Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Santubong (SMK Santubong), a national secondary school in Jalan Pantai Puteri in Santubong, Sarawak, will soon have a pickleball court on its premises.
Building a pickleball court in SMK Santubong, according to Minister of Women, Family, and Community Development Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, is a step forward towards establishing Santubong itself (and Sarawak as a whole) as a hub for pickleball. The Minister also assured that plans for the facility have been finalised, and that funding has already been secured.
“Establishing Santubong as a pickleball hub is a very promising endeavour, and certainly our hope. Many school-level programmes have already been held to support this vision,” Datuk Seri told reporters after attending the RB Junior Pickleball Camp 2025 at RB Homestay & Farms in Santubong over the weekend. “SMK Santubong has been allocated funds for the court’s construction, and we are now just awaiting the project’s commencement.”
Datuk Seri, who doubles as the patron of RB Rinduk Pickleball Academy, also pointed out that pickleball could help boost Santubong’s sports tourism, and in turn help the local economy flourish.
Impressed by Local Talent
The Minister, incidentally, was impressed by the pickleball talent she saw in the RB Junior Pickleball Camp 2025.
A total of 32 participants from SK Buntal and SMK Santubong attended the camp, and plans are already underway to groom them for the Matta Malaysia Pickleball Grand Slam 2025 in October, according to RB Rinduk Pickleball Academy President Ruslan Bujang. The best of the best, in turn, will be sent to compete at the national event.
“This is why we are conducting the selection process now. From the 32 players, between six and eight will be chosen to represent us,” Bujang explained.
From the looks of it, Santubong has the makings of a pickleball hotspot, with young picklers showing tremendous potential, and the sport getting lots of attention from the local government. So, don’t be surprised if, in a few years’ time, Santubong in Sarawak becomes another pickleball epicentre in Malaysia.
