Selkirk launches first Asia pickleball academy in Kuala Lumpur

At PLAYA Racquet Club in Kuala Lumpur, Selkirk turned coaching into the story. The company launched its first Asia pickleball academy on June 3, a move that pushes the sport in the region beyond casual clinics and into a more formal training system built around certification, feedback and player development.

The academy was developed with Pickleball Coaching International and replaces the broad, social-clinic model with two-day themed camps. Selkirk’s lineup includes Fundamental Pickleball, Precision Pickleball, Power Pickleball and Competition Pickleball, with published camp prices of $645 and $745 depending on the program. Players also get a digital database of individual clips with coach commentary, plus curated content from Selkirk Pickleball TV after the camp ends. In practical terms, that means the lesson does not stop when the session ends. It follows the player home, then back to the court.

That model matters in Kuala Lumpur because the city already sits at the center of one of Asia’s fastest-moving pickleball markets. PLAYA Racquet Club’s TREC KL location is at 438, Jln Tun Razak, KL City Centre, and the club says the site includes four individual private courts, along with a café, bar and membership program. The venue is not being asked to invent demand from scratch. It is stepping into a market that already has scale.

The Malaysia Pickleball Association says it is the national governing body and lists more than 400,000 players, 73 tournaments, 472 venues and 500 certified coaches in the country. Malaysia also crossed another milestone in December 2025, when the Gatorade Malaysia Closed became the country’s first official national pickleball championship and the first event to award national ranking points. That combination of mass participation and a formal ranking ladder makes the Selkirk academy launch feel less like a brand extension and more like a sign that the coaching economy is taking shape.

The broader Asia backdrop points in the same direction. UPA Asia and YouGov reported in June 2025 that 1.9 billion people across 12 Asian territories had heard of pickleball, 812 million had played at least once and 282 million were playing monthly. Malaysia’s awareness grew 132% in 2024 versus 2023. Add the PPA Tour’s Kuala Lumpur stop set for September 9 to 13, 2026, and the pattern is clear: the next race in Asia is not only for courts, but for standards, certifications and the brands that define how the sport is taught.