Sri Lanka’s first women-only pickleball event targets participation gap

Sri Lanka’s pickleball push took a deliberate turn with Dinking Divas 2026, a women-only tournament that was built to change who gets counted in the sport’s early growth. The event was staged June 20-21 at Colombo Pickle Club on Torrington Avenue in Colombo 07, and it was billed as the country’s first pickleball tournament created exclusively for women.

The structure mattered as much as the headline. Run under The Pickle Assembly banner by Nayantara “Taru” Fonseka, Anusha Senadhira and Nilka Dabare, the tournament was doubles-only and split into four divisions: Playful Divas for beginners, Precision Divas for intermediate players, Power Divas for advanced players and Timeless Divas for women aged 40 and above. The entry fee was Rs 3,500, a price point that made the event feel like a formal competitive gateway rather than a showpiece.

That design answered a problem the organizers had already seen in the stands and on court. Female participation in Sri Lankan pickleball remained far lower than male participation, especially among women over 40, and Dinking Divas was built to lower the barrier instead of simply opening registration and hoping the field filled itself. Senadhira said pickleball welcomes everyone regardless of age, fitness level or sporting background, and said the aim was to create a tournament where women felt encouraged, supported and inspired to compete.

The bigger play is what this says about an emerging market before its habits harden. Dinking Divas was not just about one weekend in Colombo. The organizers said they hoped it would become a catalyst for women’s pickleball in Sri Lanka and a bi-annual fixture on the sporting calendar, which would give female players a recurring pathway into a sport still defining its base.

That pathway already has some infrastructure behind it. Pipinya Pickleball Club in Moratuwa formally opened to the public on January 27, 2024, and has since hosted eight tournaments and a Skechers Grand Slam. The Pickle Assembly has also pointed to venue partners in Colombo, including Colombo Pickle Club, Air Sport, Grand Park Arena and Picklebee by 71, while its three courts in Bentota are being used for pickleball tourism, local teaching and staff training. In a market still taking shape, that is the real story: Sri Lanka is not just adding courts, it is choosing who the sport is for.