Macau’s pickleball moment is getting a government stamp of approval.
The Sports Bureau (ID) plans to add pickleball to its mass sports classes next year and to expand offerings across the border in the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, where tennis and other sports could soon be on the menu. The reason is simple: venue space in Macau is tight.
Hengqin Steps Up
This year was the first time the bureau’s mass sports fitness interest classes reached Hengqin, covering yoga, health qigong, and pickleball. In all, 48 classes and 900 places were offered. Badminton, tennis, table tennis, and pickleball were also added, and the number of places tripled compared with last year.
Pickleball isn’t exactly new to Macau. The Macau China Pickleball General Association has been teaching people of all ages to play at the University of Macau since 2018, and the city got its first dedicated pickleball venue at Fisherman’s Wharf through the efforts of local proponent Marco Leung.
The government is also taking note. One of three plots set aside for temporary sports facilities, located in Taipa, will become a pickleball court.
Cross-border ties are growing, too. The Macau China Pickleball General Association and the Hengqin Pickleball Association have signed a framework agreement, and the 2026 “Hengqin-Macao Cup” sports series opened on 11 July at the Hengqin International Tennis Center with a pickleball tournament.
Room to Grow
For Macau, where courts and halls are in short supply, Hengqin offers breathing room. For pickleball, the move means more beginners picking up paddles in organised, affordable classes.
Then again, a bigger pool of players is exactly what a young sport needs. Indeed, if the numbers keep climbing, the pickleball hubs on either side of the border may soon be sharing more than a net.
