PICKLEBALL has quickly grown into Malaysia’s new “in thing,” from casual get-to-gethers with friends to the mushrooming of profit-making courts across the country.
Originating in the US in 1965, the game was created in Washington when congressman Joel Pritchard and businessman Bill Bell improvised a match on an old badminton court using ping pong paddles and a plastic ball.
Their friend Barney McCallum later joined in, and together they devised rules largely adapted from badminton.
The goal was simple: To invent a game that everyone could enjoy.
How Pickleball Landed in Malaysian Courts
Pickleball was first introduced to Malaysia in 2019. According to Malaysia Pickleball Association acting president Delima Ibrahim, the association was the pioneering body for the sport.
Later, the first state-level body, the Sarawak Pickleball Association, was formed under her leadership.
As the sport gained popularity, they began organising friendly games and tournaments to promote pickleball and encourage community participation.
Delima shared that it was former Malaysia Pickleball Association president Farrel Choo who first introduced pickleball to his students and thereafter promoted the sport to the rest of Malaysia and Brunei.
According to Delima, Choo introduced them to pickleball at Gymkhana Club Miri, Sarawak, where they tried his handmade plywood paddles. They soon distributed equipment to schools, organised small local tournaments and in 2021 joined their first international event, the Singapore Pickleball Exchange (SIPEX).
“This trip inspired us to host our own friendly version in Miri, the Sarawak Pickleball Exchange, followed by the Sarawak Pickleball Invitational Tournament in Kuching, and from there, it spread to Kuala Lumpur (KL),” she told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR).
One of the earliest pickleball tournaments in KL was held in collaboration with a popular shoe brand.
Since the sport was still new then, there was no dedicated court for tournaments. They eventually found a hall at the Bukit Jalil Stadium and created their own courts by making lines with tapes.
“Following that, more and more events are being organised and sponsors are eager to be part of them,” said Delima.
How is it Played?
For many, pickleball feels like a mix of badminton, tennis and ping pong. But for Delima, the game stands firmly on its own.
“Pickleball is on its own. The rules, scoring and strategies are all different,” she explained.
While tennis players may have an edge because of their strokes, she said the advantage ends there.
“Tennis players who play pickleball might have an advantage because they already have that drive, but that’s about it,” she added.
“They would think that if they hit the ball hard, the shot can win. But no, because the court is small, if they hit the ball too hard, it is bound to go out,” she said.
Instead, pickleball rewards precision and control. Standing near the kitchen line, she noted, a player can simply block a powerful shot with a soft touch.
Delima pointed out that while pickleball borrows elements from different sports such as the volleys of badminton, the paddles and ball similar to ping pong and the kitchen line reminiscent of tennis, it is not just a hybrid game.
Delima said initially, Malaysians thought pickleball was an “old people’s game” because the sport looked slow due to dinking, a short, controlled stroke at the kitchen line. In truth, dinking is one of the most difficult skills to master.
The sport teaches players patience, as the rules do not allow them to attack every ball. Instead, players exchange soft shots until someone makes a mistake and hits the ball too high.
Delima also observed that pickleball has a sense of openness where players often form friendships more easily than in other competitive sports.
