It’s 2026 and India has a firmly and steadily grasped its withhold in the sporting world. With the rising economy and the prevalent opportunity, India serves as a hotbed for foreign sporting bodies to organize an event here. The back-to-back World Pickleball Championships that took place in India (Mumbai, 2024 and Bengaluru 2025) was proof that India is a hotbed for International sporting events.
India hosted the World Pickleball Championship twice in two years – Mumbai on November 12 -17, 2024, and Bengaluru on November 20-23, 2025. While the 2026 edition isn’t announced, India is very likely to host the tournament again. This presents a unique opportunity for the sporting world at large to shift their focus to the nation. Pickleball, a sport that was initially played in backyard alleys and makeshift tennis courts, is now the fastest-growing sport in the world. Despite its relatively recent popularity, Pickleball was invented back in 1965. Its humble origins lie during a children’s backyard game in Bainbridge Island, Washington DC.
Only 50 years later, and amidst the pandemic lockdown, did people find it exciting enough to raise its popularity. The sport started spreading like wildfire, and in no time, Indian audiences were also privy to it. But even in India, Pickleball didn’t enter popular consciousness during the lockdown. It was in 2007, when Sunil Vavalkar, the director of GTA Ltd., brought the sport to India. It was via Section 25 of the Companies Act that the All India Pickleball Association was formed as a Non-profit Organization.
Just like every other part of the world, Pickleball was dormant in India for the most part after its entry. For the first 15 years after Valvalkar introduced the sport to India, he mostly spent his time promoting it. It only took off recently. Such has been the rapid rise of popularity in recent times, that India ended up hosting the World Pickleball Championships. In doing so, it joined the likes of Australia and other European and Asian countries.
As many as 55 elite athletes from 17 different competitive nations participated in the 2024 edition of the World Championships in Mumbai. They traveled to Mumbai, where they played their matches at the iconic Cricket Club of India (CCI). Players like Dani Elle, George Wall, Ari Adleyaa, and Nicole Shoeman are just some of the names who visited.
As for the Mumbai edition, the tournament had started to generate immense interest from many corners of the country before the it even began. Surely enough, it garnered more interest with time. Business was also taken care of as 6-7 companies were there to sponsor the event, whereas the title sponsorship was valued at INR 1 crore. ITC Bingo came forward as the title sponsor, whereas footwear company Skechers was the official kitting partner. DCB Bank, Volvo, Nexus (official event partner), and IISM (Knowledge partner) were some of the other sponsors for the event.
As for the Bengaluru tournament, the number of participants rose up to 304 from across the country. This was clearly a sign of the rising popularity of the game in India. Yet another sign of this growing popularity, and one of the biggest highlight of the 2025 edition, was that the prize pool was INR 15 lakhs. It makes World Pickleball Championships one of the highest rewarding Pickleball tournaments in the world.
These tournaments are being seen as stepping stones towards building a large Pickleball community in India. Due to the still growing interest in the sport, the World Pickleball League has also started in India in 2025. In its inaugural edition, a total of 7 teams played – Bengaluru Jawans, Pune United, Mumbai Pickle Power, Hyderabad Superstars, Chennai Super Champs, Dilli Dillwale, and Team Jaipur.
The sporting infrastructure in both Mumbai and Bengaluru is already changing due to this sport. They are now becoming a hub of multiple modern-day sports and activities, and are inviting some global names to grace such occasions. There were 100 Pickleball courts Mumbai last year, which has now jumped five times to 500 courts currently. AIPA President Shri Arvind Ramesh Prabhoo expects this number to double up by next year and estimates that it will keep growing. In Bengaluru, the number is slightly lower at 80, but is on the rise. Overall, the Global Pickleball Market Size is expected to touch $4.4 billion by 2033. And for that to happen, India will play a major hand in its growth. This is where Mr. Prabhoo senses an economic boom brought on by the sport.
A Pickleball court typically costs INR 3-5 lakhs to manufacture. In comparison, an average tennis court costs around INR 10-15 lakhs. Pickleball serves as the perfect platform to build and grow, given its easily accessible nature. More investors and investing platforms like KheloMore, which has agreed to invest INR 5 crores to build 100 state-of-the-art Pickleball courts, will come forward in the coming years. With the cost of manufacture, production, and organizing being so low, combined with the love that Indian people (& worldwide) have shown to this sport, there is no way but up for Pickleball.
From Tier 1 cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, etc., to Tier 2 cities like Indore, Bhopal, Kanpur, etc., Pickleball is picking up the pace everywhere. At the moment, there are more than 100,000 Pickleball players in India, with only 400-500 of them playing professionally. AIPA expects the player pool to surpass 1 million in the next 5 years.
All matches the World Pickleball Championships in Mumbai 2024, were broadcasted on Doordarshan, with whom the AIPA has partnered. Other than that, it was also available to stream on FanCode and was being telecast on Sony Sports Network. The 2025 Bengaluru edition saw its coverage via Zee5, Zee Cafe &flix, and Pickleball Now ((a dedicated channel by Times Network). As the whole country watched the tournament, that played out at the highest level, it could and did wonders for its popularity going forward. Its craze has also entered the celebrity world, with actors Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha Ruth Prabhu endorsing it.
As India has taken over the World Pickleball Championships now, our country looks at the future of the sport with big, bright eyes and glaring dreams.
