Sino Group backs Hong Kong pickleball push with elite pathway, open access

Hong Kong pickleball is moving from improvised spaces into something far more formal. Sino Group has backed a new partnership with the Pickleball Committee of the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association, a program built to widen access through open days, weekly play sessions, free coaching and equipment trials while also creating a clear elite pathway for players who can represent Hong Kong internationally.

The scale is striking: organizers expect more than 8,000 participants. The program also gives the Hong Kong, China team a more defined base, with Sino Group facilities set to become the squad’s official home court, a meaningful step for a sport that has surged through shopping malls, industrial buildings and other nontraditional venues without a unified development system.

That new structure comes with competitive proof points. Hong Kong, China won silver at the Pickleball World Cup 2025 and HKCTA called it the team’s best-ever finish in international pickleball competition. The final ended in a 0-4 loss to the United States, but the result marked a breakthrough for a program that had already formalized its pathway through a Pickleball World Cup Selection Tournament 2025, complete with rules, results and player lists. HKCTA’s selection materials also show the sport is now using player registration and DUPR ratings, a sign that Hong Kong is building the same kind of tracked pathway seen in more established racket sports.

The backing from HKCTA matters because it gives the push institutional weight. HKCTA’s pickleball materials say the association promotes the sport through tournaments and lessons and describes pickleball as suitable for all ages, from children to seniors. Its newsletter says the HKCTA Pickleball Association is a fully affiliated member of the Global Pickleball Federation, putting Hong Kong inside an international governance framework just as the city tries to translate popularity into depth.

The calendar already shows how quickly the ecosystem is thickening. HKCTA now lists the PPA Tour Asia Hong Kong Open 2025, staged Aug. 21-24 at the Kai Tak Sports Park arena, with a US$50,000 professional purse and a US$9,010 amateur purse. It also references a 2026 HKCTA Pickleball League and a Jockey Club senior pickleball training program, while the Hong Kong Pickleball League calls itself the city’s first competitive and social league. Outside the association structure, Chinachem Group said its CCG Pickleball Challenge 2026 at D·PARK in Tsuen Wan was Hong Kong’s first large-scale pickleball tournament in a shopping mall, drawing more than 1,000 players and more than 1,200 matches over ten days. Put together, the message is clear: Hong Kong pickleball is no longer just growing. It is building.