Table tennis, badminton, and tennis all have a strong grassroots following in China, so many people can quickly pick up and become hooked on pick-up ball, a "three-in-one" sport, even on their first try.
At the inaugural "Azure Coast Cup" Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Media Pick-up Ball Promotion Tournament, Zhang Yan, who runs a pick-up ball club in Shanghai, was a former professional table tennis player. She believes pick-up ball is a "tailor-made" sport for her. "I have over ten years of professional table tennis experience, and for the past ten years I've been playing tennis. During these ten years, I've been looking for a sport that would allow me to return to the competitive stage, and pick-up ball is that sport!" she said.
A month ago, at the first China Pick-up Ball Tournament in Hohhot, Zhang Yan won the women's doubles title.
"When I first picked up a pickle and started playing in 2022, the sport felt so familiar and rewarding. I immediately thought, this is my sport, a sport that suits us Chinese."
Zhang Yan believes that China has a strong grassroots foundation in tennis, which gives her confidence in the development of pickle in the country. In the summer of 2023, she opened a pickle hall and founded a pickle club in Shanghai. This May, she opened a second pickle hall in Shanghai that meets professional competition standards. In just over a year, her club has maintained a stable membership of around 300 people.
Zhou Bei from Beijing previously co-operated a tennis club called "Evergreen" with friends, whose members were mostly middle-aged and elderly people over 45. After first trying pickle in June 2022, Zhou Bei quickly fell in love with the sport and founded the Evergreen Pickle Club in November of that year. The club currently has nearly 200 members, mainly middle-aged and elderly people.
At the inaugural National Pickleball Championship, Zhou Bei observed that pickleball effectively improves the physical and mental health of middle-aged and elderly individuals. "We have some members nearing 70 years old who may no longer be able to participate in high-intensity sports like tennis, but pickleball, with its moderate intensity, has helped them regain their confidence and vitality."
The "China Pickleball Movement Survey Report" shows that pickleball is a typical national fitness activity, combining fitness, fun, age-appropriateness, affordability, and safety. It is suitable for people of all ages and has strong social attributes. Currently, on major domestic social media platforms, discussions about pickleball, such as experiencing it, finding playing partners, equipment reviews, and skill demonstrations, are very active, highlighting the promising development prospects of this emerging sport.
