Pickleball is coming to Penang—and it’s bringing the world with it.
The World Pickleball Championship (WPC) 2026 is ready for 16–19 April 2026 at Pickle By The Sea alongside Gurney Drive, with between 700 and 800 gamers anticipated to compete from throughout the globe. Organised by Pickleball International, the Penang leg will function the opening cease of the WPC Malaysia Collection 2026, a multi-city initiative that may also take the game to Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru.
For Penang, the stakes transcend the court docket. The state is positioning itself as a regional sports activities hub, with the championship anticipated to drive tourism and financial exercise alongside the competitors itself. Penang sports activities committee chairman Daniel Gooi Zi Sen confirmed the state is prepared, pointing to infrastructure and logistics already in place.
“We have now the infrastructure and venues in place, and from a logistics standpoint, we’re working to make sure every thing runs easily,” Gooi mentioned.
He additionally addressed considerations across the ongoing Center East battle and its impression on flight availability, saying the discount in flights would “not likely” have an effect on participant participation.
The event is designed to be inclusive, with classes spanning gamers aged 19 to 60 and above—a construction that displays how broadly the game has grown and who it’s now reaching. VitaHealth, serving because the occasion’s official vitamin accomplice, additionally has a stake in that message.
“When folks transfer extra, join extra and deal with their well being, communities grow to be stronger,” mentioned VitaHealth CEO Dr KS Beh.
The WPC Malaysia Collection comes at a time when pickleball’s footprint in Southeast Asia is increasing quickly. A multi-city nationwide sequence anchored by a world area of almost 800 gamers is precisely the form of occasion that accelerates that development—and Penang, with its seaside venue and regional connectivity, is a becoming place to start out.
The championship suggestions off in ten days, with two different legs scheduled in July and October.
