Difficulty: Challenger (Level 2)
A small plastic ball flies through the air between a few teens on a badminton court in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Bay.
But they are not playing badminton. They are trying a sport called pickleball.
Although they just learned this game, they are already hitting the ball back and forth across the court.
Seventeen-year-old Chan Yat-long just started learning pickleball, but he wants to continue playing.
“Now I know this sport ... I want to find [more] friends to play together,” said the student from United Christian College.
Kennedy Lai is the founder of the Newly Emerged Sports Association. He said pickleball was a hit among young Hongkongers.
Anyone can play
In 1965, three fathers in the US wanted to create a game their families could easily play together. They used items they had to create this new sport: badminton nets, table tennis paddles and a plastic ball known as a wiffle ball.
The sport could be beneficial for young people in Hong Kong. This is because more than 90 per cent of the city’s youngsters do not get at least 60 minutes of medium or intense exercise every day. Pickleball offers them a fun, easy way to get active.
Lai was a physical education teacher in Hong Kong for about six years. He turned to pickleball after his students struggled to learn traditional sports.
“[For] basketball, after I teach dribbling, they don’t know how to play the game. I need to use many lessons to let them know the sport,” Lai said. He said this made kids lose interest in his classes.
When Lai started teaching pickleball in his classes, he noticed that students could play from the first day.
Other advantages of the sport include inexpensive equipment, low injury risks, a small amount of space required and opportunities to socialise. Badminton courts can also be easily converted to play pickleball.
Opportunities for a new sport
Students are now trying pickleball through the Fly High Charity Sports Programme 2025, which is using sports to improve the lives of young people.
The programme is co-organised by the Tencent Charity Foundation and Gaw Capital People’s Place.
During their first pickleball lesson, the students learned the rules of the game and practised forehand and backhand shots.
Then, they tried hitting the ball across the court.
Tina Xu Piying, an 18-year-old from United Christian College, said she enjoyed the social side of the game.
“I think the most fun part is, this is a teamwork game,” said the teen, who was trying the sport for the first time through the programme. “Now Hong Kong has many new sports, and people will want to have a chance to try.”
