BIBD and Baiduri Bank brought 32 participants to a pickleball friendly at PGGMB in Bandar Seri Begawan, with 16 representatives from each bank. The gathering gave staff from competing institutions a chance to build relationships away from work through friendly competition.
Organisers highlighted teamwork and sportsmanship, while the report cited pickleball’s accessibility and social appeal as reasons for choosing it. BIBD described the event as part of its commitment to employee well-being, stakeholder engagement and a positive workplace culture.
Coachino Insight
For clubs and workplace organisers, this gathering illustrates pickleball’s role as a setting for employee activity and relationship-building across competing businesses.
Support for pickleball courts far outweighs opposition among speakers taking a position at U.S. local government meetings, according to Hamlet. The public-meeting analysis firm counted 1,152 supporters and 89 opponents in meetings across 468 cities and towns since Oct. 19, 2024, with support leading in 436.
Fresno, Riverside and Maricopa were among places with many supportive speakers, while Port St. Lucie and Tampa had more opponents. The findings offer a wider view than coverage centered on noise complaints and neighborhood disputes.
Coachino Insight
For clubs pursuing courts, the findings document strong support among meeting speakers, not a survey of residents. Local differences remain important when discussing facilities with councils.
Hunter Johnson beat Tama Shimabukuro in the PPA Tour Asia Hong Kong Slam men’s singles final, after defeating Federico Staksrud in the semifinals. Crowds packed Kai Tak Arena for an event offering $1.1 million in prize money and 1,500 World Pickleball Ranking points.
Staksrud’s quarterfinal comeback against Hong Kit Wong drew controversy: an extended equipment timeout and a 1-point penalty for inappropriate language preceded his 12-10 deciding-game win. Anna Leigh Waters won women’s doubles with Anna Bright and mixed doubles with Ben Johns.
Coachino Insight
For athletes and coaches, the Staksrud-Wong match puts equipment readiness and on-court conduct in focus: both became central issues during a closely contested deciding game.
Our analysis of today's trends: opinion, not reporting, drawn only from the verified stories above.
The U.S. court findings show strong backing among public-meeting speakers, not residents overall. For clubs seeking facilities, that distinction and local differences matter alongside the headline support.
Hong Kong Slam paired packed crowds and major prize money with a contentious quarterfinal. Equipment readiness and on-court conduct became central issues alongside competitive performance.
The Brunei bank friendly and Vientiane community tournament show pickleball serving social purposes beyond competition, connecting workplace peers and Vietnamese expatriates through exercise and shared activity.
Tournament Radar
Upcoming and in-progress events, checked against each organiser's official page.
Support for pickleball courts far outweighs opposition among speakers taking a position at U.S. local government meetings, according to Hamlet. The public-meeting analysis firm counted 1,152 supporters and 89 opponents in meetings across 468 cities and towns since Oct. 19, 2024, with support leading in 436.
Fresno, Riverside and Maricopa were among places with many supportive speakers, while Port St. Lucie and Tampa had more opponents. The findings offer a wider view than coverage centered on noise complaints and neighborhood disputes.
Coachino Insight
For clubs pursuing courts, the findings document strong support among meeting speakers, not a survey of residents. Local differences remain important when discussing facilities with councils.
Hunter Johnson beat Tama Shimabukuro in the PPA Tour Asia Hong Kong Slam men’s singles final, after defeating Federico Staksrud in the semifinals. Crowds packed Kai Tak Arena for an event offering $1.1 million in prize money and 1,500 World Pickleball Ranking points.
Staksrud’s quarterfinal comeback against Hong Kit Wong drew controversy: an extended equipment timeout and a 1-point penalty for inappropriate language preceded his 12-10 deciding-game win. Anna Leigh Waters won women’s doubles with Anna Bright and mixed doubles with Ben Johns.
Coachino Insight
For athletes and coaches, the Staksrud-Wong match puts equipment readiness and on-court conduct in focus: both became central issues during a closely contested deciding game.
The East Coast Regional in Fort Lauderdale awarded 200 players free entry to the Pickle Money Ball National Championship. Each division’s Top 4 qualified for the Las Vegas tournament, scheduled for July 26-31, 2027, with more than $1 million in amateur prize money.
Held at The Fort, the regional drew more than 550 competitors and offered a $625,000 prize pool. Division winners received $2,000 per player, with payouts extending through the Top 16. It was the final regional of 2026 and the tour’s biggest event to date.
Coachino Insight
For amateur players, the qualification pathway offers both prize money and waived entry fees: Luke Schmidt turned a $100 local qualifier entry into $1,625 and a national berth.
Chatham’s St. Clair College Community Park has opened a new phase that includes ten dedicated pickleball courts, reported as the area’s largest outdoor facility for the sport. The expansion also adds paths, washrooms, basketball and a playground. Chatham-Kent Pickleball Club says the courts create opportunities to host tournaments, alongside the park’s wider role as a shared community space.
Coachino Insight
New courts need clear operating plans. Clubs can prepare beginner sessions, open-play schedules and tournament reservations early so everyday users benefit from the extra capacity.
Beyond The Bounce says Zane Navratil will create exclusive original programming for its pickleball media platform. The company also announced an expanded ownership and advisory group that includes professional players and media executives. Its website and social channels are operating, while mobile applications remain planned. The announcement outlines a content strategy but does not establish audience results or commercial performance.
Coachino Insight
Clubs considering media partnerships can ask what content, distribution and audience reporting are available today, and distinguish those commitments from features still being developed.
Source: Beyond The Bounce / PR Newswire·Published:
USA Pickleball has added eight APP Tour stops to its Golden Ticket qualifying calendar for the 2027 National Championships. Gold medalists in eligible divisions receive priority registration, while other participants can earn points through the Tiered Point System. The sequence begins with Arizona and the Tour Championships later this year, followed by six events across the United States next year.
Coachino Insight
Coaches planning amateur tournament seasons should separate priority-registration routes from points-based eligibility and check the rules for each athlete’s division before booking travel.
The APP says its first Humana APP Louisville Open, staged from October 15 to 18 alongside the PickleY'all festival, reached audiences well beyond pickleball fans. Every one of the five big local TV news outlets covered it, WLKY-TV acted as media partner, and Meltwater counted more than 157,000 mentions during the week.
A press conference with Mayor Craig Greenberg, the festival's ribbon-cutting and a free Shaggy concert anchored the publicity. Founder Ken Herrmann confirmed the tour will be back in Louisville in 2027.
Coachino Insight
Pairing a tour stop with a free community festival brought in civic partners and mainstream media. Clubs bidding for events can pitch the same mix to local sponsors.
USA Pickleball has named Cogir Senior Living its exclusive partner in the senior living community category. The organizations plan to promote participation and social connection through the sport. Their first announced event activity is a player lounge at the National Championships in San Diego, giving competitors a place to rest and meet between matches.
Coachino Insight
For clubs serving older adults, practical access, welcoming sessions and opportunities to socialize matter more than a sponsor announcement alone.
Palm Springs planned a grand opening on Wednesday afternoon for its new $5.1 million pickleball complex at Demuth Park, NBC Palm Springs reports. The site has 22 courts with lighting, shade structures, seating and drinking fountains, and is part of a wider upgrade of the park, according to Mayor Naomi Soto.
The courts are open daily, 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., with one-hour reservations offered between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Funding came in part from Measure J, a sales tax approved by local voters.
Coachino Insight
Large public complexes with lights and reservations lower the cost of entry for new players. Local coaches can approach the city early about clinics and league time on the new courts.
APP’s post-event numbers offer a look behind the Louisville tournament rather than another results recap. The venue used 23 nets and 49,680 square feet of court surface, while the championship court incorporated 218 LED tiles. These details show how much equipment and installation work sits behind a professional event hosted inside a convention center.
Coachino Insight
Clubs planning larger events can turn this example into an equipment checklist. Court layouts, installation time and spectator systems deserve attention alongside the competition draw.
Anna Leigh Waters has released a full commercial for L'Oreal Paris, where she is an ambassador for the Elvive Glycolic + Gloss range, Pickleball.com's Victoria Radnothy writes. The polished spot, posted on Instagram, follows lighter content she had made for the brand.
The column argues that the 19-year-old's sponsor list, which also includes Delta Airlines and a pet medicine company, goes far beyond the single paddle deal most pros rely on. Waters has already appeared on billboards in Times Square.
Coachino Insight
Mainstream sponsors show that top players can earn well beyond prize money. For aspiring pros, a consistent public profile is becoming part of the job rather than an extra.
