The Tonga Pickleball Association will host an indoor, three-day tournament on 31 May to 2 June. It will be held at the ‘Atele Indoor Stadium, hosting over 100 players from 20 local clubs in Tonga and ‘Eua.

The tournament will consist of four different categories of levels:

1.    Singles- for both men and women
2.    Doubles- females or males only
3.    Mixed doubles- females and males
4.    Senior- men and women aged 50+

Pickleball is a new sport that was recently introduced to Tonga in 2018. It combines the elements of Tennis, Badminton and Ping-pong. It can be played both indoors and outdoors in a Badminton-sized court, with a slightly modified tennis net.

The game was first invented in the United States in 1965 by three men offering their children a challenging summer time activity. In October 2018, the game was picked up at Ha’ateiho and by 2019 it reached Nuku’alofa, Hihifo and a few other villages.

Since then the game has spread around Tongatapu including the outer islands, ‘Eua, Ha’apai and Vava’u.