Pickleball Is Taking Over Thiruvananthapuram: Pickleball is gaining popularity in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, as more people take up the paddle sport. Ajay Thomas, who first played pickleball in Chennai a year ago, started Spinz Pickleball in Pongumoodu with his friends Sharath Varghese, Yadu Manoj, and Lawrence Moraira. Since then, the city has seen a rise in exclusive pickleball courts and a growing player community.
How Pickleball Started Catching On
Ajay Thomas discovered pickleball during a corporate event in Chennai. As a former athlete, he quickly learned the game. After moving to Bengaluru, he saw how popular it was becoming. Inspired, he returned to Thiruvananthapuram and started Spinz Pickleball with his schoolmates.
Others have followed suit. Places like The Happy Court, Sportonix Pickleball, and Zero Fitness Performance Studio have built courts just for pickleball. These facilities helped create a strong base for the sport, which was first played on badminton courts because of the similar size.
The Rules and Early Challenges
Pickleball began in the United States in the 1960s. It is played on a 44-by-20-foot court using underarm or drop serves. Players use special balls with different numbers of holes, depending on whether the game is indoors or outdoors.
“There are different balls, varying in number of holes, thickness and aerodynamic qualities. The choice of balls is influenced by whether the game is played indoors or outdoors. We use a ball with 40 holes,” said Kishore K, co-founder of The Happy Court, located at Kulathoor.
“When we began the space in January, very few people knew about the sport. Initially, it was just a few players from Trivandrum Tennis Club and a few of my friends. We had to teach them the game without taking any payment for it,” he said.
Kishore K works remotely for a U.S.-based company and is a certified Level 1 coach under the All India Pickleball Association.
“By March-April, we began getting regular customers,” added Kishore K, who started The Happy Court with his friend Bharath K, a pottery artist based in Goa.
How the Game Is Played and Who Can Join
Spinz Pickleball began in May and now offers daily open sessions. These allow people to try the sport without booking an entire court.
“If players do not have enough people to book a whole court, they can join these sessions and play together. Players are grouped based on their skill levels,” said Ajay Thomas, who works in Bengaluru.
Players can book courts through apps like PlaySpots, with rates starting at ₹360 per hour for singles and ₹480 for doubles. Paddles cost between ₹1,000 and ₹25,000, depending on materials. Most centers offer paddles to players.
Transition for Other Racquet Players
Joseph Charles, owner of Zero Fitness Performance Studio at Kesavadasapuram, believes the game is easy to pick up.
“The transition is much easier for tennis or badminton players, because it is a racquet sport,” said Joseph Charles, whose center added a pickleball court seven months ago.
Zero Fitness also offers training in yoga, animal flow, MMA boxing, powerlifting, and kalaripayattu.
“Pickleball paddles are similar to table tennis paddles, and lawn tennis shots such as top spin, drive and so on are used in the game. However, if you have a tennis background, you tend to hit with a lot of power, which can force the ball out of play considering the smaller court,” said Kishore K.
“It has a slightly better court structure than tennis, too. It is not an injury-prone sport like tennis and badminton, and for that, a court is important,” said Ajay Thomas, who explained that pickleball courts have seven layers of floor coating compared to five on a tennis court.
Fun, Fitness, and Family Time
Joseph Charles, who also serves as secretary of the Thiruvananthapuram Pickleball Association, sees the game as a good leisure sport.
“We have people who are into other training programmes at Zero Fitness Performance Studio, play pickleball at our court on the terrace to cool down after a session,” he said.
Sunish S Pillai, an employee at Technopark, started playing pickleball three months ago.
“It is a good option for a team-building exercise. Currently, everyone playing with me sees it as an opportunity to explore something new and as a stressbuster,” he said.
Ajay Thomas added, “Many people see it as an alternate fitness plan. At the same time, it is also a place to bring family members or colleagues together.”
Building a Community for the Sport
Ajay Thomas is working to grow the sport by forming a local community of players.
“We want to create a group of people who are very excited to play the sport,” he said. He also runs a WhatsApp group with over 200 members and hopes to start coaching programs soon.
Kishore K wants to introduce the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating system at his center.
“There are official levels to this game, which we want to introduce to the players. It would be necessary if someone is travelling to a city like Bengaluru and plans to compete in a tournament,” he said.
The game appeals to people of all ages, from young kids to older adults. Ajay Thomas believes it helps people who have inactive lifestyles. Sunish S Pillai plays with his wife and six-year-old son at The Happy Court.
“My son has limitations holding the paddle, yet he shows great interest. Even my seniors at work, who came to play with us once, started playing pickleball regularly,” said Sunish S Pillai, who plays the sport twice a week.
Ajay Thomas is also planning sessions just for women.
“We are planning women’s exclusive matchups too. Since the court is in a residential area, we have a lot of women coming to the facility. Initially, it was just men, then families and now women alone have started coming in,” he said.
“Everyone might not like cycling or running. But pickleball is not something you do alone; it needs group effort. For a sport like this, you must continue playing and fall in love with it,” said Ajay Thomas.
News in Brief: Pickleball Is Taking Over Thiruvananthapuram
Pickleball is growing fast in Thiruvananthapuram. New courts like Spinz Pickleball and The Happy Court are helping the sport gain fans of all ages. Started by people inspired in Bengaluru and Chennai, these centers are building communities, offering coaching, and making pickleball a new fitness and social option in Kerala.
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