Our pickleball romance

It appears that pickleball is everywhere: schools, private clubs, open areas, former badminton courts, even converted basketball courts. It has easily become the Philippine trend not just for former tennis players, but for recreational athletes who have never tried it. Players are obsessively collecting paddles. The injury rate is extremely low. There is a very low barrier to entry. Just pick up a paddle and whack away. And don’t swat your partner.

“Back in 2016, we got a net and some paddles donated by a friend,” explains Mike Johnson, co-founder of Philippine Pickleball Federation. “We didn’t know what to do with it. We took it out and started playing. We played in a church, we played in a parking lot. We started playing in the street, on Emerald Avenue; they closed the street on the weekends. People watched us play, and they got interested. We got more players and more players. To cut a long story short, we started doing clinics, teaching people how to play. In the last few years we got into the media, and now we’re going straight up.”

The sport was invented in 1965 by three friends: Congressman Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum. They were looking for something new to do with their children. In its original incarnation, pickleball incorporated elements of badminton (the court), table tennis (the paddle) and tennis, using a perforated plastic ball. In the US, it is now the official state sport of Washington, and is played by millions. Doubles is enjoyed By more people, as it is less physically demanding, though scoring is slightly different. Even other famous athletes like Lebron James have invested in the sport.

Here in the Philippines, COVID-19 actually helped pickleball’s growth. All the other sports’ courts were closed, but pickleball being a non-contact sport, players suddenly had access to a great number of playing facilities, aiding its expansion. More courts meant more people could play while everyone else was stuck at home.

“It’s having a vision and getting people behind that vision,” Shawy Cu, president of the Philippine Pickleball Federation (PPF) told The STAR. “The federation is mainly a non-profit volunteer organization. There are many people who are passionate about pickleball. It’s about finding people who are willing to be part of the organization, to put in systems for the future. Everyone just wants to play.”

The PPF now has over 30,000 members all over the country, and is growing at an accelerated rate. More importantly, the Philippines is at the forefront of its development in Asia, and is influential in other parts of the world, as well. Laying down the groundwork ensures that politics has less chance of infiltrating the organization.

“You can be eight years old, you can be 80, you can play with your granddaughter. Anybody can pick up a paddle and play,” Mike adds. “You don’t need to take any lessons to learn. The appeal is very broad. I would say anybody can play pickleball.”

PPF is already recognized by both the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission. Cu and Johnson are both looking forward to the day when their groundwork pays off with the Philippines standing shoulder to shoulder with the other pickleball giants of the world. It is rare that a new sport has a clean slate to reach its potential. So far, the sky’s the limit for pickleball in the Philippines.