GRAZIA Malaysia brings back pickleball tournament for season 3 in July 2026

Mixed doubles, brand activations and a fast-growing player base are bringing GRAZIA Malaysia back to Kota Damansara, where Season 3 of its pickleball tournament will be staged on July 25, 2026 at Reserve Pickleball & Padel. The return matters because this is no longer a one-off novelty. It is a recurring event built for the crossover crowd, the players who come for competition but stay for the social scene, the labels, and the visibility that pickleball now carries in Malaysia.

The series began in August 2025, and its first tournament was held on August 24, 2025 at Pickle Park in Petaling Jaya. GRAZIA said that opening edition drew more than 100 players and used a mixed doubles format that started with group-stage matches played to Rally to 15. From there, the field split into a Winner Cup for the top two teams from each group and a Consolation Cup for the rest, with the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals also played to Rally to 15. The Semi-finals, Finals and 3rd Place match switched to Best-of-3, Rally to 15, giving the event a proper competitive spine beneath its lifestyle polish.

That balance is exactly what made the first two seasons resonate. Sheng Boon was identified by GRAZIA as the organizer of Season 1, while Heart Media Sdn Bhd general manager Victor Omar Low said the event was “not just a competition” but also a chance to create new connections and have a fun day out. That framing fits the faces that turned up in Lacoste kit, including Fad Anuar, Hunny Madu, Jenn Chia, Weena Marcus, Yvonne Lee and Shalma Aina. The off-court presentation was as deliberate as the draw itself, with Lacoste’s all-white aesthetic, an ice cream cart, deckchairs and a retail presence built around the L.12.12 polo T-shirt and Lenglen bag.

The sponsor mix shows why these tournaments have become attractive to lifestyle brands. OPPO used strength and endurance challenges around its Find N5 foldable phone, MG Cars staged test drives and display models, Diamond & Platinum ran a pickleball-inspired mini game, and Symphony Spread handled food. In other words, the tournament was not just selling matches. It was selling an afternoon, a look and a network.

That model lands in a market that is already expanding fast. The Malaysia Pickleball Association says the country now has more than 400,000 players, 73 tournaments, 472-plus venues and 500-plus certified coaches. Across Asia, UPA Asia and YouGov reported that 1.9 billion people in 12 territories have heard of pickleball, 812 million have played at least once and 282 million play monthly, with regional growth up 60 percent year on year. Malaysia’s awareness jump of 132 percent in 2024 versus 2023 suggests why a brand-led event can travel so well here: it reaches women, urban professionals and social players who may discover pickleball through fashion and media, then stay for the competition.