New Delhi: What began as a recreational activity is now inching towards becoming India’s next IPL-level spectacle. The debut season of the Indian Pickleball League, sanctioned by the Indian Pickleball Association under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, lit up Delhi’s KD Jadhav Indoor Hall on 1 December. And it’s completely free for spectators.
“It is one of the biggest steps in the development of pickleball in India,” Aalap Sharma, Secretary, Gujarat State Pickleball Association, told ThePrint. “And considering it’s the opening league, we aren’t charging any fee from the spectators.”
Audiences can book their tickets on the league’s official website. Sharma said that the Indian Pickleball League is no longer a “recreational game” and has even been recognised by the sports ministry.
“Pickleball has become a competitive sport, and this league is a testament to the statement,” Sharma added.
An initiative by the Times Group, the Indian Pickleball League will witness six franchises competing in a league-cum-knockout tournament for six days. Three games have been scheduled daily from 1 to 5 December. It will be followed by the qualifier round, two eliminators on 6 December, and then the finals on 7 December. An All-Star Showcase is also scheduled on the same day as the finals.
The teams in the inaugural pickleball league are Mumbai Smashers, Chennai Super Warriors, Lucknow Leopards, Bengaluru Blasters, Hyderabad Royals, and Capital Warriors Gurgaon.
Each team comprises six players — four star players, including two foreign players (one man and one woman) and two rising youth players. In every tie, four players (two men and two women) take the court, while extras rotate across ties. But, for the Grand Rally, any pair combination can be used.
“We have players coming in from the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia. Indian Pickleball Association (IPA) has taken formal approvals from MEA for their visas as per the process,” Sharma said.
The game so far…
The opening day kicked off with Lucknow defeating the Bengaluru Blasters 4-1. India’s top-ranked player Aditya Ruhela put up a great show and routed Vietnamese player Phuc Huynh 15-10.
In the second tie, Hyderabad Royals earned a steady 4-2 victory over Capital Warriors Gurgaon. The Royals comfortably secured four straight sets before the Warriors pulled off two for consolation.
Later that night, Chennai Super Warriors recovered from an early loss to sweep their tie against Mumbai Smashers.
Day 2 was intense, beginning with Chennai Super Warriors securing a commanding 4-2 win over Hyderabad Royals. Capital Warriors Gurgaon picked up their first win of the season in a Grand Rally finish against Bengaluru Blasters. Lucknow Leopards followed with a gritty comeback to force a dramatic 3-3 draw against Mumbai Smashers.
After two ties each, Chennai Super Warriors lead the standings with 6 tie points and 9 match points, followed by the Lucknow Warriors.
Every tie consists of: Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Singles, Women’s Doubles and Grand Rally. The regular matches are played for 15 points, golden point at 14–14, and one match point for each win.
Meanwhile, the Grand Rally is played for 21 points, a golden point at 20–20. Here, the rotation takes place after every three points. The format of the Grand Rally is: Men’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles 1, then Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles 2. The scores will be carried through all rotations, and winners will earn two match points
The league is being broadcast on ZOOM TV and Mirror NOW from 2:30 PM onwards. A two-hour highlights show airs nightly on DD Sports from 10 PM to 12 AM and is also available on DD’s OTT platform, Waves.
Viewers in the Indian subcontinent can stream live matches on the YouTube channels of Pickleball Now, Sports Now, and ZOOM. The matches are also live-streamed on Times Network’s OTT platform, Times Play.
Sharma added that while the first installment of the tournament has only six teams, four or five more teams are also in the pipeline for the next edition.
“Next season, the idea is to increase the scale of the tournament,” he said. “More teams, more players, and more venues across the country.”
(Edited by Saptak Datta)