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Mumbai, India – In a country where cricket reigns supreme and football comes second, pickleball is quietly but steadily carving out its niche – not only as a recreational activity but also as a community sport.
Over the past two years, pickleball has gained popularity in many major Indian cities, particularly Mumbai and Bengaluru, attracting players from children to senior citizens.
Invented in 1965. As a children's backyard game in the United States, pickleball is now played professionally around the world. A combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis, pickleball is easy to learn and fun to play.
Serving as a great workout without the physical intensity of tennis, it's perfect for older adults and those looking for low-impact or social exercise.
For Parnika Waghmare, a resident of the city of Thane near Mumbai, the pickle has helped promote community interaction.
“I reconnected with old friends through pickleball,” said Waghmare, an architect.
The 28-year-old loved tennis but didn't get a chance to play competitively. Pickleball offered her an opportunity to get back on the court.
“Even though I'm not fit, I can play easily,” she told Al Jazeera after a two-hour pickle session. “I plan to play every weekend to keep my athleticism up and hopefully compete in local tournaments.”
Waghmare was one of about 15 people who turned up on Sunday morning to play pickleball on an open court at the Sharadchandraji Pawar Mini Stadium TMC in Thane.
Sujay Kumar, 53, a businessman and long-time badminton player, has signed up for coaching lessons twice a week at the gym.
“Recently I had a back injury that forced me to take a break from badminton, so I got into a pickle,” Kumar said.
“I've been playing for a month and it's been great. There is a community for pickleball, which is not the case for badminton. I met about 20 new people,” he added.
What is a pickle?
Pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court with a low, modified tennis net, making it suitable for both indoor and outdoor play.
Players use a hard paddle, usually made of wood or composite materials, to hit a perforated plastic ball that is about the same size as a baseball, but significantly lighter.
The craze for the sport initially started in the posh areas of Mumbai – Bandra, Andheri, Goregaon and Nariman Point – and is now slowly spreading to other parts of India's second most populous city of around 20 million.
“The low barrier to entry makes it very easy for anyone to love the sport,” said Chirag Srivastav, co-founder of Elev8, a sports company that organizes pickleball gatherings.
In India's urban centers, the pickle is fast becoming a preferred option for weekend activities. Friends meet during a game or young couples plan “pickle dates”. Pickleball gatherings are even used as a networking tool.
“Earlier, tennis or squash used to connect investors or industrialists, but now they meet over a game of pickleball,” Srivastav said.
Mumbai may be the home of the Indian pickle, but the game is becoming more fashionable in Bengaluru in South India.
The bustling city of 14 million is widely known as the 'Silicon Valley' of India for its sprawling hi-tech global software companies. And the pickle resonates here.
Yashodhan Nakhare, a former junior national level tennis player, has been playing pickleball four times a week for six months in Bengaluru's affluent Indiranagar district and is part of a small group called 'Pickle Ricklers'.
“Six of us run Pickle Ricklers, but at least 26 to 27 people in our community play at the highest level. We participate in tournaments and organize our friendly mini-tournaments,” said the 24-year-old, who works in a consulting firm.
Companies are also seeing the appeal of the pickle, using it as a marketing tool for their products.
Local Ferment Co (LFC), a beverage company in Bengaluru, organized a party for 30 people in October, housing them for an hour and a half in an indoor sports arena.
Participants, handpicked after an application process, played pickleball and sipped kombucha and ginger ale.
“We now have a WhatsApp community called 'Dink and Drink' of all the people who came to play and others who are interested. It has about 70 to 80 members,” said Tarini Thakur, head of brand and culture at LFC.
“Every now and then we try to organize pickleball games. It's a great way to meet our customers and get them to try our drinks in an organic setting.”
Become a professional
While many are drawn to the pickle for its recreational appeal, others see it as a path to professional success.
Vrushali Thakare, who hails from Jalgaon in North Maharashtra, has been playing pickleball since 2017. and represents India.
Her desire to compete professionally prompted her to move to Mumbai permanently. This month, she won a gold and a silver medal in the Hong Kong leg of the World Pickleball Championships.
“I am motivated to play pickleball professionally because it offers financial stability,” Takare said. “Career-wise, it's become a good option for athletes.”
Like Thakare, Sonu Vishwakarma moved to Mumbai from Dhanbad, Jharkhand to focus on his professional career in pickleball.
The 22-year-old said interest in pickleball has skyrocketed since the 2022 Bainbridge Cup, the first international pickleball event held in India, named after the birthplace of the sport.
“The prize money was $50,000, which was a huge amount for a pickle in India,” Vishwakarma said. “Since this tournament, there's been no end to the growing popularity of pickleball, and even we, the players, got a great exposure.”
Thakare and Vishwakarma are two of the many players supported by the All India Pickleball Association (AIPA). Its president, Arvind Prabu, says AIPA plans to spread the sport to every corner of India.
“The long-term vision is the Olympics,” Prabu said. “If at all, pickleball can only be considered for inclusion in the 2032 or 2036 Olympics.” So we have time to prepare. … All the 12-year-olds we train now will be eligible to compete by then.”
At the elite level, pickleball is enjoying unprecedented momentum in India and next month, Mumbai will host the country's first global franchise-based pickleball league, the World Pickleball League.
The inaugural season will feature six teams, mixing local talent with international players, and aims to attract participants from around 15 countries.
“The aim of this league is to make it a commercial success and grow the pickle ecosystem in India,” said Gaurav Natekar, co-founder of the league.
“We want to do what the Indian Premier League has done for hundreds of players,” he said, referring to cricket's richest tournament franchise.
The Future of Pickleball in India
One of the key obstacles to the continued growth of pickup trucks in India is the lack of proper infrastructure.
There is a huge gap between the number of courts and demand for play, but Natekar believes this is a “good problem” for stakeholders, who are already working on building more courts. According to Prabhoo, Mumbai has close to 500 courts, while it is expected to cross 200 in Bengaluru in the next three months.
There's also a perception that some members of the urban elite want to keep pickleball an exclusive sport, a factor that fuels both its aspirational value for newcomers and its challenges to make it more accessible.
“Partly the rich want to keep it an exclusive sport and maintain the profile of the game,” Prabhu explained.
“There are clubs in Mumbai where only the rich play – no outsiders are allowed. They make a group and play. … They want it to stay that way. That is where the aspirational value comes in for someone who is not that rich and wants to make it big,” he added.
As pickleball continues to gain momentum in India, it is becoming more than just a sport. It is a bridge connecting different metropolitan communities and a path for aspiring athletes dreaming of global recognition.
