A Player Pipeline Is Being Built in Asia: A new Kind of Entry Point
By The Pickleball Weekly Editorial Team
April 22, 2026 • 8 min read
ACROSS THE COURTS IN the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and beyond, teenagers are playing a sport that is growing faster than the systems designed to support it. They compete locally, they win, and in many cases they dominate, but for years, that has been where the path ends. Most of these players are never scouted.
Most never train with a professional. Many age out of youth competition without ever knowing how far their game could go.
PCL Asia: Rising Stars was built to change that.
Launched as the first structured youth development championship in Asian pickleball, the program is designed around a simple but meaningful premise: talent should not be limited by geography or financial means. It is not just about identifying strong players. It is about creating a system that gives them somewhere to go next.
A Circuit Built from the Ground Up
Pickleball’s global rise has largely been defined by what has happened in the United States. The tours, the investment, the infrastructure, and the pathways to professional play have all been built there first. For years, players outside the U.S., especially in Asia, have been developing in a fragmented system, with strong local competition but little continuity beyond it.
PCL Asia, the Pickleball Champions League Asia, was created to address that gap. Designed as a structured competition ecosystem, it connects clubs, leagues, and now youth development into a single pipeline. In its second season, the league has expanded to 256 clubs across 10 countries, with more than 1,500 players competing at the league level, signaling both demand and momentum.
As founder Steve Kuhn has emphasized, the issue was never a lack of talent, but the absence of a system to support it, reinforcing the need for a structured pathway that carries players beyond local competition.
Why Youth, and Why Now
The decision to launch Rising Stars was not about adding another tournament. It was a response to a structural problem.
Across Asia, participation in pickleball has grown rapidly, but youth development has not kept pace. Coaching remains inconsistent, access to high-level training is limited, and many players have lacked a clear progression beyond early competition.
Rising Stars was built to address that gap directly, creating a pathway for players aged 19 and under that connects local qualifiers to international competition and, ultimately, to professional-level training environments.
“The competition, the level of play, and the joy we’ve seen here. I’m just so happy to be part of this amazing event. You gave your heart on the court.” — Steve Kuhn, Founder of PCL Asia, MLP, and DUPR
A Championship That Delivered
The Finals, held from April 1 to 5 at the Asia Elite Pickleball Academy in Hainan, brought together 22 teams from across Asia for five days of competition that, for the first time, put the region’s top U19 talent on a single stage.
By the final day, the bracket had narrowed to two of Southeast Asia’s strongest teams. Kuala Lumpur advanced through Bali in the quarterfinals and Manila in the semifinals, while Surabaya fought through Davao before edging past Chinese Taipei 1 to secure its place in the championship match.
When the two teams met, it was Kuala Lumpur that rose to the moment, closing out the final with composure to claim the 2026 Rising Stars title. The win capped a dominant run and positioned the Malaysian squad at the top of a field that represented the deepest pool of youth talent the region has assembled to date.
The result matters, but the path to get there matters more. What played out over five days was not just a tournament bracket, but a first real look at how competitive the next generation of players in Asia already is, and how quickly that level is rising.
A System Built on Merit and Access
The structure of Rising Stars is intentionally strict. Teams of four players must win their national or regional qualifiers to earn a place in the Finals. There are no applications, no discretionary selections, and no financial barriers that influence who gets in.
Once a team qualifies, everything else is covered. Flights, accommodation, meals, and transportation are fully funded, removing the financial burden that often limits access to international competition. As Alex Yuen has explained, the goal is to ensure that a family’s financial situation is never the reason a talented player misses the opportunity to compete.
This approach is not an added benefit. It is a structural decision that defines the integrity of the competition.
More Than a Tournament Environment
Arriving at the Finals, players step into something far more comprehensive than a standard competition. Before matches begin, every participant takes part in two full days of structured training sessions led by professional players, including Roos Van Reek, James Ignatowich, Nicola Schoeman, Seymour Rifkind, and Dionne Lim.
These sessions are designed to expose players to the technical, tactical, and mental demands of the professional game. As PCL Asia leadership has noted, this level of professional-led training is not typical in youth tournaments, but is essential to raising the overall level of play and preparing athletes for what comes next.
The competition format reinforces that same philosophy. Each team match requires all four players to compete, eliminating the possibility of relying on a single standout pair. Kuhn has emphasized that success in this format requires complete teams, ensuring that every player is tested and contributes to the outcome.
Hainan as a Strategic Hub
The Finals were held at the Asia Elite Pickleball Academy, a facility designed to support long-term athlete development. Located on Hainan Island, the academy integrates training, competition, and education within a single campus environment.
With plans for 21 courts and year-round training capability, AEPA is positioned to serve as a central hub for player development across Asia.
More importantly, it represents the next step in the pathway, giving players a place to continue developing after the competition ends.
“The competition, the level of play, and the joy we’ve seen here. I’m just so happy to be part of this amazing event. You gave your heart on the court.” — Steve Kuhn, Founder of PCL Asia, MLP, and DUPR
The Prize Is Development
Winning matters, but the most important outcome is what happens after the event. At the conclusion of the Finals, 11 athletes from across Asia were awarded scholarships to the Asia Elite Pickleball Academy, gaining access to full-time training in a high-performance environment.
The recipients represented countries across the region, reflecting the diversity of emerging talent. These scholarships are not cash prizes but structured development opportunities, providing months of training designed to prepare players for higher levels of competition. As Kuhn has emphasized, the goal is to give the most promising young players a meaningful head start in their development.
What Success Really Means
In the short term, success for Rising Stars is measured in execution: the level of competition, the quality of player development, and the ability to identify athletes who are ready to take the next step.
Long term, the objective is far more significant. PCL Asia is working to build a complete system that connects grassroots participation to elite training and, ultimately, to professional competition within the region. The goal is continuity, where players can move from their first tournament into a structured pathway that supports long-term growth.
The early results suggest that foundation is already being established. The depth of talent on display, the geographic diversity of scholarship recipients, and the level of play throughout the Finals all point to a system that is beginning to function as intended.
A System, Not a Moment
What took place in Hainan was not just a championship. It was the first full demonstration of a pathway that did not previously exist in the region.
At the conclusion of the event, Kuhn reflected on the level of play, the energy from players, and the connections formed throughout the week, reinforcing that the purpose of Rising Stars extends beyond competition and into long-term development.
For the players, it created opportunity. For the sport, it established a framework. For the region, it marked a shift toward building something sustainable. Pickleball’s growth has been global. Its pathways have not. That is beginning to change. ●
About The Pickleball Weekly Editorial Team
The Pickleball Weekly Editorial Team produces in-depth reporting and cover features that examine the sport’s growth, innovation, competition, and culture. With contributors who understand both the strategy of the game and the forces shaping its future, the team is committed to telling the full story of modern pickleball.
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