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This ‘grandma’s game’ is taking Hong Kong – and all ages – by storm

Once a niche sport, pickleball has captivated the city and players of every age – even Taylor Swift and Michael Phelps are fans

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Pickleball players Ryan Lam (left) and
Wong Hong-kit at Go Park Sai Sha in Hong Kong. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

Published: 11:15am, 15 Jan 2025

For more than a year, Ryan Lam Chun-hei, 28, practised pickleball at night on deserted badminton courts under a bridge in Kwai Fong, where it was so dark he could barely see the ball.

“It’s not easy being an athlete in Hong Kong, never mind that of an emerging sport,” says Lam.

And yet, in a sport that many hadn’t heard of until recent years – even recent months – Lam and his teammate, Wong Hong-kit, 26, took gold in the Hong Kong leg of the 2024 World Pickleball Championship series, held late last year at the Discovery Bay Recreation Club.

“I am so happy about our achievements today,” said Lam during the tournament, having won a place at the “global finals” – such as they are, for an emerging sport without any centralised governing body – due to take place this month in Vietnam.

During the pandemic, this niche activity was picked up by Hollywood A-listers such as George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and Emma Watson, along with athletes like Serena Williams and Michael Phelps, propelling what had been perceived as a bit of a grandma’s game into the global consciousness.

Ryan Lam and Wong Hong-kit compete at the Hong Kong leg of the 2024 World Pickleball Championships at Discovery Bay Recreation Club late last year. Photo: World Pickleball Championship

The sport was created in 1965 by Washington state congressman Joel Pritchard and his friends Bill Bell and Barney McCallum. The trio had wanted to play badminton on an old court but couldn’t find any racquets. Instead, they used ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball in the place of a shuttlecock.