KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is banking on the growing popularity of pickleball to boost its sports tourism appeal.
Starting tomorrow, 538 players from here, Sarawak, Peninsular Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the United States will be competing in the four-day Sabah Open Pickleball Championship 2026.
The event will feature 11 categories with a total cash prize of RM100,000.
Organising chairman Lamardani Jonaeli said the tournament aimed to provide local players with exposure to international competition while establishing Sabah as a venue for major pickleball events.
“We also hope that Sabah Open, with Replay Pickleball Club as its host, can be organised annually.
“We hope this championship will open players’ eyes to the fact that we can also compete at international level in the future,” he told reporters here.
Among the international players competing are Vietnam’s Quang Duong, ranked fourth on the PPA Tour and No. 1 in Asia on DUPR, and his younger brother Bao Duong, also a professional player.
Other participants include PPA Tour player Sophia Tran Phuong Anh, Malaysia’s leading women’s player Neem Shamsuddin, American Roman Estareja, and Indonesian professionals Frisandyo Fauzan and Mustofa.