Earlier last week, I had the privilege of touring my cousin around the city. He’s from Australia and a big badminton enthusiast, so I introduced him to his natural enemy: pickleball. As if on cue, he rolled his eyes into oblivion. It’s definitely the same look I had when heard of its existence. I figured a 2-hour session may not be enough time to change his mind, but he seemed to enjoy it. His final review? “Yeah ok, but it’s not an Olympic sport,” and that’s when I recognised pickleball’s unique advantage as a trending sport is its diverse nature:

- boxed courts, like badminton and tennis
- a ball, like ping pong and squash
- racquets, like all of the above

Through my observation, it has tennis mechanics in serving the ball, badminton’s footwork in exchanges, ping pong rallies in close proximity and squash’s… squash-ness (I don’t play squash). That being said, it naturally brings many racquet sports players together, which allows for a hybrid play style and new communities to form. On top of that, what makes it exciting is the difference in racquet size, ricochet of the ball and the rules within the boxed courts. I found this fascinating cause it closely relates to the concept of MAYA, which I previously blogged about.

This sparked a conversation between my cousin and I which led us to visit badminton courts around town. In doing so, he shared about turning his passion for the sport into a business venture, which is why he has looking for inspiration. However, he was surprised to see the undemanding standards of courts in Malaysia despite the sport’s popularity. Consequently, it made me wonder what he saw, because the courts looked normal to me (a casual player).

“The flooring is poor, and the court is on concrete!” he exclaimed, after imitating a jump shot.
”What’s wrong with that? It’s like this at most places.” I asked.
”There’s no shock absorption, which means it all goes into your knees - not a good thing,” he said.
”How will you do it?” I asked.

The answer came in 5 parts but here’s the gist of it: wooden flooring, shock absorption mats, elevated platforms, professional lighting and high ceilings. It was reassuring to know he had done his research and interesting to hear him speak about his passion. The way he shared his work got me thinking about my passion project and what sort of steps I need to make it flourish.