Pickleball in Malaysia: when badminton stars legitimize the sport that is conquering Asia

In Malaysia, former badminton and tennis stars are no longer hesitating to trade their traditional rackets for pickleball paddles.

Led by renowned ambassadors like Olympic medalist Goh Liu Ying, the sport is experiencing explosive growth, making the country the number one pickleball nation in Asia. A look at an unprecedented sporting and cultural phenomenon.

Goh Liu Ying, the Olympic icon who plays pickleball

She carried the hopes of an entire nation under the bright lights of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where she won the silver medal in mixed doubles badminton with her partner Chan Peng Soon. Now, at 36 and a mother of two, Goh Liu Ying has found a new passion: pickleball.

"I used to play two or three times a week before giving birth, sometimes for three hours at a time," she told the Malay Mail. And no, she wasn't talking about badminton.

His enthusiasm for pickleball is emblematic of a broader movement: that of former Malaysian professional athletes who are discovering in this hybrid sport, a mix of tennis, ping-pong and badminton, a second sporting life, lighter and more social, after years under intense pressure.

Goh Liu Ying has taken concrete action by integrating pickleball into the Kidslympic program , a youth sports initiative that she actively supports. This decision, announced at the end of 2025, demonstrates her commitment to the sport beyond mere recreation.

A "social" sport that appeals to champions

What attracts Goh Liu Ying and other former professionals is precisely what pickleball offers that high-level sport can no longer provide: freedom and pure enjoyment .

"You can make it a competitive sport or just get together with friends. That's the advantage. You don't even need to train hard, you can just show up and have fun," she said.

This same spirit of freedom appealed to Christian Didier Chin , once one of Malaysia's most promising tennis players. Tired of the solitary journeys on the circuit, he abandoned tennis for pickleball and padel, and is now ranked in the Asian top 3 in padel. "Tennis is just my livelihood now. Pickleball and padel are my calling."

Another notable career changer is Colin Wong Wei Ming , a former national junior tennis player. After spending five years in finance upon returning from the United States, he discovered pickleball in 2024. It was an instant hit. "Pickleball reignited that competitive flame in me after the end of my tennis career." A few months later, he quit his job to dedicate himself entirely to the sport. Today, he trains with a manager, a strength and conditioning coach, a physiotherapist, and a nutritionist. He is currently ranked number 1 in Malaysia with a DUPR score of 5.1 .

Malaysia, number 1 in pickleball in Asia

These individual trajectories are part of a context of spectacular collective growth. Malaysia is now, without question, the leading pickleball country in Asia .

Some figures that speak for themselves:

• Malaysia ranks first in Asia for the number of active users on the DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating) platform, the global pickleball ranking system, with over 143,000 active users recorded on the Reclub app.
• It ranks among the three fastest-growing nations in the world according to DUPR data
• Pickleball was introduced to Malaysia in 2019 with the establishment of the first association in Miri, Sarawak. The Malaysia Pickleball Association (MPA) , founded by Farrell Choo Kah Thiam, is now the national governing body for the sport.
• In Kuala Lumpur, some weekends feature up to 10 simultaneous tournaments , a sign of overwhelming demand.

"We have more than 143,000 active users, which makes Malaysia the number 1 pickleball country in Asia, ahead of Vietnam and the Philippines," emphasizes Low, founder of a sports platform based in Shah Alam.

Infrastructure that matches the ambitions

The rise of Malaysian pickleball is accompanied by a rapid development of infrastructure. Premium clubs are emerging all over the country, such as the Pickle Social Club in Kuala Lumpur, considered the epicenter of national pickleball, or the Dink! Pickle Daily in Petaling Jaya, which has eight high-end indoor courts, a cafe-lounge and a free mini court for families.

These spaces embody the philosophy of Malaysian pickleball: welcoming, inclusive, designed for both competitive players and weekend enthusiasts.

Tournaments that put Malaysia on the world stage

The competitive agenda confirms Malaysia's status as a global hub, which it is currently developing:

Alliance Bank KL Open Pickleball Championship 2025 (April 2025) - The largest tournament in the history of Malaysian pickleball with 648 players from 13 countries gathered at the Pickle Social Club.

WPC Asia Pickleball Grand Slam 2025 (July 2025, Petaling Jaya) - The first World Pickleball Championship Grand Slam to be held in Asia. More than 1,500 athletes from 20 countries , 3,000 spectators expected, a prize pool of RM120,000 (the largest in the region), and an estimated tourism impact of MYR13 million . The event, sanctioned by the World Pickleball Federation, the International Pickleball Federation, and the Malaysia Pickleball Association, also received official support from the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism as part of the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign.

PPA Tour Asia 2025 - The prestigious Professional Pickleball Association (PPA Tour) has launched five tournaments in Asia in 2025, including the Kuala Lumpur Open and the Kuala Lumpur Cup at the end of the season, with prize pools of up to $1 million for the Slams.

Inter-Uni Pickleball Showdown 2025 - 144 participants from 14 Malaysian universities, laying the foundations for a new generation of players.

Asia, the new global playground for pickleball

Malaysia is not alone in this revolution. On an Asian scale, the figures are staggering. According to a study conducted by UPA Asia and YouGov Singapore with over 14,000 participants in 12 Asian markets:

• 1.9 billion people in Asia have heard of pickleball
• 812 million have already played at least once, that's more than the total population of the United States
• 282 million people play pickleball at least once a month, which is equivalent to more than 80% of the American population.

Vietnam is closely following Malaysia, with a projected increase of 184% in the number of DUPR players by 2025 and 30% in just 90 days . China, India, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand , and South Korea are also among the rapidly growing markets.

The Asia Federation of Pickleball (AFP) also organised the very first Asia Pickleball University in July 2025 in Da Nang (Vietnam), marking a growing institutional structuring of the sport on the continent.

Is pickleball a threat to badminton in Malaysia?

The question is worth asking in a country where badminton is practically a religious sport. The response from Malaysian sports stakeholders is unanimous: no, the two sports are complementary .

Datuk V. Subramaniam , acting president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), puts it clearly: "Badminton is badminton. Pickleball is pickleball." He sees the rise of pickleball as an opportunity to enrich the Malaysian sports ecosystem, not a threat.

Sports analyst Mohd Sadek Mustafa agrees: badminton and tennis are already well-established sports. Pickleball, on the other hand, opens new doors, especially for people who would never have been interested in traditional rackets.

Even Goh Liu Ying doesn't see any rivalry. Badminton will always be her great love. Pickleball is something else entirely, a breath of fresh air. "It's a social sport. But if it makes it into the Olympics, then that changes everything," she says with a smile.

The Olympic challenge: the key to legitimacy

Because the question of the Olympic Games is central to the ambitions of world pickleball. And for former athletes like Goh Liu Ying, it's not insignificant. "All our planning as athletes revolves around the Games. We can get a pension and a salary if our sport is included. If it isn't, it's difficult."

Pickleball's inclusion in the Olympic Games could profoundly transform the sport's dynamics in Asia, encouraging active professional athletes to fully commit to it. Malaysia, with its infrastructure, community, and ambassadors, would then be ideally positioned to play a leading role on the world stage.

Malaysia, the future world center of pickleball?

What is happening in Malaysia goes far beyond a passing fad. It is the methodical construction of a complete sporting ecosystem: inspiring former top players, expanding infrastructure, a growing number of international tournaments, an active national federation, and a community driven by values ​​of inclusion and conviviality.

The fact that champions like Goh Liu Ying, a national icon and Olympic medalist, choose to publicly endorse pickleball is significant. It sends a powerful message to an entire nation: this sport is legitimate, it's here to stay, and Malaysia is destined to be one of its global epicenters.

FAQ - Questions / Answers

Q1. Who is Goh Liu Ying and what is her connection to pickleball? Goh Liu Ying is a Malaysian badminton player who won a silver medal in mixed doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics. After her professional career, she switched to pickleball, playing the sport several times a week and participating in Kidslympic, a sports initiative for young people.

Q2. Why is Malaysia the number 1 pickleball nation in Asia? Malaysia is the leader in Asia thanks to more than 143,000 active users on the DUPR platform, an active national federation (Malaysia Pickleball Association), rapidly expanding dedicated infrastructure, and the organization of major international tournaments such as the WPC Asia Pickleball Grand Slam 2025.

Q3. When did pickleball arrive in Malaysia? Pickleball was introduced to Malaysia in 2019 with the creation of the first association in Miri, Sarawak. The Malaysia Pickleball Association (MPA) was subsequently founded to structure the sport nationally.

Q4. Will pickleball replace badminton in Malaysia? No. Malaysian sports stakeholders, including the acting president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia, consider the two sports complementary. Pickleball is attracting a new audience without directly competing with badminton, a sport with a long history and deep cultural roots in Malaysia.

Q5. How many people play pickleball in Asia? According to a UPA Asia / YouGov Singapore study conducted in 12 Asian markets, 812 million people in Asia have played pickleball at least once, and 282 million play it at least once a month.

Q6. What are the major pickleball tournaments in Malaysia in 2025? Major events in 2025 include the Alliance Bank KL Open (648 players, 13 countries), the WPC Asia Pickleball Grand Slam in Petaling Jaya (1,500 athletes, 20 countries, prize pool of RM 120,000) and several stops on the PPA Tour Asia including the Kuala Lumpur Open.