When Khushi Dalmia first heard about pickleball in December, she was skeptical. The 24-year-old marketing consultant, like many young professionals in Mumbai, had a fitness routine confined to the gym. But the buzz around this curious sport caught her attention. “It was fun, fast, and, more importantly, something I could consistently enjoy without feeling like a chore,” Dalmia says. What began as a casual experiment is now a fixture in her week. “The excitement, the challenge, and the people I have met are what keep me coming back,” she says.
Dalmia is not the only one. Across Indian cities, from Mumbai to Kolkata to Ranchi, pickleball—a sport invented in the US in the 1960s but surging globally only in recent years—is capturing attention at home.India’s pickleball story began quietly in 1999, when Sunil Valavalkar, now regarded as the “father of Indian pickleball,” first encountered the sport on an Indo-Canadian youth exchange in British Columbia. He returned to India in 2007-2008 and introduced the game at summer camps, small courts, and demos across Mumbai suburbs.
“He organised a small tournament at Prabodhankar Thackeray Krida Sankul (PTKS), and I was persuaded to try,” recalls Nikhil Arun Mathure, now treasurer of the All India Pickleball Association (AIPA). What struck him was not just the game’s accessibility but its potential to thrive in a country dominated by cricket, badminton, and tennis.
In Chopda, a small town in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district, Ajay Chaudhari remembers starting with the barest of setups. “We played on a badminton court,” he says. “It wasn’t fancy at all, but it was fun. Over time, that small-town passion grew into a bigger dream of representing India and building a pickleball community.” Courts were often improvised, with chalk lines and makeshift nets, while equipment remained prohibitively expensive until AIPA convinced Indian manufacturers to step in.
By 2022, India was making its mark abroad. At the Asian Pickleball Championship in Thailand, Mathure and his teammates won 35 gold medals. The same year, AIPA hosted the Bainbridge Cup—the fifth edition of the sport’s World Cup—in India, offering an unprecedented $50,000 in prize money. Under the leadership of President Arvind Prabhoo, the event marked a turning point. “It changed how people viewed pickleball here,” Mathure says. Two years later, AIPA doubled down by staging the World Pickleball Championship 2024.
Chaudhari, now co-founder of the Thakare Pickleball Academy, trains five to six days a week, focusing on technical precision—particularly the third-shot drop, a strategic move that controls the “kitchen,” or no-volley zone. “The most common mistake is rushing to hit hard too early,” Chaudhari explains. In less than a decade, India has gone from a handful of enthusiasts to roughly 8,000 registered players across 24 states. Annual growth hovers around 159 per cent nationally, with some regions hitting nearly 300 per cent. Where the country had virtually no courts in 2016, there are now more than 1,000, with ambitions for 10,000 courts and a projected one million players by 2028.
That mismatch between demand and infrastructure opened space for entrepreneurs. Among them was Siddhant Jatia, who founded Picklebay after spotting opportunity in the chaos. Picklebay, launched as India’s first all-in-one pickleball platform, serves as both digital hub and on-ground organiser. Through its app and website, players can locate courts, register for tournaments, track scores, and connect with partners. It recently announced its first Picklebay Open this November, with a $20,000 prize pool. “We combine on-ground engagement with tech,” Jatia explains.
Both Mathure and Chaudhari believe pickleball’s greatest strength is its inclusivity. From preteens to grandparents, families can rally together on the same court. What began in Mumbai apartment complexes has grown into an industry of tournaments, grassroots initiatives, and investment. Between these lies the future of Indian pickleball: equal parts leisure, competition, and community.
