Singapore to Host Inaugural OCBC-Great Eastern Pickleball Open This October

Registration for the inaugural OCBC-Great Eastern Pickleball Open opens July 27 at noon, and nearly 1,600 players are expected to compete at the OCBC Arena from October 23 to 25. The tournament is structured to include everyday recreational players from the start: a Novice division is open to anyone with less than 24 months of playing experience who has not yet reached a podium, while the Open division welcomes competitors of any skill level.

All matches will be played in doubles, with teams free to form in any combination: two males, two females, or a mixed pair. That flexibility removes one of the bigger logistical headaches of traveling to an international open, since you don't need a same-gender partner to compete.

The field is capped, and workshop attendees get first access. The Kallang Group is running 24 learn-to-play clinics across April, May, August, and September at the courts along the Great Eastern Promenade, near Gate 13 of the National Stadium. Workshop participants can register from July 24 to 26, three days before the public window opens, with 88 spots reserved for that early wave. Adult clinic sessions are priced at S$15, youth sessions (ages 13 to 20) at S$10, and multi-generation family slots at S$28 per group.

The tournament sits inside a broader infrastructure push that has already reshaped the venue. Eight new outdoor pickleball courts opened at the Singapore Sports Hub in January 2026, built by converting two junior tennis courts at the Kallang Tennis Hub and three basketball courts at the National Stadium Promenade into dual-use facilities. Per-court bookings start from S$5 during non-peak hours, and the conversion adds more than 20,000 hours of pickleball play annually to the hub.

The sponsors signal something beyond standard event branding. OCBC Bank, Bank of Singapore, and Great Eastern are collectively backing the Open in what marks the first time all three entities have jointly supported a single sporting programme. Helen Wong, Group CEO of OCBC, said at the programme's October 2025 launch: "For the first time, all our major entities are coming together to jointly support an increasingly popular sport that deserves to be more accessible." That kind of institutional weight, from the same group behind the OCBC Cycle and the Great Eastern Women's Run, suggests the Open is being built for longevity, not a single-edition showcase.

Bank of Singapore will also host two corporate categories running alongside the public draw: a team challenge open to companies and a by-invitation-only championship for OCBC Group clients. Both sit separately from the Novice and Open brackets, keeping the amateur competitive field uncluttered.

For players weighing the trip to Singapore, the OCBC Arena is a climate-controlled indoor venue, a meaningful detail for anyone who has played in Southeast Asian heat. With the pre-registration workshop pathway closing July 26, enrolling in a clinic before August is the clearest route to securing a spot ahead of the public rush.