India Set To Get First-Ever Professional Pickleball League With WPBL

India's growing reputation as a potential racquet sports hub is all set to get a massive boost with the launch of the World Pickleball League (WPBL), the first-ever professional pickleball league. The league is envisaged by Natekar Sports and Gaming (NSG) of former Davis Cup tennis star and Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Natekar and the Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India (SETVI). Pickleball, a racquet sport, combines elements of tennis, table tennis, and badminton and has gained significant traction globally.

Using his extensive experience of over 35 years as a player, consultant, entrepreneur, and administrator, Natekar said: "We are proud to unveil the inaugural global professional pickleball league in India. Its easy-to-learn-and-play nature coupled with it being age and gender agnostic makes it the ideal sport for people to come out and play thereby democratizing sports participation like never before."

The inaugural edition of the league will witness six franchises compete for the title. Each team will have five to eight players including international stars. The league will also mandate the teams to have Indian players and junior players who will form a part of the team to rub shoulders and learn from the best players in the world.

Arvind Prabhoo, President of All India Pickleball Federation and International Pickleball Federation too, welcomed the professional pickleball league and said this initiative could change the future of the sport in the country.

"Pickleball has been one of the fastest-growing sports in India since 2008. A professional league like this will only give impetus to the growth of the sport and gives me confidence that in the next 5 years, our prospective target to get 1 million players engaged in