According to the company, sports club Suzhou Sishan opened its first pickle ball court in a Chinese city in January 2024.
Suzhou Saint Yuan
Beijing – The US pickle ball trend is still strong, but China is just beginning.
Online sales of China’s pickleball paddles and related equipment had skyrocketed to an average monthly sales of $1.2 million this year as of July. This is more than six times the year-on-year increase.
This follows data from WPIC Marketing + Technologies. The company helps foreign brands sell in China and other parts of Asia, including the Ohio-based Food Blender Seller Vitamix and the Skincare brand, which are clinical from California.
“The rise of pickleball in China reflects a broader shift towards active lifestyles and recreational sports participation,” said Jacob Cook, co-founder and CEO of WPIC.
Racket Sports is winning the lift from social media influencers and the revival of Chinese tennis, thanks to Zheng Qinwen, the Chinese tennis player who won the country’s first Olympic Gold Medal in tennis singles last summer.
China’s interest in tennis and pickle balls began in 2023 and accelerated in 2024, and this year “still do well,” says Daniel Zipper, McKinsey’s senior partner and leader in the Asian consumer and retail sector. “We still have a strong momentum of accelerated growth. [period] Racket sports, more wider sports. ”
He pointed out that locals are not only increasing the number of sports, but also seeing more professional games.
From August 21st to August 24th of the first “Hong Kong Open” competition of the US-based Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), there were actually quite a large crowds coming out [to watch the] “The Brine Agency, which represents Asian pickleball players,” said Patrick Yang, founder of Brine Agency.
Yang also pointed out that the Hong Kong region has even more pickleball courts compared to just two people when they visited in December and January.
The Hong Kong Open was part of Asia’s first PPA Tour, including matches in Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Hong Kong’s Jack Won won the men’s singles championship, while Netherlands’ Ruth Van Leek won the women’s singles championship. The PPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether “Chinese slums” were originally set for early October.
The PPA held its first US pickleball tournament in Arizona in early 2020. The sport has skyrocketed in popularity during the pandemic as the community quickly reused public spaces into free pickle ball courts. Since then, pickleball has been the fastest growing sport in the United States for the fourth consecutive year, according to the latest Sports and Fitness Industry Association report in May.
Business angle
Pickleball’s recent growth in China has a different business implication.
In contrast to US suburbs, Asian metropolitan cities do not tend to have large neighbourhood spaces, Yang pointed out. “All these courts have to be built by the people who run the business. They run for profit. … People have begun to see that it’s a big profit and that could become all these competing businesses and startups.”
He added that the local pickleball tournament system is run by the National China Tennis Association, and the development of the sport is “slightly structured compared to other countries, the local organisation that has to organize and fund everything.”
Rubin, deputy director of the Suzhou Pickleball Association, said in 2023 he learned about pickleballs from an American friend. Later, at the local Sishan Sports Club, he said he was the general manager of several pickleball courts, which start at 60 yuan ($8.39). He added that many local schools are encouraging students to play sports by reusing basketball courts and other facilities, he said.
Part of the appeal of pickleballs in China is how easy it is for locals to learn about the sport. After some lessons at sports clubs, some people found tennis to be way too difficult, he added.
Challenges and opportunities
Lu says the club is an approved sales partner for US pickle ball brand Joola, but it is not clear that other foreign brands and organizations will be able to take advantage of the trends any time soon.
Despite China’s great potential compared to Vietnam and Malaysia, Asia’s largest pickle ball market, language barriers and unique WeChat messaging app-based ecosystem can make it difficult for foreign companies to navigate the Asian giant market.
“In the end, perhaps some courts will go out of business, some will survive and take over the market in certain areas,” he said. “It’s early in the market, so a lot of people are basically trying to become the first initiators.”
The surge in consumer spending on pickleballs and other sports in China is due to the overall retail sales being curtailed since the pandemic.
McKinsey’s Zipper said he’s “very confident” about the consumption pickup later this year, as he believes consumer spending is more detached from the downward sentiment.
“For the past two years, consumers have been waiting for the good old days to return,” he said.
“People are realizing now [that’s] “It won’t happen,” he said. They aren’t sitting there anymore. …Life needs to continue. ”
