Marketing to Exclusivity vs. Accessibility: Pickleball's Crossroads in India

It was a humid Mumbai evening when Riya first heard the distinctive pop of a pickleball hitting a paddle. She'd wandered into BandrArcade at Taj Lands End, where players in crisp athleisure volleyed under the Arabian Sea sunset on a rooftop court. The scene screamed luxury—lounge chairs, artisanal refreshments, an Instagram-worthy backdrop. 

The next morning, scrolling through WhatsApp, she found a community group organizing free pickleball sessions at a converted badminton court in Andheri. Same sport, different universe. This tale of two pickleballs is playing out across India, and brands have a critical choice to make: Do they position this sport as the next golf—exclusive, aspirational, elite—or as the next marathon? 

Consider what happened with running. Two decades ago, marathons were fringe events for fitness fanatics. Today, the Tata Mumbai Marathon draws 55,000+ participants, the Delhi Half Marathon another 35,000. Decathlon sells ₹1,500 running shoes by the millions. Startups like Ultrahuman and Boult make wearables affordable. The market exploded not through spectators buying Puma because Usain Bolt wore it, but through millions of ordinary Indians lacing up themselves. 

Or look at chess in South India—Chennai's coffee shops overflow with players, coaching centers multiply like tuition classes, and parents invest in boards and clocks the way they once bought cricket bats. The chess boom isn't driven by just watching or reading about Viswanathan Anand (though he inspired it); it's driven by playing chess. 

Pickleball sits at this crossroads. The next few months will determine whether it becomes a billion-rupee opportunity or remains a niche hobby for the privileged few. 

The Luxury Lane: When Brands Chase the Elite 

Walk into the World Pickleball League and you'll find brands that traditionally wouldn't touch a sport with just 50,000 players. Yet there they are: Volvo, PNG Jewellers, and Swiggy have already signed on as major sponsors, with brand partnerships ranging from Rs 9 crore for three years to Rs 10-12 crore for five-year deals.

Team sponsorships cost a few crores (or lakhs) per year—not cricket money, but significant enough to signal these brands see something valuable. PNG Jewellers chose to partner with the World Pickleball League because it reflected their principles of diversity and inclusivity, signing a three-year contract before the league even announced its streaming partners. That's a bold bet on an unproven product, but the jewellery brand understood something crucial: being first matters.

They secured outdoor promotions, PR, social media presence, and on-ground activations, plus launched a sports collection—essentially treating pickleball as a lifestyle play, not just sports marketing. 

Volvo's involvement is particularly telling. Luxury automakers don't typically sponsor emerging sports unless they see the right demographic. The league's investment from Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India and partnership with Sony Sports Network has brought pickleball to millions of households, legitimising it as mainstream entertainment. For Volvo, this isn't about volume—it's about being associated with an aspirational, affluent community discovering a new passion.

Celebrity involvement from figures like Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Aamir Khan, and Ali Fazal has opened doors for lucrative brand partnerships, with companies increasingly seeing pickleball as a platform to reach engaged, affluent audiences. When Bollywood A-listers show up for exhibition matches, brands aren't buying sports sponsorship and cultural relevance at one go. 

The VC community has placed serious bets on pickleball's potential. In the US, Hyperspace Ventures invested $5.3 million into Pickleball Inc., while Major League Pickleball raised $10.8 million from investors including Hyperspace Ventures and Red Beard Ventures. In India, GoRally raised $750,000 in pre-seed funding led by Udaan co-founder Sujeet Kumar, with participation from Ultrahuman and Tracxn founders, and ServeClub secured seed funding from Rare Rabbit, Masters' Union, and The Moms Co. founders.  

What makes this compelling is the caliber of investors: operators who built Udaan, Flipkart, and Ultrahuman understand that pickleball is more than India’s next sport, it's a platform for booking apps, coaching academies, equipment retail, and eventually media rights, making sponsorship now a strategic entry point before market consolidation. 

The premium positioning makes strategic sense. Pickleball sponsorship costs far less than a single cricket match for a three-year deal, yet the niche audience allows targeted engagement with better ROI. Brands like Swiggy can align with healthy, active lifestyles without the clutter of cricket's oversaturated sponsorship market. 

The Grassroots Game: Brands Building from the Bottom Up 

While luxury brands court the elite, another set of brands is making a different calculation. Skechers became the official kit sponsor of the All India Pickleball Association in 2024 through a five-year deal, and brands only started showing interest after that partnership signalled grassroots development had real value. 

Skechers will sponsor Team India kits with performance-oriented apparel and footwear specifically designed for pickleball, aiming to enhance the playing experience for athletes across India. But here's what makes this partnership different from the league sponsorships: it's not about rooftop courts and celebrity matches. It's about making the sport accessible to every level of player, from recreational enthusiasts to aspiring professionals. 

The strategy mirrors Skechers' global pickleball playbook. Internationally, they've supported grassroots initiatives like ambassador programs and community development while simultaneously sponsoring professional tours. Arvind Prabhoo, president of AIPA, noted that as pickleball gains momentum as one of the fastest-growing sports in India, the partnership with Skechers underscores their shared dedication to advancing the game and empowering players of all levels. 

Picklebay, India's first comprehensive pickleball platform, has partnered with youth-oriented lifestyle brands including Yaba as equipment partner, The Wellness Co as wellness partner, Plum Goodness as skincare partner, and Total Sports and Fitness as retail partner for their India Tour. These aren't massive sponsorship deals—they're targeted partnerships with brands that understand pickleball's community-first appeal. 

Notice the difference? Plum Goodness (skincare) and The Wellness Co aren't chasing prestige. Instead, they're targeting an active, health-conscious demographic that participates rather than just watches. The Mumbai leg brought together players of all skill levels and ages, with categories including singles, doubles, mixed, and 35+ divisions, creating authentic touchpoints between brands and engaged consumers. 

The grassroots approach has another advantage: longevity. Integrating pickleball into national programs like Khelo India, which already assesses millions of athletes across different sports, offers an ideal structure to incorporate talent identification. Brands that align themselves with these government-backed initiatives are becoming part of India's sports development infrastructure. 

The Indian Pickleball Association has laid out plans to integrate pickleball into school sports programs and align with government initiatives like Khelo India and Khel Mahakumbh, ensuring early exposure for youngsters. When a brand partners with these programmes, they're not buying a year's worth of logo placement—they're embedding themselves in the sport's foundation as it scales from thousands to millions of participants. 

The accessibility angle also addresses a critical Indian market reality: Relatively affordable equipment compared to sports like padel, including paddles, balls, and court rentals, has contributed to pickleball's popularity. Brands that support this affordability narrative position themselves as enablers, not gatekeepers—a powerful message in India's diverse market. 

The Brand Dilemma: Which Path Wins? 

Here's where it gets interesting for brands. They can come in at a "ground-floor level" to build up the narrative of the sport, offering new-age companies a way to break free from the clutter and high costs of cricket sponsorships. But which narrative do they build? 

Franklin Sports in India shows one way forward: serve both markets. Manish Rao serves as Head of Operations for Franklin India while simultaneously working on grassroots pickleball programs, and Franklin partners with international bodies to provide equipment kits that make pickleball accessible globally. 

Strokess, India's first "Proudly Made in India" pickleball paddle brand, offers paddles ranging from Rs. 4,995 to Rs. 18,000, providing options for beginners and tournament-level players alike. Premium quality doesn't have to mean premium-only positioning. 

The winning strategy isn't either-or; it's both-and. Smart brands will create tiered offerings that allow for aspiration while enabling participation.  

The Bottom Line 

Pickleball in India stands at a crossroads. The sport can become another country club exclusive, generating steady but limited revenue for brands targeting the affluent. Or it can become a mass phenomenon, creating exponential opportunities as participation scales. 

The brands that win will be those that recognize luxury and accessibility aren't opposites—they're complementary. Premium positioning builds brand value and attracts high-margin customers. Accessible entry points build volume, community, and long-term loyalty. Together, they create sustainable growth. 

Golf's exclusivity made it profitable but niche. Cricket's accessibility made it massive. Pickleball can be both—if brands play it smart. 

At Zupotsu, we understand that sports marketing demands this dual approach. We help brands toe the delicate balance between premium positioning and inclusive growth, making use of emerging sports trends like pickleball to create campaigns that resonate across market segments. Our team stays ahead of the curve so your brand can lead the pack.  

Zupotsu is a martech platform on a mission to ‘digitize’ sports marketing. Zupotsu enables the discovery, engagement, and evaluation (the ‘DEE’ framework) for every sports and esports marketing asset. Please sign up at www.zupotsu.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram. Reach out at ‘marketing@zupotsu.com’ for any queries.