Thai Stars Jimmy and Sea Spark Pickleball Buzz at Bangkok's CentralWorld Summer Club

Pickleball found its way into one of Bangkok's most high-profile lifestyle events when actors Jimmy Jitaraphol and Sea Tawinan stepped onto the court at CentralWorld for The Summer Club 2026 on Saturday.

The two popular Thai stars did not just appear as spectators. They competed, rackets in hand, at the shopping complex's event space, putting pickleball in front of an audience that follows fashion and entertainment far more than it tracks paddle sports. The result was exactly what the sport's growth in Thailand needed: massive online buzz that extended well beyond the typical pickleball community.

CentralWorld is not a fringe venue. It sits at the center of Bangkok's commercial and social life, and The Summer Club is the kind of event that draws lifestyle media, brand partnerships, and a digitally active crowd. When Jimmy and Sea played pickleball there, the images and clips that followed reached an audience that would never have encountered the sport through a tournament broadcast or a club open day.

That crossover dynamic is where pickleball has consistently won converts across Southeast Asia, but celebrity participation at mainstream events accelerates the timeline considerably. Thailand already has a growing competitive scene, but visibility at an event like The Summer Club 2026 does something no ranking point or prize purse can: it makes the sport look like something people want to be seen doing.

Whether Jimmy Jitaraphol and Sea Tawinan pick up paddles again at a sanctioned event remains to be seen, but the moment they played at CentralWorld, they handed Thai pickleball a promotional moment that no marketing budget could have manufactured.