Singapore’s First PPA Asia 500 Event Draws Even More Major Sponsors as Pickleball’s Pull Grows
Pickleball is no longer just filling courts. It is filling sponsorship packages—and Singapore’s first PPA Asia 500 tournament is proof of how far the sport’s commercial appeal has come.
The inaugural PPA Asia 500 Leapmotor Singapore Open is set for 23 to 26 July at The Sports Arina @ Expo, marking the highest tier of professional pickleball competition ever staged in the country. The tournament will feature men’s and women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles across professional and amateur categories, with the professional draw offering US$70,000 in prize money and 500 PPA ranking points. Amateur categories will offer US$9,000.
Leapmotor Headlines Major Sponsors
The headline commercial announcement is a multi-year partnership with electric vehicle brand Leapmotor, which comes on board as presenting partner and official automotive partner. It is the kind of long-term, title-level commitment that signals genuine belief in the sport’s trajectory—not a one-off experiment, but a sustained bet on where pickleball is heading in this region.
Isaac Yeo, Managing Director of Stellantis ASEAN, framed it as a natural alignment.
“Leapmotor and pickleball embody shared values of precision, agility, and a relentless pursuit of excellence,” Yeo said. “By participating in this international event, we are championing a lifestyle driven by passion and performance. This partnership reflects our commitment to engaging with vibrant communities and creating meaningful connections with our customers through sport and shared experiences.”
Major Backing for PPA Asia 500 Leapmotor Singapore Open
Leapmotor is not alone. The tournament has attracted support from Huttons Agency, PARKROYAL on Beach Road, 2XU, F&N, Charles and Keith, Panaflex, Skechers, FedEx, and Asahi—a diverse commercial roster that reflects pickleball’s unusual ability to appeal simultaneously to fitness, lifestyle, hospitality, and consumer goods brands. The Singapore Tourism Board is also backing the event, with STB Director of Sports Lilian Chee pointing to it as further evidence of Singapore’s standing as a destination for top-tier international sport.
“Bringing together top pickleball talent from across Asia, this tournament further reinforces Singapore’s standing as a premier destination for top-tier sporting events,” Chee said.
For event director Adrian Tan, chief commercial officer of organiser Kin Productions, the Leapmotor partnership in particular represents something worth marking.
“This partnership is a strong signal of the growing commercial appeal of pickleball in Singapore and across the region,” Tan said. “We look forward to working closely with Leapmotor to deliver a world-class experience for players and fans.”
The commercial interest is matched by player demand. Approximately 95 per cent of available registration slots have already been filled ahead of the tournament—a figure that underscores how quickly the event has resonated with both professional competitors chasing ranking points and amateurs looking for a stage.
Beyond the competition itself, organisers are building the event into a broader community experience. Pickle Rumble—a first-of-its-kind trick-shot competition organised by homegrown pickleball lifestyle brand Pickle & Bones—will serve as one of the headline side events, leaning into the social and lifestyle dimension that has been central to pickleball’s rapid growth.
The sport has moved fast in Singapore. From community courts to a 500-level professional tournament with a multi-year automotive partner and a ten-brand sponsorship roster in the space of a few short years. The commercial world has noticed. The question now is not whether pickleball belongs on Singapore’s sporting calendar—it is how big it intends to get.
