Two national federations stand side by side in Indian pickleball, and 1,118 venues are now listed

Indian pickleball has moved past the point where “it's growing” is the story. Listings on booking services, government recognition of a national federation, a city-franchise pro league, paddle brands out of India. The things you can count are all in place.

At the same time, two bodies both claim to be national and are in court over recognition. Whose approval a tournament carries changes what it means, so leaving that vague gets you nowhere near the real picture.

This article covers five things — venue numbers, governing bodies, pro leagues, players and equipment — limited to what we could confirm on official sites, public documents, booking-service data and reporting. Each figure carries its source. City-by-city venues and the equipment brands in detail are inPickleball in India.

In This Article

• How many venues India has, and which cities they cluster in
• Why there are two national federations, and which one the government recognised
• The three pro leagues (WPBL, IPBL, CCPL) and which federation each sits with
• The players you can follow by name, and how national squads are selected
• How far the equipment brands out of India have come
• Where Japan and India touch

Indian pickleball in numbers

The whole picture in one table first. Each row carries its source and the date it was taken.

“1,118 listed venues” and “1,200 courts” are two different counts.The first is the number of venues listed on the booking service Playo (September 2026, compiled by our editors); the second is the number of courts given by IBEF (first half of 2025). The survey dates differ and so does the unit being counted. A venue can have several courts, and some venues are not on Playo, so you cannot divide one figure by the other.

Player numbers do not line up anywhere you look. IPA claims “over 50,000 players”; AIPA says “over 10,000 players” on its About page and “over 50,000 amateur and youth players” on its home page — contradicting itself on the same site. The third-party figure people reach for is an IBEF article, but that too is drawing on other outlets' counts, and the same piece carries both “about 30,000 amateurs plus 8,000 registered players across 18 states” and “60,000 in 2024” (along with a projection of one million by 2028). Using any single one of these as “India's player population” is best avoided.

1. There are 1,118 venues, weighted towards the south

Playo, India's sports venue booking service, lists 1,118 venues where you can play pickleball (36 major cities, compiled by our editors in September 2026). Some venues are not on Playo, so treat it as a floor — but the skew between cities comes through clearly.

Hyderabad alone has 234

• Hyderabad (Telangana): 234
• Bengaluru (Karnataka): 190
• Delhi NCR: 157
• Pune (Maharashtra): 102
• Chennai (Tamil Nadu): 84
• Mumbai (Maharashtra): 79
• Ahmedabad (Gujarat): 60

Hyderabad and Bengaluru, the top two, account for about 38% of the total. There are more venues in the south than in Delhi NCR and Mumbai, the big cities of the north and west. Venues by city are inthe India venue list.

More often a corner of a multi-sport venue than a dedicated court

Of the 1,118, Playo lists the sports on offer for 883 (the remaining 235 carry no sport listing). Of those 883, the ones registered as pickleball-only number382, those running more than one sport number495, and six are registered under a single sport other than pickleball. The most common companions are box cricket (327), football (267) and badminton (152). More often than not, a pickleball court sits inside a multi-sport venue.

Cheap courts matter here too. IBEF puts the cost of building one court at 300,000 to 500,000 rupees, far less than a badminton court at up to 1.5 million.

2. There are two national federations, and the government recognised IPA

This is the first thing to check about India. Two bodies claim to be national, and whose approval a tournament carries changes where it sits.

IPA was recognised as a national sports federation in April 2025

In a letter dated 25 April 2025, India's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) recognisedIndian Pickleball Association（IPA）as a National Sports Federation (NSF). It is based in Ahmedabad. The recognition came with relaxations of the 2011 Sports Code requirements — three years of existence, district bodies affiliated to at least 50% of state organisations — and it is not eligible for NSF funding for two years.

IPA's official site claims more than 500 professional players, more than 100 IPA ranking tournaments, more than 50,000 players and coverage of 27 states (all self-reported).

AIPA was founded in 2008 and is contesting the recognition

All India Pickleball Association（AIPA）was founded in 2008 by Sunil Valavalkar, who AIPA says also brought the sport to India that year. It joined the International Pickleball Federation (IPF, USA) in 2015 and is a founding member of the Asia Federation of Pickleball. It is based in Mumbai and its president is Arvind Prabhoo.

AIPA is contesting IPA's NSF recognition. The Delhi High Court dismissed AIPA's petition on 4 February 2026 and upheld IPA's recognition. ANI then reported in April 2026 that a division bench of the Delhi High Court granted AIPA “key relief” (reporting based on an AIPA press release), ordering that AIPA be given the chance to make submissions before any renewal decision.

“Government-recognised” needs care

AIPA's own site says on its About page that it is working to gain recognition from the government and the Sports Authority of India, while its home page carries a “Recognized by Ministry of Youth Affairs” line — the two contradict each other. If you come across a source describing AIPA as “the body recognised by the Indian government”, treat it as likely wrong. If you plan to enter a tournament, check where the organiser's claimed approval comes from.

3. Three pro leagues, split along federation lines

Three city-franchise leagues are running. The thing to watch is which federation each one sits with.

WPBL is partnered with AIPA and IPBL claims IPA sanctioning. The split between the federations runs straight through the leagues.

WPBL | Mumbai, seven teams, backed by Sony

The World Pickleball League (WPBL) is a city-franchise league founded by Natekar Sports & Gaming. Its founders are Gaurav Natekar and Arati Ponnappa Natekar, both former national No. 1 tennis players. It is partnered with AIPA.

Season one ran from 24 January to 2 February 2025 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai with six teams. The draft picked 48 players from a pool of 75 across 20 countries, and players from 14 countries including Japan took part. Bengaluru Jawans won on the final day and finished top of the points table. Season two moved to Jio World Garden in Mumbai's BKC and added Rajasthan for seven teams.

On the money side,SETVI（Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures Inc.）came in as a strategic and financial partner.

IPBL | built by a media group, sanctioned by IPA

The Indian Pickleball League (IPBL) was launched by the newspaper group The Times Group and is sanctioned by IPA. Its official site describes it as “India’s first and only national franchise-based Pickleball league”.

The first season was in December 2025, with six teams: Bengaluru Blasters, Chennai Super Warriors, Capital Warriors Gurgaon, Hyderabad Royals, Lucknow Leopards and Mumbai Smashers. After a round robin, the top four go through to the knockout. Each tie is five matches: men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's doubles and a Grand Rally. The final was on 7 December 2025 at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall inside IG Stadium in New Delhi, Hyderabad Royals against Mumbai Smashers.

CCPL | out of Hyderabad, opening 17 October 2026

The Centre Court Pickleball League (CCPL) grew out of the Hyderabad Pickleball League (HPL), which started in Hyderabad in 2025. It began with eight franchises, and its operator, Centre Court Sports and Entertainment, expanded to Bengaluru.

Season two opens in Hyderabad on 17 October 2026. The player auction was held in Phuket, Thailand, in September 2026. Holding the selection for a domestic league abroad says something about how far across Asia the league is looking.

4. Tournaments and how squads are sent

The two bodies count tournaments differently, but AIPA has the longer history: its first national tournament was held in Mumbai in December 2013. In 2022 it staged the fifth Bainbridge Cup (World Cup) at the NSCI in Mumbai.

AIPA sent 34 players to the Asian Junior Championships

To the third Asian Junior Championships run by AFP, AIPA senta 34-strong junior squad, taking gold in the U18 girls' doubles (Stuti and Anjali), silver in the U18 girls' singles (Anjali Pol) and bronze in the U12 girls' doubles (Aadya and Keerthi). That is one tournament; we could not confirm whether squads of this size are sent as a matter of course.

IPA has title sponsors by age group

IPA sent a squad to the Pickleball World Cup 2026 in Da Nang, Vietnam, with Picklebay — a pickleball platform only a year old — as title sponsor of the under-14s, and Cosmic Birla Group, part of the conglomerate, of the under-18s. Companies are now attaching themselves age group by age group.

5. The players you can follow by name

Armaan Bhatia | three titles at India's first big event

Mumbai-based former tennis playerArmaan Bhatiatook the men's singles, mixed doubles and men's doubles titles at the PWR DUPR India Masters, held at the DLTA stadium in New Delhi in October 2024. In the men's singles final he beat Dusty Boyer of the US 8-11, 11-9, 11-8. Coverage at the time described him as the highest-ranked player in Asia. We could not confirm any PPA Tour or MLP contract on official sites, so we leave that aside.

The top of the IPA rankings

IPA's open men's singles ranking lists 227 players (as of September 2026). At the top are Arjun Singh (2,750pt), Aman Patel (2,500pt) and Rashein Samuel (2,325pt). Pro leagues exist and national squads have sponsors, but the number of players appearing in the rankings is still this small.

6. More equipment brands are coming out of India

Equipment is where the maturity of the market shows most. India now has at least eight brands selling pickleball equipment. Paddles run from 809 rupees for wood to 14,999 for the top model.

• Specialists: Strokess (Vadodara, Gujarat, which also runs its own court) and Gliderz (Pune, Maharashtra)
• General sporting goods makers：Hundred、Nivia、Cosco、Vector X、Airavat
• Export manufacturers: Vinex (Meerut, whose site says it has made sporting goods since 1957)

“An Indian brand” and “made in India” are not the same thing, though. Two brands state where their paddles are made: Gliderz (“100% of its paddles on Indian soil”) and Strokess (which calls itself “Proudly Made in India”). Vinex and Vector X publish where their factories are as manufacturers, but do not say where their pickleball equipment specifically is made. The rest said nothing about production locations on their official sites, as far as we checked.

Cross-checking the USA Pickleball approved paddle list (5,336 listings and 1,382 manufacturers after removing duplicates; different sizes and thicknesses count as separate listings), only two brands matched by name: Hundred (22 listings) and Nivia (2). The list also carries a “VECTOR X” entry, but no model of that name appears in the current line-up of India's Vector X, so we cannot establish they are the same maker and have not counted it. Skipping approval is a natural choice for a brand selling only at home, so approval is not a proxy for quality. It is, however, a guide to whether you can use a paddle internationally.

Each brand's base, prices and approval status are inIndia's Pickleball Equipment Brands, and the analysis is inIndian paddles start at 809 rupees. Only two of eight brands hold USA approval.

7. Where Japan and India touch

A Sony company is invested in an Indian league

SETVI, WPBL's strategic and financial partner, is a collaboration between Sony Pictures Network in the US and Sony Music in Japan — Japanese capital sitting behind an Indian pickleball league. The season one results also carry the names of Japanese players Kenta Miyoshi and Aiko Yoshitomi.

On growth rate, Japan is not far behind

The DUPR growth rates in the table at the top are 182% for India against 170% for Japan. The absolute number of venues and the state of the governing bodies differ, but the rate of increase is similar. The difference is that in India the surrounding industries — leagues, national squads, equipment makers — are all starting up at the same time.

Four things to hold onto when reading the Indian situation

• Get the federation names right: the government recognised IPA as the NSF; the older AIPA is contesting it (as of April 2026). Recognition came up for renewal in April–May 2026, and we could not confirm on official sites what happened after that
• Keep the sources apart: neither the federations' own claims nor third-party counts agree, so there is no settled player number; the court count is IBEF, and the 1,118 venues are Playo listings
• It is weighted towards the south: Hyderabad and Bengaluru account for about 38% of the total. Talking only about Delhi and Mumbai misses the picture
• There are eight Indian equipment brands: but only two state where their paddles are made, and only two of the eight hold USA Pickleball approval

FAQ

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Reference Links

• India's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports | letter recognising IPA as an NSF (25 April 2025)
• Indian Pickleball Association (IPA) official
• All India Pickleball Association (AIPA) official
• World Pickleball League (WPBL) official
• Indian Pickleball League (IPBL) official
• IBEF｜Pickleball in India
• USA Pickleball approved paddle list

* Figures and approval status are what we confirmed on official sites and public documents on 17–18 September 2026. Venue numbers are a count of Playo listings; some venues are not listed there.