Singapore Opens Eight Sheltered Pickleball Courts at Little India Bus Terminal

Eight sheltered pickleball courts carved out of the Little India Bus Terminal's waiting area opened to the public on March 14, giving Singapore's paddle-hungry community its most unusual venue yet: a space that hosts migrant workers on Sundays and dinking rallies every other day of the week.

Named ActiveSG Courts @ Farrer Park, the facility is a joint project between Sport Singapore and the Land Transport Authority. Renovations began in November 2025, laying new floor coating and installing nets throughout the terminal's covered waiting area. Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry Alvin Tan officially opened the courts on March 14 after sparring with residents on site. Public bookings through MyActiveSG+ opened on March 16.

The dual-use logic was straightforward. Yeo Teck Guan, LTA's Senior Group Director for Public Transport, put it plainly: "By retrofitting sections of Little India Bus Terminal into pickleball courts, we are optimising the use of available space while minimising impact on current Sunday bus operations serving migrant workers." Courts run Monday through Saturday, 9am to 9pm; on Sundays the facility reverts entirely to bus terminal operations for the migrant worker community.

Tan, who grew up playing football and tennis at Farrer Park, called the area "the spiritual home of sports in Singapore." The opening is personal as much as it is political. "Given that pickleball is a growing sport in Singapore, and many of my residents have asked for more sporting spaces, including for pickleball, we worked together with the Land Transport Authority and Sport Singapore to avail this space, and now we have eight pickleball courts for our residents to enjoy," he said. "A key part of this is a broader vision for us to bring back sports to Farrer Park."

That vision extends well beyond eight courts. Tan confirmed that a multi-purpose sports complex is planned next door, comprising two swimming pools, an additional children's pool, an ActiveSG gym, and sports fields.

The launch drew more than 600 attendees who took part in trial sessions and a friendly competition organized by the Moulmein-Cairnhill Community Sports Network. Among them was Mdm Angayarkanni Balan, 72, a Buffalo Road resident of four decades. "Previously, when the Farrer Park Stadium was here, we used to go and exercise there with the family," she said. "Now that these new courts have opened, it's a new experience. I have never played this before. From now on, we are planning to practice here with the family."

The appetite driving the project is real. ActiveSG facility bookings for pickleball increased tenfold between 2023 and 2025. Peak-hour slots at the new courts are allocated by ballot opening 14 days in advance; non-peak and unassigned peak slots release first-come, first-served from 12 days prior. Rates have been reported at $4.50 per hour, though players should confirm current pricing on MyActiveSG+ before booking.

The Little India opening is one piece of a larger national commitment. During the 2026 Committee of Supply debate, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth announced plans for 50 additional multipurpose courts for badminton or pickleball across Singapore over the next five years. With this facility now open, reported totals for available courts islandwide vary between sources, with figures ranging from more than 28 bookable public courts to more than 80 across ActiveSG centres and dual-use scheme sites combined.