prabhoo, President of All India Pickleball Association (AIPA) told Moneycontrol.

They will not only sponsor the grassroot development, but will also sponsor Team India. Along with them, we have Skechers on board, he added.

ITC, Skechers, DCB Bank and Volvo, among others have come on board as sponsors for the tournament.

DCB Bank is the official banking partner, IISM is the knowledge partner, Nexus is the official event partner and District by Zomato is the official experience partner.

Doordarshan is the official broadcast partner while Amuzi Sports is the streaming partner for the championship.

The ticket size of the sponsorship is estimated to be Rs 1 crore for title sponsorship while co-sponsors and associate sponsorships range between Rs 20 lakh-25 lakh.

Prabhoo said they expected to sign up more sponsors but were unable to due to time constraints.

"A lot of interest was shown by paddle manufacturers and other equipment manufacturers. But due to paucity of time, we were not able to convert them into sponsors. And a lot of other sponsors were lined up but they couldn't be part of this tournament because time was short and there was a space restriction," he said.

Pickleball players

The interest from sponsors underscores pickleball's growing popularity. After all, brands are where the audience is.

There are more than 100,000 recreational pickleball players in India and close to 400 or 500 professional players currently, noted Prabhoo.

Globally, there are over five million players across 84 countries and a 40 percent female participation rate. In India, the sport has seen a 275 percent growth in active players over the past three years and is projected to surpass one million active players by 2028.

"Last year, according to some estimates, we had a growth of about 159 percent in India in the pickleball player pool. We can also figure out the growth in pickleball players by just the way the number of courts are being done," he added.

Prabhoo expects a million pickleball players in the next five years across India with a dream to see the sport in the Olympics.

Infrastructure growth

Last year, Mumbai had only 100 courts and right now there are 500 courts in the city. "If you look at that growth (in infrastructure for pickleball), it shows that the interest level is so high. The best thing is that the space that you need and the investment cost that you need is not very high. So, we are expecting in the next two or three years about 10,000 courts coming up in India across markets as the sport is picking up well in Tier 2, Tier 3 cities as well," the AIPA president said.

He pointed out that the cost of building one court along with the net and all other requirements is anywhere between Rs 3 lakh to 5 lakh, depending on the surface and the ground conditions.

"If you compare it with tennis, the cost is more than Rs 10 lakh to 15 lakh for a court because the court is so large. A basketball court is three times the size of a pickleball court. For badminton, you can't have an outdoor court and an indoor court costs you that much more. So, it's (pickleball) very suitable as an investment because one tennis court has about four pickleball courts," Prabhoo added.

KheloMore, an aggregating platform of sports venues has plans to invest around Rs 5 crore over a three-year period to construct AIPA-affiliated 100 state-of-the-art pickleball courts, its Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ujwal Deole, had told BusinessLine in September.

Pickleball court listings had increased six to seven times in the last 10 months, and bookings grew 2-3 times monthly, he said.

"We are topping the Asian market. We are second to the US at this point of time and it's only a matter of time that we become a very powerful pickleball nation," Prabhoo said.

India debut

And that answers why the World Pickleball Championship has come to India.

"Indian players have been performing well in the international circuit especially in Asia. Since India has been performing so well in the last three to four years, the All India Pickleball Association requested the World Pickleball Championship (WPC) organisers to host WPC in India. It will not only boost pickleball in India, but also let Indians get a view of how the world players play," Prabhoo said.

WPC is a series of championships which happens in Europe, Asia and Australia.

When and how is WPC held?

It is an annual championship which has been taking place for the last five years. It has been played in Thailand, Indonesia, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong in Asia. In Australia, it happens in Brisbane and Melbourne. And there are about 10 tournaments a year.

"There are more than 60 foreign top players from 18 countries participating in the championship being held in India. And there is a good number of Indian participation with about 400 Indian players playing in this tournament," the AIPA head added.

The tournament in India will begin from 8 in the morning and will go on till 6 in the evening everyday and about 300 matches will be played. 

Pickleball India growth

With the championship and a league for pickleball, Prabhoo expects the scenario to only get better as the sport continues to gain more popularity.

"It's only going to get better for the sport because earlier, not much was known about the sport. But in the last two or three years, pickleball has exploded in our country. And hosting a World Pickleball Championship brings the world's attention to India and it showcases the Indian talent in the sport to the world. So, it will open up huge doors for the sport in India," he added.

The Global Pickleball Market size is estimated to be worth around $4.4 billion by 2033.

"With the (sponsorship) money coming in, the association will do a lot of grassroot development. We'll do a lot of demos and shows in cities. We will develop the infrastructure and the association will open it up for academies in different areas. Pickleball will create its own community and its own niche," Prabhoo said.

He added that pickleball is a high participation sport. "More than a spectator sport, it's a participation sport. So, we expect that most of India who are into recreation and into the Fit India movement will take up this sport," he said.