India Welcomes Pickleball Fever in Pune and Hyderabad
by Joe James
What’s the Story?
India’s pickleball fever continues to rise with two new pieces of tournament news in Pune and Hyderabad this year.
The city of Pune is gearing up to host the Pune Grand Slam 2025, the largest pickleball tournament in the region, on April 19 and 20.
Taking place at Pickle Point in Hinjewadi, this eagerly awaited event will welcome participants across all skill levels, featuring singles, doubles, and mixed doubles matches.
Hyderabad hosted the Grand Slam Pickleball Tournament 2 on March 19 at Dink n Dash.
Organised by Segu Tejesh, a Zonal Business Manager in Hyderabad, the event boasted a PWR level of 50 and welcomed a competition suitable for beginners and experienced players.
Tejesh said: “This event is a wonderful chance for players to meet, compete, and enjoy the game together.
“The tournament will encourage sportsmanship and friendship among participants.”
Both tournaments exemplify the commitment shown by communities and governing bodies in India to grow the game.
India has overseen a major growth in pickleball players with the number of players increasing by 275%.
Going Deeper
The remarkable development of pickleball in India can be seen through the sheer number of players in the country.
The 2024 stats showed that there were 60,000 active pickleball players in the country. If casual players are included, this number exceeds 100,000.
The court infrastructure growth has been monumental, with around 200 available courts at the beginning of 2024, and over 1,2000 by March 2025. Hyderabad is one of the major cities to have been instrumental in the expansion.
India’s pickleball market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26% from 2024 to 2029.
Hyderabad players are spoilt for choice regarding their venue options. The Pickleball Arena in Kondapur was India’s first professionally managed pickleball centre, providing players with coaching, memberships, and equipment. While it may not be the only option for players these days, it remains a proud milestone for the city.
The Hyderabad Paddle Park in Jubilee Hills was the city’s first private indoor pickleball and padel tennis facility and is another venue where the sport has been offered a prime slot to shine.
In Pune, PicklePro Club, which is situated within the Regent Plaza Mall, provides pickle players with a premium experience. The PYC Hindu Gymkhana has introduced a pickleball court on a terrace, showing wherever you possibly imagine a pickleball court could be in India, there probably is one.
For the sake of some bragging rights, Hyderabad Superstars dismantled Pune United in a 4-1 victory back in January at the inaugural World Pickleball League (WPBL).
The World Pickleball Verdict
India, as it goes without saying, is one of the true global pickleball forces right now and the Pune and Hyderabad regions are at the forefront of this movement.
The Pune Grand Slam 2025 and the recently completed Grand Slam Pickleball Tournament 2 in Pune and Hyderabad, respectively, are two respectable events to add to the calendar.
The appeal here is the encouragement to engage with all players. Many of these events outside the headline, multi-million viewed events, like the WPBL, very clearly want all skill levels to be involved. This has been a clever ploy from the beginning, you grow a sport at all levels, not just at the top, the grassroots of the game is what makes up the cornerstones of the infrastructure.
Having figures like Segu Tejesh, who have a strong portfolio in the internet industry, have know-how on promoting and generating interest in the game, or in this case, an event.
Every metric you choose to judge India’s pickleball growth on seems to be positive, and while this will not always strictly be true, it is a brilliant prospect for the future of pickleball.
Having a nation with such a seismic sporting culture so engrained in the fabric of pickleball, can only mean great things for the sport.