Dinking Divas 2026: Sri Lanka Holds First-Ever Women’s Only Pickleball Tournament
Pickleball has arrived in Sri Lanka. And it is not waiting for anyone’s permission to grow.
The sport that started on a backyard in Bainbridge Island, Washington in 1965 has been on an extraordinary global march—from the courts of the United States and Canada, through the professional leagues of Southeast Asia, into the grassroots communities of India, South Korea, and beyond. Now it has reached Colombo, where Sri Lanka is about to host its first-ever women’s pickleball tournament. The sport does not stop. It just finds new places to take root.
Dinking Divas 2026—organised under The Pickle Assembly banner by Nayantara “Taru” Fonseka, Anusha Senadhira, and Nilka Dabare—takes place on 20 and 21 June at the Colombo Pickle Club on Torrington Avenue in Colombo 07. It is the first tournament in Sri Lanka designed exclusively for women, and it is built around a specific gap the organisers have identified in the local game: women, particularly those over 40, are playing far less than their male counterparts. Dinking Divas is the answer to that imbalance.
“Pickleball is a sport that welcomes everyone regardless of age, fitness level or sporting background,” said Senadhira about Dinking Divas 2026. “We wanted to create a tournament where women could feel encouraged, supported and inspired to compete. We hope that Dinking Divas becomes a catalyst for growing women’s pickleball across Sri Lanka, especially among those who may feel it is too late to start a new sport.”
It is the kind of sentiment that has powered pickleball’s global rise everywhere it has taken hold—accessibility, community, and the radical idea that sport does not have an age limit.
Dinking Divas 2026 will run doubles-only, divided into four categories that reflect the breadth of who the organisers are trying to reach: Playful Divas for beginners, Precision Divas for intermediate players, Power Divas for advanced players, and Timeless Divas—reserved for women aged 40 and above. The category names are deliberate. The message behind them is even more so.
The Pickle Assembly is not a one-event organisation. It runs tournaments, coaching programmes, and community initiatives across Sri Lanka, with venue partners including Colombo Pickle Club, Air Sport, Grand Park Arena, and Picklebee by 71. Fonseka, who is also connected to Nyne Hotels, noted that the organisation operates three dedicated courts in Bentota—built specifically for pickleball tourism, community coaching, and staff development.
“In Colombo, our venue partners are Colombo Pickle Club, Air Sport, Grand Park Arena, Picklebee by 71 and of course our own three courts in Bentota, mainly built for pickleball tourism, teaching the local community and our own staff the game of pickleball,” Fonseka said.
The organisers hope Dinking Divas becomes a bi-annual fixture on Sri Lanka’s sporting calendar—a regular gathering that builds a community of women who compete, support each other, and keep coming back to the court.
Pickleball is growing in places and among communities that would have seemed unlikely just a few years ago. Sri Lanka is the latest example. Women over 40 in Colombo picking up a paddle for the first time is the point. The sport keeps proving it belongs everywhere—and everywhere keeps proving the sport right.
