Pickleball King is betting on digital tools and gamification to deepen player engagement as the sport continues to gain traction in the Philippines.
“The idea is how can you build a platform for a physical game, and add an app to it?” Pickleball King Founder Mark Dave Manansala told BusinessWorld in a Zoom interview. “The idea was to build a gamified version of pickleball in an app.”
Launched on 26 May 2026, Pickleball King aims to create an online community where players can book matches, track rankings, and organise competitions through a mobile platform.
“We’re just making it more fun to play pickleball games, aside from playing the actual game,” Manansala said.
The platform allows players to compete against each other and gain rankings based on match outcomes, with scores verified by both players and court operators to ensure accuracy. “If we are playing together and I win the game, you have to verify it. So both players have to agree that this really happened,” he explained.
Users can also build digital player profiles showing match history, rankings, wins, and badges earned through the platform. “It will have your own player card, so you can show it off to your friends, or to be proud of your progress,” Mr Manansala said.
Pickleball King further enables players to form groups or “guilds” that can challenge each other and compete across participating courts. “You could set up a challenge, and you could do a guild war,” he added.
The platform is also designed to support court operators in managing tournaments and attracting more players. “If a court or some people would love to do a tournament on their end, they could do so,” Manansala said.
Currently, about 40 courts or “territories” across Metro Manila, Antipolo City, General Santos City, Davao City, and Baguio City are available on the platform.
Mr Manansala noted that the idea stemmed from his own experience trying to find courts and communities to play with. “I saw, personally, when we were trying to play pickleball, that we didn’t have any way to book a court, and we didn’t know where the community is,” he added.
Pickleball has seen growing interest in the Philippines since 2022, with more Filipinos turning to the sport for recreation and fitness. The Philippine Pickleball Federation recorded about 21,000 amateur players and 320 clubs nationwide in 2025.
“The bigger vision here is to make the Philippines one of the most active and organised pickleball communities in Asia,” Manansala concluded.
Pickleball King is currently available in the Philippines and is preparing for expansion into Vietnam, with the platform aiming to onboard at least 10,000 players and 300 courts locally.
