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[1] Organisers of the World Pickleball Championships in Hong Kong said they aimed to use their event as a platform for bigger and better things. The city’s leg of the annual touring series, held earlier this month, drew only about 25 professionals, mostly locals, from a total field of nearly 900 players. But it represents an important step in capitalising on growing interest in the shorter, more accessible version of tennis, according to Barry Lau, co-founder and chairman of event organiser LIT TLP Pickleball.
[2] Players from at least 16 countries and regions took part in the event held at Discovery Bay Recreation Club. For Lau and his colleagues, it is important to push local participation. “Pickleball is still very young in Hong Kong,” he said. “There are still too few professional pickleball players … Only by developing more professionals and bringing them to world-class tournaments can we promote Hong Kong in the sport.”
[3] Lau’s company has so far signed three full-time players – paying salaries and all expenses – and intends to unearth more. “We definitely need new athletes,” LIT TLP’s president Rocky Chan Man-chun said. “There are not many now, but there will definitely be more in the future.” The city’s improving facilities would help to drive that, he said. “Of course, if there are better venues, we can host higher-level tournaments and attract more international players,” Chan said. “There were big challenges for this event’s courts at the start, but with the help of Discovery Bay Recreation Club, we now have 25 courts.”
[4] Four brand new professional pickleball courts were used during the competition, plus two tennis courts modified for both tennis and pickleball and 19 temporary courts created by marking lines on tennis courts. All met tournament standards. “Of course, having dedicated pickleball courts is best,” said Ryan Lam Chun-hei, a full-time pickleball player from Hong Kong who has often seen international tournaments use adapted tennis courts.
[5] “Actually, being able to play in Discovery Bay with such good weather and environment is already very good in Hong Kong,” Lam said. “In other places like Malaysia and Vietnam, there are already many dedicated courts, but Hong Kong has less space and it is more difficult to build such venues. But now we have them, and we will gradually see more and more.”
[6] This is Lam’s third year playing pickleball. He recalled initially having to play on football pitches with lines taped down, but said this was changing. “This year, there are more professional courts, especially in the past six months,” he said. “We need more people to participate in matches and in the sport so that pickleball can be better promoted.”
Source: South China Morning Post, December 6
