The Report
China Is Building a Pickleball Economy
Good morning, pickleballers.
Today begins in Hebi, where the interesting number is not simply 1,600 pickleball courts. The Chinese city is trying to connect those courts to coaching, competition, manufacturing, tourism and government investment, creating something much closer to a local pickleball economy than another participation boom.
Elsewhere, MLP Asia has completed its six rosters and the International Draft tells us considerably more about the league’s identity than a list of 18 names suggests. And in the paddle industry, seven companies have now reached agreements with JOOLA over its patent claims, pushing intellectual property firmly into the next phase of pickleball’s equipment arms race.
From coal to courts: Hebi is building a pickleball economy
China’s pickleball numbers are already large enough to attract attention. An estimated eight million people play regularly, around 20 million have tried the sport and one senior official believes the active population could eventually reach 30 million.
Hebi shows what can happen when a city begins building around those players. It now has roughly 1,600 courts, more than 380 coaches and referees, a growing competitive scene and a local equipment manufacturer whose pickleball sales exceeded 25 million yuan in 2025.
The more important story is the way those pieces connect. Courts create participation, tournaments bring visitors, visitors create tourism spend, manufacturers find customers and local government sees another reason to invest. Hebi is beginning to test whether pickleball can become part of a city’s economic strategy rather than simply another sport people play.
Read the Hebi featureMLP Asia has its teams. Now we can see what kind of league it wants to be.
Tama Shimabukuro went first overall to the Viet Panthers as MLP Asia completed the international half of its inaugural six-team rosters. Eunggwon Kim followed, with Armaan Bhatia, Seina Shima, Nasa Hatakeyama and Grayson Goldin completing a first round that immediately revealed something about the league’s direction.
Five of those opening six selections have strong competitive connections to Asian pickleball. That matters. The domestic draft had already guaranteed three home-region players on every roster; the international draft could have been used simply to import familiar American names around them.
Instead, the completed teams suggest a league attempting to build a trans-Pacific player market in which Asian players and identities sit near the centre rather than decorating the edges. Riley Newman and Connor Garnett going undrafted only makes that choice more interesting.
Read the MLP Asia analysisThe paddle arms race has entered a new phase
For years, paddle companies competed through materials, cores, surfaces, power, spin and marketing. JOOLA’s patent action against 11 rival brands has added another battleground: ownership of the technology inside the paddle.
Seven competitors have now reached agreements with JOOLA, while the company is seeking a default determination against Diadem and disputes with Franklin Sports, RPM Pickleball and Friday Labs remain unresolved. Disclosed agreements involving Paddletek, ProXR and Proton include royalties and patent marking, giving intellectual property a direct commercial value inside the paddle market.
That does not mean JOOLA has won a sweeping judicial ruling. It means manufacturers increasingly have two sets of boundaries to understand: regulators decide what equipment the sport permits, while intellectual-property law can influence who is entitled to build particular technology.
Read the paddle industry analysisThree stories you may have missed in Issue #20
Today’s Champions Are Tomorrow’s History. Long before venture capital and professional contracts arrived, players, referees and pioneers were building the foundations of the modern game. We look at why recording that history matters before the sport moves too quickly to remember it.
University Pickleball Takes Shape in Japan. The sport’s Japanese story is not only about professional events and participation numbers. Universities are beginning to create another route into organised competition, offering a glimpse of what a younger domestic player pathway could eventually become.
The Question That Can Cost You the Match. One decision can change the percentage of a point before the paddle ever moves. This month’s practical play feature looks at the question players should ask before choosing the shot they want to hit.
Explore the September issueKeep the complete September issue
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