Ansara Malaysia Pickleball Club Dreaming Big, Hopes to Grow the Sport by Leaps and Bounds
Pickleball is taking the world by storm—and Malaysia is no exception. One reason the sport is rising meteorically is the emergence of pickleball groups, all with the same vision of bringing pickleball to as many Malaysians as possible and growing the sports to greater heights.
One of these groups is the recently formed Ansara Malaysia Pickleball Club. Founded in late 2024, APC aims to help develop Malaysian picklers with developmental coaching and high-level tournaments, with the end goal of ultimately growing pickleball even more, particularly within the Ansara community.
What Is Ansara Malaysia?
But before taking a deep-dive into APC, it is imperative to first know more about its parent organisation: Ansara Malaysia.
Ansara Malaysia is the alumni network for former students of Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM), a group of elite science colleges spread across East and West Malaysia. More than just a nostalgic gathering of ex-students, Ansara Malaysia is a powerhouse of initiatives aimed at professional development, entrepreneurship, and—most recently—sports.
“Ansara Malaysia is actually an association in Malaysia for ex-Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Malaysia students. We are an alumni for many colleges, which are based in East and West Malaysia,” Hazly Yusof told Pickleball News Asia (PNA) in an exclusive interview. “Ansara Malaysia is headed by another group that are running initiatives like development of ex-students, which covers not only sports, but also other areas like entrepreneurs, development of businesses, things like that.”
With over 30,000 registered members, 34 different chapters, and over 150 successful events, Ansara Malaysia is continuing MRSM’s mission to honour faith, empower the nation, and uphold its sovereignty.
Ansara Malaysia Pickleball Club: A Club Is Born
According to Hazly, the idea of forming a pickleball club first took shape when discussions began about including pickleball in the annual Ansara Malaysia Sports Carnival. This event already featured major sports like football, tennis, and chess, but Ansara Malaysia felt the need to add a fast-growing, accessible sport—and pickleball fit the bill to T.
It turns out, pickleball was the easy, obvious choice.
“If you can see pickleball now, it’s a sport that is growing exponentially at this moment, which we can see the growth in that sport. What we can see is the sport will grow tremendously…” Hazly said. “As you can see, pickleball is easy sports to pick up, the learning curve is very fast, it’s suitable for all ages, andit’s readily accessible in Malaysia. So, we thought that we want to be part of it. And we thought that this is the best time that we can establish the community.”
Indeed, it was. If there was any chance pickleball would be added to the Ansara Malaysia Sports Carnival, it needed to have its own organisation or community.
This is where Hazly and his friends came into play, along key figures involved in Putrajaya and Negeri Sembilan’s pickleball communities. Recognizing the opportunity, they took on the challenge of forming the Ansara Malaysia Pickleball Club, with the goal of creating a structured, competitive, and engaging pickleball environment for alumni across the country.
“We need to start somewhere, and because I have been involved in the pickleball community within this area, and I’m aware of some of the initial requirements to establish the community…,” Hazly explained. “So, probably, I was the right person to lead the community at that point… And from there, we agreed to establish the first community, which we called Ansara Malaysia Pickleball Club. The objectives of the club is mainly to foster an active and inclusive social environment of pickleball, where we can enjoy the sports while building the community, and then our aim is to establish more accessible and competitive sports within the community first.”
Building Blocks of Ansara Malaysia Pickleball Club
The club was officially launched in December, and the first order of business was setting up a functional structure. With leadership in place, three core functions were established:
- Tournaments and Event. To organize friendly matches, local competitions, and eventually, national-level tournaments.
- Coaching and Development. To train players at all levels, from beginners to advanced competitors.
- Treasury and Sponsorship. To secure funding, manage resources, and work toward long-term sustainability.
“We have identified the right people for filling up the positions [to handle the different functions]. And from there, we will grow the structure into a more workable function,” said Hazli about the initial functions he and his vice president, Isaiah, established from the get-go. “Say, for example, we have another function which we call technical and support, where this function will cover the rules and regulations, the specs for the paddle, what are the requirements or selections for the players, things like that. And then we’ll expand a little bit more on the other functions like advisory council, where we want to engage or get advisory advice from a third party [like the Malaysia Pickleball Club Association]…”
Since its inception, the club has been making waves. Monthly coaching sessions have started, helping players improve their skills and preparing them for competitive play. The first inter-college friendly matches have already taken place, serving as both a community-building exercise and a way to scout future tournament players.
“The first two months, we have started our coaching and development session every month, where from there, we will gather many levels of players. And from there, we can identify what kind of levels of players that we have at this moment. From there, we will be able to segregate players which have beginner levels, intermediate levels, and advanced level,” said Hazly, who can’t help but look forward to bigger, brighter, and better things ahead for APC and pickleball as a whole in Malaysia.
A Bigger Vision for Pickleball
All this is just the beginning.
Hazly emphasised to PNA that the club isn’t just about creating a space for Ansara alumni—it’s about growing the sport in Malaysia. By reaching out to other alumni networks like Royal Military College and Malay College Kuala Kangsar, the club is forging new connections and building a broader pickleball community.
Long-term goals include engaging with government agencies, securing a dedicated pickleball facility, and even setting sights on international competition. The club’s leaders recognise that to make pickleball a mainstream sport, they must invest in the next generation. Plans are already in motion to introduce pickleball to current MRSM students, ensuring that future graduates will enter an already thriving pickleball community.
“We know that there’s a lot of initiatives already been done by the state government and federal government to grow the pickleball sports in Malaysia. We want to support their aspirations. And in order to do that, we need to have a strong pickleball community within Ansara,” Hazly pointed out. “We think, pickleball will become a mainstream sport in Malaysia because of the way that the sport is growing. It will be a long term. That’s how we see it.”
Challenges and Aspirations
Of course, no journey is without its hurdles. Awareness remains a challenge—many people still don’t know what pickleball is, let alone how to play it. Facilities are another concern. The club currently relies on external venues, but the dream is to establish a home court, a space that would serve as both a training ground and a hub for the pickleball movement.
This is why an immediate goal of APC is to build its “own home ground,” which Hazly says could open up lots of avenues for the group in terms of fulfilling its pickleball-related goals.
“By doing that [building a facility], you can not only grow the community, but you also grow some of the businesses related to pickleball. You start bringing in contractors to build the facilities, you start to get sponsors, food sponsors, T-shirt sponsors, things like that,” Hazly explained. “That’s why we say our vision is big, not only to grow the sports within the community, but also extended to developing some of the businesses within Ansara community.”
Those are big, bold dreams all right. Ambitious, even. But if the early success of the Ansara Malaysia Pickleball Club is anything to go by, these challenges won’t last long. With a strong leadership team, growing membership, and the backing of an influential alumni network, the club is poised to become a national leader in pickleball development.
From casual rallies to competitive tournaments, from local alumni matches to the grand stage of international play, Ansara Malaysia Pickleball Club is just getting started. And if you haven’t picked up a paddle yet, now’s the time because pickleball in Malaysia is growing—and Ansara Malaysia Pickleball Club figures to grow along with it.
