Skechers and AIPA Launch Official Pickleball Jersey and Footwear Line in India

Skechers launched the official Skechers Pickleball Jersey for India in collaboration with the All India Pickleball Association (AIPA) on February 27, 2026, unveiling a performance jersey and a complementary premium footwear line aimed at competitive players. The rollout is presented as part of Skechers’ broader push into India’s growing pickleball ecosystem and was announced via Skechers’ Instagram channel alongside published coverage in Pickleball News Asia and other outlets.

The Bridge reported that All India Pickleball Association (AIPA) signed a five-year kit sponsorship deal with Skechers, saying, “Skechers will sponsor team India kits with a range of performance-oriented apparel and footwear specifically crafted for the dynamic demands of pickleball.” The Bridge framed the arrangement as a strategic expansion of Skechers’ presence in the Indian sports market and noted the collaboration “aims to enhance the playing experience for athletes across India and beyond.”

Rahul Vira, CEO, Skechers South Asia Pvt. Ltd., gave the company’s commitment in a single statement repeated across outlets: “Pickleball in India is at an exciting inflection point, and at Skechers, we see its immense potential as a competitive, high-performance sport. Our association with AIPA and the launch of our dedicated jersey reflect our commitment to supporting athletes with products engineered for serious play. We are focused on contributing meaningfully to the sport’s long-term growth and helping elevate competitive standards across the country.” The quote was published by Pickleball News Asia, Deccan Chronicle and SportsMint Media.

Product claims accompanying the launch emphasized court-focused performance. Deccan Chronicle described the footwear as a “high-performance pickleball footwear range designed for enhanced grip, responsive cushioning and stability on court,” and SportsMint used similar wording that the premium footwear line is intended for “improved grip, responsive cushioning, and court stability.” Pickleball News Asia described the Skechers Pickleball Jersey as a “performance-led product engineered for m” in the verbatim extract provided by that outlet.

The event and campaign included Skechers brand ambassadors Sonu Kumar Vishwakarma and Vrushali Thakare in attendance, while pickleball athletes Anuja Maheshwari and Ritam Chawla also attended and appear in the launch campaign across reports from Pickleball News Asia, Deccan Chronicle and SportsMint. SportsMint characterized the initiative as an “athlete-first strategy” intended to establish “an authentic, athlete-led presence in one of the nation's fastest-growing sporting communities.”

Pickleball News Asia’s coverage, published February 27, 2026, ran images credited in the supplied extract as “Photo of Martin.” Deccan Chronicle’s Mumbai dateline used Skechers’ corporate tagline, referring to the company as “The Comfort Technology Company™️” in its launch copy. Skechers’ Instagram account announced the debut of the official jersey but did not publish further SKU, pricing, or retail availability details in the material supplied to reporters.

The Bridge’s five-year sponsorship term is explicit in reporting, though the start date and financial terms were not disclosed in the published extracts. Across outlets, the launch was positioned as a milestone that “puts Skechers front and centre in the country’s growing pickleball landscape” and as part of a strategy to reposition pickleball in India as a competitive, high-performance sport rather than a lifestyle trend.