Neha Shah is building a pickleball culture in Vadodara. She acquired a Professional Pickleball Registry (PRR) from the United States of America. It made her one of the first certified pickleball coaches in India. Learning the early ropes from the US also gave wings to her entrepreneurship journey. For the uninitiated, the sport is endorsed by tennis great Andre Agassi for inclusion in the Olympic roster.
Neha Shah has made innovative use of a barren land in New Alkapuri area by turning it into pickleball court. The pickleball court was formed in association with her son Aman Shah. She believes that her pickleball court can be an avenue for the locals of each age group. While every age group is welcomed, her focus is on those in the 25 to 30. She believes the new niche of racquet sport is taking away some interest from its distinct cousins badminton and tennis.
“Pickleball is taking away some of the players from racquet sports. It’s happening for people who want to learn quickly and get into sport. It is a very easy learning curve in pickleball. It doesn’t take long to enjoy the sport whereas tennis needs more stamina,” Neha Shah tells Gujpreneur in a candid chat.
Wearing Many Hats
Neha Shah is a woman of many hats. She has featured on the national circuit, as a senior player, in badminton and tennis tournaments. Later, she transformed her love for racquet sports in a noble way. In a bid to make tennis popular among the senior players, the MatchPoint Vadodara owner formed a community to break women players to the fore.
“I also started a women’s wing for India to give a chance to tennis players where I brought individuals from all over India. So that’s how I was introduced to managing sports,” Neha Shah recalls.
Initial Strategies
Neha Shah is a well-traveled entrepreneur. Before setting up MatchPoint Vadodara in December 2023, she understood the pickleball market from its origin in the United States, where North America leads with a significant 42.9% share, amassing USD 0.94 billion in revenue, driving the popularity of the sport and realized there is a huge scope in a tier-1 city like Mumbai.
However, it was a massive challenge to scale the growth for MatchPoint Vadodara in a tier-2 city. In Vadodara, only a handful of people were interested in the sport from the population of 35 lakh. It was also the case as multiple pickleball courts are running in the close vicinity. And even those owning tennis coaching centers are transforming their space for the emerging sport.
Shah was often quizzed with the question of whether investing in the sport yield positive results. 12 months on, she is answering such questions positively with her strategic thinking.
“I knew that people would be attracted to it in the beginning. I got an amazing response. Some people around me were worried if it would work but I was confident that we would be able to sustain it,” Neha Shah recalls.
“I had worked very hard by organizing free workshops and asking groups to join to introduce pickleball. Again I feel that I need to develop more people and bring more people. I would love to do it because it’s a win-win for anyone,” she says, recalling her initial days in the business.
Establishing The Brand Through Leagues
MatchPoint Vadodara is gradually turning into a pickleball court for everyone in the city. It offers coaching, regular group sessions for those who are looking for a pastime on the weekends, and an opportunity to buy the best pickleball equipment. But the standout performer for MatchPoint Vadodara has been their MatchPoint Pickleball League which enters its second season this year.
The IPL-styled MatchPoint Pickleball League will run from March 6 with 96 players set to go under the hammer on February 25. In its second season, the MatchPoint Pickleball League, supported by Axis Bank, has seen a rise in participation with a new category introduced. The MatchPoint Pickleball League Season 2 will feature the men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, and women’s doubles categories as a team event.
“We introduced the MatchBall Pickleball League. It is in the IPL format where we gather players and then go through the auction process. So there are eight captains that we have assigned. It’s a fun event where the captains will form their team,” she concludes.
Steady Rise
Overall, in a cramped room for growth, MatchPoint Vadodara is gradually turning into a brand that breathes fresh life into the residents. It is also notable that pickleball has shown rapid growth in India. An increase of 159% in players from 2019 to 2022 has been seen. And over 50 to 60 courts is added every month. It has indicated that the best is still to come for the pickleball court entrepreneurs. Just like the pickleball startups, our team at Gujpreneur cover several dhando in the state to educate you about various strategies with our startup stories.
