Pickleball in Malaysia: How Brands Are Turning the Sport Into a Marketing Platform

Malaysia has always been a racket-sport nation. Badminton courts are full every weekend, squash gave us Nicol David — a world icon — and tennis has long been the aspirational sport of private clubs. Yet in 2025, a new game is stealing attention: pickleball.

What started as a quirky import from the US has turned into one of the fastest-growing sports in Malaysia. From Kuala Lumpur to Penang, courts are multiplying, DUPR rankings are being adopted, and tournaments are drawing hundreds of players from across Asia. More importantly, brands are paying attention.

Banks, FMCG giants, renewable energy companies, wellness retailers, and even yoga studios are jumping into pickleball sponsorships — not just to place logos on courts, but to tap into the sport’s unique energy: inclusive, social, fun, and community-driven.

This article explores how pickleball has become more than a game — it’s a marketing platform. We’ll look at the growth wave, real brand case studies, and why pickleball offers a different sponsorship rationale compared to badminton, tennis, squash, or golf. Most importantly, we’ll break down how brands can measure ROI and capture the first-mover advantage while the sport is still young.

 

The Pickleball Boom in Malaysia

In less than two years, pickleball has gone from novelty to nationwide presence. What began as a handful of experimental courts in Klang Valley has turned into a structured ecosystem of clubs, tournaments, and brand-backed events.

1. Courts & Participation Are Multiplying

• In 2024, Malaysia had fewer than 10 dedicated pickleball courts. By mid-2025, there are hundreds of courts nationwide — in KL, Penang, Selangor, Johor, and even Sabah.
• Apps like Reclub and DUPR integration are making it easier for players to discover games, join leagues, and track their progress.
• Malaysia has already recorded over 140,000 active players, making it one of the fastest-growing pickleball communities in Asia.

2. Tournament Calendar Is Filling Up

• Alliance Bank KL Open (648 players, 13 countries) — Malaysia’s biggest pickleball event so far.
• Solarvest Cup — blending sustainability branding with national-level competition.
• Milo Ultimate Pickleball Tournament — turning “energy for all ages” into an activation moment.
• Power Ace × Ai-CHA Cup — grassroots, F&B-driven tournament with RM23,000 prize pool.
• Great Malaysia Pickleball Cup (Great Eastern) — team event showcasing corporate wellness positioning.

3. Media & Social Momentum

• Mainstream press like The Star and Bernama now cover pickleball regularly.
• UGC is exploding: Instagram reels, TikTok challenges, and tournament highlights are driving awareness far beyond the courts.
• Unlike badminton, pickleball’s novelty factor makes it more viral-friendly — people share because it’s “new, fun, and quirky.”

Pickleball isn’t just growing — it’s scaling at the sweet spot of adoption: not fully mainstream, but large enough to deliver ROI. This is the prime entry point for companies that want first-mover advantage before the sport becomes saturated like badminton.

Why Brands Care About Pickleball

For marketers, sponsoring sports isn’t just about exposure — it’s about finding a platform that delivers awareness, engagement, and measurable ROI. Pickleball ticks these boxes in ways badminton, squash, or tennis often can’t.

1. Inclusive & Accessible

Pickleball lowers the barrier to entry: smaller courts, lighter paddles, slower ball speed. Anyone — kids, parents, retirees — can play within minutes.

• Brand value: Events feel welcoming, not intimidating. This inclusivity aligns perfectly with brands that want to project community, family, or wellness positioning.

2. Community-First Vibe

Unlike badminton or tennis where play can be competitive and skill-driven, pickleball thrives on social doubles play. Courts are packed with chatter, laughter, and selfies.

• Brand value: The atmosphere is UGC-friendly. Logos, product booths, and event hashtags naturally appear in photos and videos.

3. Wellness Alignment

As Malaysia’s urban consumers embrace wellness lifestyles, pickleball fits right in: low impact, cardio-friendly, fun.

• Brand value: Wellness brands, retail chains (Watsons), FMCG (Milo), and even renewable energy firms (Solarvest) can authentically tie their message to health and sustainability.

4. Digital Measurability

Pickleball is plugged into DUPR ratings and apps like Reclub. Every player, from casual to pro, can be ranked and tracked. QR code registrations at tournaments make data capture easy.

• Brand value: Unlike badminton, where amateur play is hard to quantify, pickleball gives data-driven ROI: participation numbers, UGC engagement, conversion tracking.

5. Early-Mover Advantage

Badminton sponsorships are dominated by Yonex, Maybank, Petronas. To break in requires millions. Pickleball, on the other hand, is still open territory.

• Brand value: Brands like Alliance Bank, Milo, Solarvest, and Ai-CHA already stand out as first movers. Future entrants risk looking late to the party.

Brands care about pickleball because it delivers the holy trinity — mass engagement, community goodwill, and measurable ROI — all at a fraction of the cost of traditional sports sponsorships.

 

Case Studies: Brands Already in the Game

1. Banks: Alliance Bank & AmBank

• Alliance Bank KL & Penang Open: Title sponsorship of Malaysia’s biggest pickleball tournaments. With 600+ players from 13 countries, every mention of the event carries the bank’s name.
• AmBank Malaysia Championship (2025): Tied its pickleball event to its 50th Anniversary celebrations, showing how heritage brands can refresh their image by linking to modern, community-first sports.
• Impact: Banks gain awareness through PR coverage and community trust by being seen as supporters of inclusive, wellness-driven activities.

2. FMCG: Milo Ultimate Pickleball Tournament

• Positioned as “Pickleball Versi Power-Up!” — directly tying Milo’s long-standing “energy” brand DNA to a new, trendy sport.
• Hosted at 91 Pickleball Clubhouse, branding the venue with Milo green and engaging families across ages.
• Impact: Reinforces Milo’s relevance with youth and family audiences, while producing high volumes of social content (IG reels, TikTok challenges).

3. Energy & Sustainability: Solarvest Cup

• Renewable energy brand Solarvest took title rights for a major tournament in Shah Alam.
• Blended green energy positioning with pickleball’s modern wellness appeal.
• Impact: Moved Solarvest from being a purely B2B company into a lifestyle conversation, associating clean energy with health, fun, and community.

4. F&B Lifestyle: Ai-CHA Pickleball Tournament

• The Ai-CHA Pickleball Cup highlights how beverage franchises can use sport to connect with communities. With a RM23,000 prize pool, free branded jerseys, and vouchers, Ai-CHA turned a tournament into both a marketing platform and a lifestyle experience.

  Takeaway: For café and beverage chains, pickleball isn’t just about visibility on court — it’s about owning the social refreshment moment after play, while using digital touchpoints and merchandise to keep the brand top-of-mind long after the event.

5. Wellness & Retail: Watsons, Kudos, Yoga Studios

• Watsons & Kudos: Used pickleball tournaments as platforms to launch and sample wellness products — creating experiential retail marketing.
• Yoga + Pickleball hybrids: Studios offering yoga warm-up/stretch sessions alongside pickleball games. Great crossover appeal for wellness-conscious urban Malaysians.
• Impact: Pushed product trials, retail conversions, and community engagement in a setting where consumers are already primed for health experiences.

The winning formula isn’t just putting a logo on a poster — it’s participatory branding: clinics, free jerseys, product trials, family-friendly activities. Pickleball’s grassroots inclusivity means every activation feels authentic, not forced.

 

Pickleball vs. Other Racket Sports

Malaysia is no stranger to racket sports. Badminton dominates halls nationwide, squash gave us Nicol David, tennis carries international prestige, and padel is making early luxury entries in Asia. So why is pickleball attracting brands now?

1. Badminton: The National Sport

• Strengths:
  • Deep grassroots participation.
  • Olympic and SEA Games medals drive national pride.
  • Huge broadcast reach.
• Weaknesses for brands:
  • Sponsorship costs are very high — Yonex, Maybank, Petronas dominate.
  • Market is saturated: harder for challenger brands to stand out.
  • Amateur play lacks a universal rating system → grassroots activation is less measurable.

2. Squash: Malaysia’s Pride, But Niche

• Strengths:
  • Legacy of Nicol David (8-time World Champion).
  • International respect and strong elite image.
• Weaknesses for brands:
  • Participation base is small.
  • Courts are limited; many clubs have downsized.
  • Difficult to use as a mass engagement platform.

3. Tennis: Aspirational, Not Mainstream

• Strengths:
  • Global luxury associations (Rolex, Emirates, Uniqlo).
  • UTR rating system exists but adoption in Malaysia is limited.
• Weaknesses for brands:
  • Seen as niche, expensive, “club sport.”
  • No strong local heroes to drive fandom.
  • Harder to engage grassroots consumers at scale.

4. Padel: The Global Luxury Trend

• Strengths:
  • Exploding in Europe and the Middle East.
  • Instagram-friendly, modern, premium vibe.
  • Works well in resorts and high-end condos.
• Weaknesses for brands:
  • Very expensive to build courts (RM300k+ per court).
  • Limited accessibility — likely to remain an elite niche in Malaysia.
  • No unified grassroots rating system like DUPR.

5. Pickleball: The Sweet Spot

• Strengths:
  • Accessible, low-impact, cross-generational.
  • DUPR provides universal grassroots ratings → measurable engagement.
  • Events are social, UGC-friendly, easy for brands to activate.
  • Sponsorship costs are still low → early-mover advantage.
• Weaknesses:
  • Still young, requires momentum to sustain growth.
  • Needs continuous tournament calendar and institutional support.

Strategic Takeaway

• Badminton = safe, patriotic, expensive, crowded.
• Squash = heritage pride, but niche.
• Tennis = luxury, aspirational, but niche.
• Padel = premium lifestyle wave, but slow to scale.
• Pickleball = inclusive, measurable, social, and affordable → the only racket sport right now that works as both a community sport and a marketing activation engine.

How Brands Benefit: The Sponsorship Rationale

Sponsorship is never just about slapping a logo on a poster. It’s about aligning brand values with the energy of a sport, while getting measurable return. Here’s how the logic plays out:

Badminton vs Pickleball: Sponsorship Rationale

Dimension	Badminton	Pickleball
Cultural Pull	National pride, Olympic legacy, Lee Chong Wei & Nicol David era heroics.	Trendy, social, inclusive. Feels fresh and community-driven.
Audience Size	Massive, but skewed to passionate fans and competitive players.	Smaller but fast-growing, cross-generational (kids, parents, seniors).
Activation Cost	Very high – dominated by Yonex, Maybank, Petronas. Millions needed to stand out.	Affordable – title sponsorships for RM20k–100k. Early movers get high visibility.
Brand Differentiation	Harder – crowded sponsorship space, brands get lost among giants.	Easier – wide open territory. Milo, Solarvest, Alliance Bank already own mindshare.
Engagement Type	Mostly spectator-driven. Fans watch pros play.	Participation-first. Beginners can join clinics, families play together.
Measurement	Weak at grassroots – no universal rating system. TV ratings drive ROI at pro level.	Strong – DUPR ratings, QR registrations, UGC data. ROI can be measured in sign-ups, conversions, and social reach.
Emotional Hook	Patriotism, legacy, medals.	Wellness, fun, social belonging, community identity.

What Brands Actually Get From Pickleball

1. Awareness at Scale
   • Tournament naming rights: Solarvest Cup, Alliance Bank Open.
   • Media mentions in The Star, Bernama, DUPR blogs.
   • UGC exposure via TikTok/IG reels.
2. Community Trust
   • Seen as supporting inclusive, grassroots sports rather than elitist events.
   • Resonates with family audiences and wellness seekers.
3. Engagement Opportunities
   • Booth activations: Watsons & Kudos using tournaments for live product launches.
   • Clinics & hybrid events: Yoga + Pickleball sessions create direct participation.
   • Jerseys & merch: Long-term brand recall (Ai-CHA × Power Ace).
4. Measurable Conversions
   • QR sign-ups → app downloads, e-wallet activations, bank accounts.
   • Sampling → retail purchases at Watsons, F&B trial at Ai-CHA.
   • DUPR ratings → ongoing player database for remarketing.

The Marketing ROI Playbook

For a brand, sponsoring pickleball isn’t just about being visible on a poster. It’s about tracking real, measurable outcomes across four layers: Awareness, Engagement, Conversion, and Brand Lift.

1. Awareness: Top-of-Funnel Reach

• Metrics to track:
  • Tournament attendance numbers (e.g., Alliance Bank KL Open drew 600+ players and spectators).
  • Media coverage (The Star, Bernama, DUPR global blog).
  • Impressions from event livestreams and highlight reels.
  • Search trends (“pickleball Malaysia” queries rising on Google).
• Why it matters: Pickleball sponsorship offers low CPM compared to OOH billboards because events generate both in-person impressions and earned media.

2. Engagement: Depth of Interaction

• Metrics to track:
  • Clinic sign-ups, workshop attendance, yoga + pickleball crossover sessions.
  • User-generated content (Instagram posts, TikTok challenges, hashtags).
  • Booth interactions (samples taken, games played, QR codes scanned).
• Why it matters: Engagement is stronger than in badminton — pickleball events are inherently participatory and social, creating more chances for hands-on brand touchpoints.

3. Conversion: Turning Touchpoints Into Business

• Metrics to track:
  • QR-based offer redemptions (discounts, coupons, trials).
  • Product purchases at the event (e.g., Watsons wellness products).
  • Sign-ups for apps, e-wallets, bank accounts (Alliance Bank booths).
  • Trial-to-repeat ratios (e.g., Milo sampling → repeat supermarket sales).
• Why it matters: Pickleball events allow direct funnels from physical activation to digital lead capture — something badminton struggles to replicate.

4. Brand Lift: Long-Term Perception Change

• Metrics to track:
  • Pre/post event surveys: “Do you see this brand as modern, health-conscious, community-driven?”
  • Net Promoter Score (NPS) shift among attendees.
  • Sentiment analysis from UGC and social mentions.
• Why it matters: Associating with pickleball moves a brand’s image toward fun, wellness, inclusivity — a valuable shift especially for banks, energy firms, or heritage FMCG brands.

5. What “Good” Looks Like in 90 Days

• Awareness: 50,000+ impressions across event + media + UGC.
• Engagement: 10–15% of participants posting content, >500 QR scans.
• Conversion: 3–7% redemption rate on offers; 100–300 new accounts or product sales.
• Brand Lift: +5–10 points in consideration among event attendees.

Pickleball sponsorship delivers multi-layered ROI: not just eyeballs, but engagement, measurable conversions, and perception shifts. For challenger brands, it’s the most cost-effective way to enter sports sponsorship in Malaysia today.

Risks & Challenges

Pickleball’s rise in Malaysia is fast and exciting, but like any emerging trend, it comes with risks that brands must understand before investing heavily.

1. Youth of the Sport

• Pickleball is still in its infancy in Malaysia.
• Tournaments are well-organized but not yet institutionalized like badminton’s BAM or squash’s PSA.
• Risk: If momentum slows, early brand investments may not sustain visibility long term.

2. Infrastructure Limitations

• Although courts are multiplying, demand is growing faster than supply.
• Most facilities are concentrated in Klang Valley and Penang, limiting nationwide reach.
• Risk: Brands may face geographic concentration — missing audiences in Johor, East Malaysia, or smaller towns.

3. Over-Commercialisation

• Part of pickleball’s charm is its grassroots, community-first vibe.
• If brands dominate too aggressively, players may perceive it as “forced” rather than authentic.
• Risk: Sponsorship fatigue or backlash from core players.

4. Competition From Other Emerging Sports

• Padel: positioned as the premium racket sport in Asia.
• Hybrid wellness activities: yoga, futsal, and bootcamps still command strong attention.
• Risk: Pickleball could get diluted as just “one more option” unless brand activations highlight its unique inclusivity.

5. Weather & Venue Dependence

• Outdoor pickleball in Malaysia is vulnerable to heavy rain and heat.
• Indoor venues are more expensive to book and limit audience size.
• Risk: Cancelled or poorly attended events may underdeliver on promised ROI.

6. Sustainability of Engagement

• Right now, pickleball is a novelty factor sport.
• Risk: Once the “new sport excitement” wears off, will brands still see strong engagement, or will audiences move on?

How Brands Can De-Risk

• Pilot first: Test small-scale activations before scaling.
• Hybrid activations: Combine pickleball with wellness workshops, yoga, or F&B sampling.
• Data capture focus: Ensure QR sign-ups and DUPR integration → long-term engagement beyond one event.
• Community investment: Fund coaching clinics or grassroots clubs, not just tournaments.

Strategic Recommendations for Brands

Sponsoring pickleball isn’t just about putting a logo on a banner. To fully leverage the sport, brands need to approach it as a multi-phase investment, building both community goodwill and measurable business outcomes.

Phase 1: Pilot & Experiment (0–6 months)

• Test the waters with small-scale sponsorships (RM20k–50k).
• Examples:
  • Branded beginner clinics.
  • Sampling booths at local tournaments.
  • Co-branded social media challenges (#PowerUpPickleball).
• Goal: Validate brand–sport fit, generate early UGC, collect participant data.

Phase 2: Scale & Localise (6–18 months)

• Move into regional tournaments or multiple-city activations.
• Examples:
  • Title rights for mid-sized tournaments (Solarvest Cup model).
  • Hybrid activations (yoga + pickleball, F&B pop-ups, wellness tie-ins).
  • Influencer collaborations — lifestyle KOLs, not just athletes.
• Goal: Build recognition as a consistent pickleball supporter, not just a one-off sponsor.

Phase 3: Own the Narrative (18–36 months)

• Establish ownable assets within the sport.
• Examples:
  • Launch an annual branded tournament (e.g., “The [Brand] Pickleball Open”).
  • Develop grassroots programs (sponsoring schools, community clubs).
  • Build data-driven loyalty programs linked to DUPR ratings and QR code sign-ups.
• Goal: Transition from “sponsor” to “category leader” in pickleball branding.

Best Practices Across All Phases

1. Authenticity first → Sponsor clinics, community games, and family events to maintain grassroots feel.
2. Integrate wellness messaging → Position pickleball as part of healthy living, not just spo
3. Track everything → Use QR codes, DUPR data, and post-event surveys to show ROI.
4. Co-brand smartly → Partner with complementary brands (e.g., F&B + wellness, bank + retail).
5. Create continuity → Don’t disappear after one event — consistency builds credibility.

Brands that follow this phased approach will enjoy first-mover advantage, shaping pickleball’s identity in Malaysia before the space becomes crowded, just like badminton is today.

The Time to Move Is Now

Pickleball in Malaysia has moved beyond novelty — it’s becoming a marketing platform. The sport’s growth curve is at its sweet spot: large enough to deliver ROI, but still young enough for brands to secure first-mover advantage.

Where badminton sponsorships are saturated and expensive, pickleball offers something different:

• Community-first engagement that feels authentic.
• Wellness alignment with today’s lifestyle-driven consumers.
• Data-driven measurability through DUPR, QR codes, and digital UGC.
• Scalable investment with lower costs and higher visibility per ringgit.

From banks like Alliance, to FMCG icons like Milo, to wellness retailers like Watsons — brands are already proving the model. The next wave of leaders will be those who not only sponsor, but embed pickleball into their brand storytelling.

At AWC Digital, we help brands unlock new growth channels by turning trends like pickleball into scalable marketing platforms.

• From event strategy and sponsorship positioning, to content amplification and ROI tracking, we build campaigns that don’t just show up — they stand out.
• Whether you’re a bank, FMCG, energy firm, or lifestyle brand, our team can design a pickleball activation roadmap that matches your objectives, budget, and audience.

Don’t just watch the pickleball wave. Ride it. Let’s talk about how your brand can own the court.