Pickleball, an emerging sport that blends elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis, has gained popularity across China, attracting players of all ages and helping people stay fit.
Originating in the United States, pickleball's global rise has been meteoric, attracting over 36 million players by mid-2025. China's scene is catching up quickly, with over 180 tournaments held in just the first half of 2025. That number is expected to surpass 300 by the end of the year.
Promoting a sport from scratch requires effort and dedication, as demonstrated by husband-and-wife pioneers Zhang Lei and Wang Nuo, who are making their mark on pickleball courts ranging from schoolyards to the China Open.
The couple gained a passion for sports in 2014 and started promoting pickleball at the end of 2022. They founded the very first pickleball club in Beijing, and have been working on building facilities, promoting the sport, and organizing tournaments to help pickleball grow in the city.
"The main challenge lies in getting people interested. Unlike established sports like tennis, badminton or table tennis, which have been around in China and the world for decades, pickleball is still very new. With tennis, you don't have to explain what it is, but with pickleball, you have to show it yourself. You need to tell everyone around you which pickleball is, how fun it can be, and how easy it is to learn. Then they start to think, 'should I give it a try? Why should I try pickleball?' So what we are doing now is answering that 'why'. Once people try it once, they will usually come back a second or third time," said Wang.
Both Zhang and Wang are certified coaches. They regularly visit the Mingcheng Academy, where the principal added pickleball to the curriculum three years ago, making it the first school in Beijing to do so.
"Right now, we are mainly promoting pickleball in private and international schools, because there, we can select students with stronger skills and help them become reserve players for China's future professional pickleball teams," Wang said.
"Because of the nature of sports, especially net sports, they tend to be addictive. Badminton, table tennis, tennis, and now pickleball all have that quality. That's why we have great expectations for the future of pickleball," Zhang said.
The China Open, a major tennis tournament that attracts top global players, has also been playing a role in promoting pickleball, with gear sold on site on the competition grounds.
China has become one of the world's leading producers of gear for the sport, with around 300 companies manufacturing pickleball products, and more entering the field each month.
"In recent years, China’s economy has developed so fast. I think more and more people want to invest in sports. From the government [side], we try to reinforce the combination of sports and education, and also, we try to get a lot of sports into the kindergartens, into the schools and the universities, into the families, into the communities, and also into the villages," Sun said.
"Bringing a new sport to China means starting from zero and moving from one to infinity. I think that is something truly remarkable," Wang said.
"China has a large population and especially, in China, in tennis, badminton and table tennis, we have had really good results compared with some other countries. So I think it is easy to promote [pickleball]," said Sun.
Compared to tennis, pickleball is relatively easy for new players to get started, which has contributed significantly to the upswing in popularity.
"Pickleball is an excellent sport that promotes national fitness. In fact, it bridges the gap between the national fitness campaign and the vision of becoming a sports powerhouse. For those at a higher skill level, it offers opportunities for competitive play. For casual players, it is a fun and healthy form of exercise. It embodies both the spirit of competition and the value of mass participation in fitness," said Pang Bo, researcher of Small Ball Studies, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports.
Pickleball gains popularity across China, boosting sports economy
