Pickleball is enjoying major exposure in Asia this week courtesy of the 2025 JOOLA Pickleball Legends Tour.

JOOLA signature athletes Ben Johns, Anna Bright, Brooke Buckner, Tyson McGuffin, Collin Johns, and Zoey Wang are touring Vietnam and China to participate in clinics, exhibitions and product demonstrations, alongisde tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.

With the launch of PPA Tour Asia and MLP Asia on the horizon, the timing couldn't be better for some of the best pickleball players and ambassadors on the planet to promote the game there and interact with fans.

"Asia firstly is the most populous continent in the world and secondly, we’re really good at racket sports, whether that’s tennis, table tennis or badminton, there’s really that natural affinity for the sport itself," said UPA Asia Managing Director, Kimberly Koh, in a Mar. 28 story by Kimberly Kwek of The Strait Times. “So we started working to see how we could bring these two properties into Asia.”

Kwek cited a Bonafide Research report predicting that pickleball's annual growth rate in Asia could exceed 24.5 per cent from 2024 to 2029 since participation is increasing exponentially.

With interest and enthusiasm like that, PPA Tour Asia and MLP Asia should be a smash when everything is finally up and running.

The UPA's Asia Pickleball Trailblazers Program will help professional pickleball flourish in the region for the foreseeable future, too.

Starting in April, selected players will enjoy a three-month experience in the United States featuring intensive training and personal mentorship from pros, coaches, media strategists and marketing consultants to further develop their skills and brand alike, and compete in PPA Tour and MLP events as well.

Graduates will earn a 2025-26 UPA Asia Touring Contract and participate in all PPA Tour Asia and MLP Asia events.

"After the players have trained, they need a platform to shine, so that’s when the PPA Tour in Asia comes into play... in order to provide as much opportunity as possible for people to have access to seeing and also playing at the best events in the world," mentioned Koh. "Once we build that base on what the pro level looks like and provide the opportunity for the amateurs to play, that’s where we want to take that into the next level again, which comes (via) Major League Pickleball."

Wang, who hails from Taiwan, was thrilled to travel back home to showcase the sport to the masses.

The 22-year-old confirmed that people are picking up paddles in droves.

"Everyone is switching from tennis or badminton or ping pong, everyone’s trying to help it get better and better," said Wang, the 10th-ranked women's singles player on the PPA Tour. "Asia, like the other countries, especially Vietnam or India, they’re creating more pickleball courts and that’s very helpful (to grow pickleball)."

Will this Asian expansion result in pickleball garnering more recognition from international sports entities down the road?

That remains to be seen, but the effort is certainly being made.

“Our hope is that by developing the PPA Tour, by developing the players, there is that media attention on the sport itself and that can help it catch the attention of other multi-sport Games, whether it’s the SEA (Southeast Asian), Asian or Olympic Games,” concluded Koh.