We are not sure where the beef between Tennis and Pickleball began but we are here for the back and forth.

Tennis purists would be pleased to know that a hastily assembled team of tennis players beat out 46 other Pickleball teams to win the Singapore Pickleball Association’s Novice Team Challenge on 31 Jan. Seems some of the team members only picked up the game AFTER the team had signed up, with two of them borrowing paddles to play at the event.

Advantage Tennis.

On the other end, Tennis Australia which has acknowledged the growing popularity of Pickleball ran a parallel Pickleball competition alongside the first Grand Slam of the year with a record prize money of AUD$100,000 (shout out to Carlos Alcaraz for completing the career grand slam at 22!).

The Pickleball competition kicked off Tennis Australia’s summer of interactive Pickleball events and pop ups across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane led by a much-publicised Sinner-Osaka exhibition match. Ah, the pursuit of more money…

And we are back to Deuce. Maybe we need a sudden death, like in Pickleball? 

Up on serve is venture capitalist, Jeffrey Seah, the man who invested and brokered the successful sale of Hepmil (owners of SGAG) to the Publicis Group. Read what this former tennis player who just tried Pickleball has to say about the sport and the business opportunities it brings.

There’s plenty to see and read in our usual segments including, a write-in PSA under Paddle Queue. Share it and this newsletter with a Pickleball friend/loved one/kaypoh. And if you have a Pickleball story or event you’d like us to feature, email us at [email protected] or Whatsapp us at 9633 6586.

And that’s it!

Happy Valentine’s Day and advance Gong Xi Fa Cai e’bady! 

Well, the rumours proved to be untrue. The Exclusives were NOT a team from Property Lim Brothers, just neighbours from the same BTO – one of 47 teams that took part in the Singapore Pickleball Association’s Novice Team Challenge, held at Tampines Hub on 31 Jan 2026. 

The Novice competition is open to all Singaporeans and SG residents with Pickleball playing experience of 2 years or less and who had not medalled in any SPA-sanctioned events in the previous year.

The 47 teams of 8 players each had to play a Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles. Round 1 was round robin with the top two teams of each group advancing to Round 2. Round 2 was also a round robin but with only the top team of each group progressing to the Knockout stages till the eventual champions were crowned.

We sent a team member to the competition for firsthand reporting. Unfortunately, he got knocked out in Round 1 despite the many hours of ‘training’ (read: skipping work). So we spoke to various folks at Pickleball Novice to get an on ground In da Hood perspective.  

We chanced upon the Novice tournament. Since it was a one-day event, I thought — why not see if the family could sign up together and invite some of their friends to form a team?

And that’s how Team Tickler was formed.

Coming from a background of avid tennis players, I chose the name Tickler to represent Tennis Picklers – because that’s exactly who we are. Together with my two daughters, Nicole and Tania, and EeJin (Nicole’s fiancé) as our base, we extended the invitation to their tennis kakis, OJ and Qiuyan. This all happened just a few days before Christmas ’25. Cherylene joined a few days later as a friend’s friend.

Except for Tania and myself, who had played competitively for NUSS, most of the team members were completely new to Pickleball – things like dinking, positioning, even the rules. We only managed to practice together ONCE when we had six members. In fact, the entire team met together for the very first time only on Tournament Day!

As Team Captain, I was honestly quite nervous. Everyone was busy with work and life, and most of my messages in the group chat went unanswered. I was more worried about whether everyone would show up in the right colour for the team uniform than about our actual performance.

Luckily, everyone was chill and respectful of my role, which made my job very easy. My only goal as Captain was for us to make it through the first round robin – which we did.

There was a four-hour break before the second round robin, so we even went bowling in between (our arms definitely paid the price).

By this time, the tournament was running severely behind schedule. When we reached the quarter-finals, we had decided this would be our last match no matter the outcome, as OJ had dinner plans. So we changed our lineup, relaxed, and went in just to have fun.

We scraped through and suddenly, we were in the semi-finals.

I told OJ that if he needed to leave, he should go, and we would just call it a day. That’s when he made some phone calls and rearranged his plans, giving us a chance to play the semis.

The rest, as they say, is history.

We played with our quirky tennis strokes and very unpolished pickleball knowledge. I think that actually worked in our favour. It brought out the novice spirit in us. It was only during the prize presentation, when they handed us the pickleball paddles, that I found out that EeJin and Qiuyan had been playing the entire tournament with paddles borrowed from someone else!

We were all in shock and disbelief when we won. We knew we had played well, but we never saw this coming. It truly felt like a fairytale. I guess great things really do happen when you least expect them. For now though, we’re going back to our tennis.

Terence
Captain (and proud father)

The overall experience was good. The standard of play was fantastic! If I had to nitpick, the courts could have been separated better. A lot of ball-ins from other courts interrupted our games especially when we about to win a point. As a newly formed team, we didn’t have time for a team uniform, so we went with all white. We made it to the 24s but sadly, missed out on the quarters. Till the next competition then!” 

The competition is the third time I’m playing with my team so it helped us get to know each other better. The standard of play is quite decent considering this being a Novice tournament. Well organized with lots of playing time for us participants. Friendly bunch. Great experience overall.”

The competition was great. I really like that it was indoor, very rare in SG. The format was good, organisers dedicated and friendly. From Round 2, the players got decent and the games more competitive.

A few things to improve – rule of counting deuce was quite unfair and, point calculations took up too much time. Other than that, I made new friends and saw a lot of familiar faces. Our team played 18 matches and won 15 which is pretty good. We made it to Top 8! We looked good in our jerseys as well. I’d say we had the best outfit!” 

Pickleball is growing fast especially with younger players crossing over from other racket sports. I’d say the standard of play was higher than expected for a Novice competition. My team and I played regularly to build rhythm, improve communications and get more comfortable with each other under match conditions.

I focused on keeping my mind calm when the pressure was on. It helped. It was nice to see the younger players in better fits and style that suits their game. I’d say Pickleball fashion in SG is warming up nicely.” 

Participating in the novice competition and competing against so many talented players was new territory for me. It challenged me to learn quickly, adapt my game and be more strategic on court.

During one of our matches, our opponents adjusted to our game very quickly and began targeting my weaknesses, allowing them to pull ahead. Recognising this shift, I was able to adapt on the spot. My partner and I switched to a strong defensive mode, stayed composed and fought our way back by turning defence into attack.

The comeback win was eye-opening and a motivating moment for my growth as a player.” 

💖

It’s Valentine’s Day and the only thing we love more than Pickleball is seeing couples in love loving Pickleball. We asked some of them;

1) Are you more competitive when you play with OR against each other?

2) What do you think about couples who coordinate their Pickleball outfits/gear for social games?

Click here for fullscreen

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Order in the court! Order in the court!

Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) and National University of SG Society (NUSS) will be unveiling new Pickleball courts for their members. We got a sneak peek.

Our members are thrilled to have the courts amidst such a wonderful setting. Once the Clubhouse is operational, we will have refreshments and simple food offerings which will make it attractive for our members to book these courts for their social or competitive play or just coaching. We also look forward to organising friendly matches with our friends in the Lion City League.

Zoher Motiwalla
Pickleball Convenor, SCC

With the largest Pickleball Section among the SG clubs, NUSS made a name for itself in 2025 winning multiple team titles. It did all that training on 4 Pickleball courts in its multi-purpose hall. Good news then that there’ll be two new outdoor courts on its roof, with gorgeous views of the sunrise and sunset. We had the company of colourful Kingfishers when we visited and we can tell the courts will see lots of action. And selfies/wefies.

Is there such a thing as too much Pickleball? Apparently not, if you are a member of local Pickleball group, FrenzPICKLEBALLER, who travelled to Hanoi recently on a 5D4N trip to play a friendly tournament with the locals.

The tournament, the brainchild of Singaporean and American Club Convenor, James Ng, and his Vietnamese friend, Dzung, brought together 42 Singaporeans (36 playing) and 46 Vietnamese with average ages of 60 (SG) and 34 (VN).

The Singaporeans had practice sessions on Days 1 & 2 before the tournament began on Days 3 & 4. And yes, a total of 221 games were played over two days in MD, WD and MXD formats. Granted some were social games but many players averaged 12-14 games which still makes 221 games an insane number of games!

Overall, the tournament was highly competitive but friendly (doing their bit to get Pickleball into SEA Games). There were coaching sessions. Lots of photo taking. And of course, great food at every meal. From the snaps, it looks like everyone had an amazing time!

FrenzPICKLEBALLERs will not be putting away their passports anytime soon as they are planning a 10D/9N trip to Da Nang/Hoi-An next before heading to Tokyo to participate in the Tokyo Pickleball Tournament in December.

Here’s to them having a great time and to Pickleball diplomacy!

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Jeffrey Seah (Jeff, to his friends), was a senior to our PM in secondary school and once kicked a football out of a window, down 4 storeys while classes were going on.

Despite that notoriety, he went on to launch Starcom Singapore from Leo Burnett at 29 before becoming Regional CEO of Mindshare. An early champion of digital, data and tech content from 1999 (the last millennium!), he helmed Publicis Media/Vivaki as Chairman of the Asia Digital Leadership team before retiring from the corporate world.

He then decided to focus on investing in the digital, data and tech content space via his M&A advisory and 2 venture capital funds. He was, in fact, the first financial investor of Hepmil i.e. the SGAG peeps who cashed out to great fanfare recently.

A lifelong Arsenal fan (meaning, he knows suffering), Jeff dipped his toes in Pickleball recently. And likes what's cooking beyond the kitchen.

There is no prescribed route into any professional services industry, and venture capital is no exception. In my case, my journey was accidental – shaped by learnings like Apple Programming in my teenage years, Darwin’s national selection theories in my science classes, and identifying football teammates that make exceptional contributions to a team. All those factors led me to tech investing.

Over the past two decades, the world has undergone profound transformation, marked by cycles of process disruption, driven by non-query language coding that have shoved entire industries to reimagine themselves and adapt swiftly to discomforting changes. I was one of the lucky few who got to witness this up close through building and leading businesses across advertising, media, and technology in Asia Pacific and globally. 

In the face of these disruptions, from the steady march of digitalisation to the sudden rupture of the pandemic, industries were compelled to reassess not only how value is created, but how it is delivered, sustained, and defended over time. I have never regarded such moments as crises to be endured, but as inflection points. Invitations to look further ahead and to future-proof with intent.  

That was when I decided to leave the corporate world in my 40s to start my “second half” to focus on realising potential of people, ideas and businesses in the digital, data and tech markets. 

MSW Ventures emerged from this conviction: that capital, while necessary, is never sufficient on its own. Enduring companies are shaped through guidance offered with clarity, partnerships built on honesty, and a long-term commitment anchored in experience and perspective. Venture capital is less a financial pursuit than a responsibility to drive new economy businesses that generate new and lasting value for society.

Less of passion, it was a sport that I picked up in my earlier teens in between nursing football injuries. Tennis is a good social game that ALSO requires personal commitment to for whole body training in order to compete. I stopped playing tennis after my 3 kids because of time commitments. When Pickleball came to the fore, I was just a spectator. I have tried it thrice since – and the muscle memory returned quickly.

Pickleball is easier in terms of playing tactics and body conditioning when compared to tennis, but it requires re-training of some muscles. Dinking is not easy!  

In recent years, we’ve seen the evolution of fitness and wellness from niche interests into everyday imperatives. The rise of platforms and businesses such as ClassPass, Gympod, Hydragun, Homage, and Moom signals a broader, more profound shift, where individuals are investing not merely in peak performance, but in longevity, recovery, and holistic wellbeing. Health is no longer episodic or transactional but highly integrated into the rhythms of daily life.

The surge in popularity of Pickleball in Singapore is to be expected in its time-compressed, space-constrained, and increasingly health-conscious society, the sport emerges as a natural fit. Its low barrier to entry spans age, ability, and background, while still offering camaraderie, movement, and the quiet thrill of competition.

Unburdened by the demands of elite athleticism or prolonged training cycles, the sport delivers something increasingly scarce: accessible play that fosters connection, consistency, and joy.

The game is merely the doorway into the real value, the ecosystem that unfolds beyond it.

There is a constellation of experiences and services that orbit pickleball, the spaces where people gather, the guidance that shapes their play, the stories and content that connect them, and the networks that give meaning to each match. Pickleball sits at a confluence of lifestyle, wellness, and community, and those who cultivate engagement that endures and not just fleeting transactions, but habits, relationships, and shared rituals, will ultimately be the ones who persist.

Hype, as with any emerging trend or startup, comes and goes. Behaviour repeated, communities nurtured, and value made tangible is what lasts.

But it will still be determined by the ingenuity of the business founders to capture this trend to build a profitable and sustainable business.

Don’t rush to scale. Build credibility first. Understand who you’re serving and design specifically for them. Focus on trust, experience, and repeat participation. If you get those fundamentals right, growth will come. Charge well for profits, and players must appreciate the value to pay the premium.

Definitely more structured, more segmented, and more professional while still maintaining the social aspect. You’ll see clearer pathways: recreational play, competitive leagues, youth development, and corporate or community formats. Some consolidation, fewer “pop-up” operators, and a handful of platforms that really understand how to organise people, not just courts.

Perhaps you will see political leaders using Pickleball games for detente and peacemaking.

Yes – my wife.

No – my left knee.

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A stranger you just met asks you to be his pickleball partner. Do you say ‘Yes’?

I did. And regretted it.

I could have asked for his DUPR at the onset but would that have meant he’d make an ideal Doubles partner?

Maybe. What I should have done is ask myself questions like;

I didn’t ask these questions. The answers would have given me an insight to his character beyond his DUPR rating.

I know I would have happily lost all the games we played had I enjoyed hanging out with him, my partner. But his personality, attitude and, overall behaviour and demeanour brought so much cringe and second hand embarrassment that even the competition organisers gave me pity looks.

I ran off as soon as my last match was done.

So before you decide Yes/No to a stranger’s partner request, be sure to take your time. Ask the right questions. Drill and/or play a few sessions together. If something feels off, trust your gut. Coz if you two don’t mesh, you’re in for a long, rocky road. 


Ed: This opinion piece was submitted by one of our readers as a PSA to Pickleballers given the number of upcoming amateur/novice competitions. We were truly curious and wanted to meet/CSI the dude but alas, we got sidetracked by the mention of Rocky Road.

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Usher in the Year of the Horse by saying ‘Hay’ to anyone who wants to play a game with you. And ‘neigh’ to those who call ‘in’ balls ‘out’ (you know who you are)!

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What?:
Official launch of our newsletter + International Women's Day

When?:
Sat, 7 March, 9am - 1pm

Where?:
The Sports Arina (Expo Hall 7), 9 Somapah Road, SG Expo, S487370

How?:
Come dressed in purple and/or pink and play Pickleball on Pro Courts, get Free Coaching, listen to women who inspire, get freebies, win cool prizes and more

Why?:
Experience and Bond over Main CharactHER energy

Ticket deets will drop soon. Limited slots so it's gonna be first-come-first-served. Follow our IG for updates!

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