Organisers of the World Pickleball Championships in Hong Kong said they aimed to use their event as a platform to bigger and better things as the action got under way on Friday.
The city’s leg of the annual touring series, which will run until Sunday, boasts only about 25 professionals, mostly locals, among a total field of nearly 900 players.
But it represents an important step in capitalising on growing interest in the shorter and more accessible version of tennis, according to Barry Lau, co-founder and chairman of event organiser LIT TLP Pickleball.
While players from at least 16 countries and regions are taking part at Discovery Bay Recreation Club, for Lau and his colleagues, it is just as important to push local participation.
“Pickleball is still very young in Hong Kong,” Lau said. “There are still too few professional pickleball players in Hong Kong. Only by developing more professionals and bringing them to world-class tournaments can we promote Hong Kong in the sport.”
Lau’s company has so far signed three full-time players – paying salaries and all expenses – and intends to unearth more.
