Pick Up In People Picking Up A Paddle

Fun factor, lower impact, more courts and social nature fuel pickleball boom in S'pore

- Kolette Lim

Once a week, video game producer Janine Campbell picks up a paddle, grabs her visor and wristband and heads for a pickleball lesson after work.

After her husband introduced her to the sport, she enrolled herself in group lessons at Performance Pickleball, an indoor facility in Punggol, in January.

"It's fun and I really like the sport," said Campbell, 45. "I'm at my desk constantly and pickleball lets me get some fresh air, laughter and exercise in a really fun way."

She is among many Singaporeans who are picking up this racket sport. The sport—a cross between tennis and table tennis, played on a badminton-sized court—was invented in the United States in the 1960s, and is known to be popular among seniors, due to its low-impact nature.

Now, pickleball courts are frequented by the young and old for corporate bonding sessions and as a Sunday family activity. Professionals, hobbyists and businesses have observed an uptake in interest and participation in recent years.

"In the past, youth described pickleball as a sport for seniors, but it is now described as the 'in' sport," said president of Singapore Pickleball Association Lim Ee Kiong, adding that this can be attributed to the sport's social nature.

Pickleball is also easier to pick up than other racket sports, said founders of Performance Pickleball and former national tennis players Jeremy Soh and Jeovanne Poernomo.

"The court is smaller, the ball is slower, and the paddle is lighter—it's a lot easier because you don't have to wield a long racket," said Soh.

"Compared to padel and tennis, the risk of injury is a lot lower, the explosiveness required and the strain on your joints is a lot less."

Soh and Poernomo opened the sports club and facility in July 2024, and it now has over 5,000 members.