CentralWorld opens free pickleball court, bringing Bangkok sport trend to summer fest

CentralWorld turned Square A into a free, open-air pickleball court that shoppers could see from the mall floor, a setup designed to make the sport impossible to miss. The standard-sized court opened to the public through the Central X app, with one session allowed per day, daily operating hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and structured match windows from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. for more competitive play.

That timetable mattered because this was built as more than a weekend display. The court sat in one of Bangkok’s busiest retail landmarks, with elevated seating around it so passers-by could watch, wait or jump in, turning a fast-growing racket sport into part of the city’s everyday rhythm. The installation stayed up through May 10 as part of Summer Fest: CentralWorld The Summer Club 2026, giving the court a long enough run to reach people who were already coming for shopping, dining and entertainment.

Central Pattana tied the pickleball activation to a much larger summer push, saying Summer Fest 2026 carried a 600 million baht investment and more than 1,000 events across the country from March 13 to May 10. The company framed the campaign around Creative Economy and Fandom Empowerment, and said it was meant to position Thailand as a global summer destination. Thai illustrator Prang Vipaluk shaped the visual environment around the court, while Prang Vipaluk and designer Jirayu Koo also introduced Nong Summer, an elephant mascot inspired by Thailand’s five regions. The result was part sports space, part art installation, and part mall spectacle.

The pickleball court also reflected how quickly the sport has gained formal traction in Thailand. The Sports Authority of Thailand approved and registered a Pickleball Association in December 2025, with Thaya Teepsuwan as its first president, after the sport was officially recognized as a national sport on October 30, 2025. That institutional backing helps explain why a major mall developer would put prime public space behind a court that is free, visible and easy to book.

Bangkok has already shown it can draw serious pickleball traffic. The city hosted the WPC Asia Pickleball Open 2026 in March, with more than 530 athletes from 29 countries competing in central Bangkok. Against that backdrop, CentralWorld’s court looked less like a novelty and more like a marker of where the sport is headed: from organized competition into the middle of urban life, where first-time players and mall foot traffic can turn trend into habit.