Singapore to host Southeast Asia's biggest pickleball open, 1,600 players expected

Singapore’s pickleball push has moved from novelty to infrastructure, and the new OCBC-Great Eastern Pickleball Open is the clearest sign yet. With close to 1,600 players expected from October 23 to 25, 2026 at OCBC Arena in The Kallang, the event is being positioned as one of Southeast Asia’s largest pickleball opens and a public statement that the sport now has corporate and venue backing to match its growth.

OCBC Group announced the event on April 6 and said registration will open on July 27. The three-day tournament will feature public Novice and Open categories, along with two Bank of Singapore corporate divisions, one for public registration and one invite-only championship. Every match will be doubles only, with male-male, female-female and mixed pairs all eligible. OCBC defines Novice players as those with less than 24 months of experience who have not medalled in any local or overseas tournament, a clear attempt to keep the entry path open while still separating true beginners from experienced competitors.

The bigger story is not just the bracket, but the ladder underneath it. OCBC said 24 learn-to-play workshops will be staged in April, May, August and September 2026 at the Great Eastern Promenade courts at the National Stadium. Each session can hold up to 36 participants, giving the series capacity for more than 860 players. The workshops will run for two hours each and include introductory drills, practice time and social games led by certified coaches. That is how pickleball stops being a pop-up and starts looking like a real urban sport with a pipeline.

The tournament sits on top of a broader buildout that Singapore Sports Hub and OCBC Group set in motion last October. That programme added eight new outdoor pickleball courts for public use in January 2026, including conversions of two junior tennis courts at Kallang Tennis Hub and three basketball courts at the Promenade at National Stadium into dual-use space. The release said the additions would create more than 20,000 hours of pickleball play annually, with bookings starting from S$5 during non-peak hours.

That mix of public access, affordable court time and branded competition is what makes this more than another tournament date. Singapore is using Kallang to show how pickleball scales: from S$5 bookings and beginner workshops to a flagship event backed by OCBC, Great Eastern and Bank of Singapore. If the turnout lands near 1,600, the city-state will have built one of the region’s most visible access points for the sport.