Pickleball continues to fail at the SEA Games.

Pickleball is not included in the 2025 SEA Games.

Two years ago, the Asian Pickleball Federation (AFP) aimed to include pickleball as a demonstration sport at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, before making it an official competition sport at the 2027 SEA Games in Malaysia. However, this plan quickly fell apart when host nation Thailand insisted on not including pickleball in the competition program, even as a demonstration event.

At the 33rd SEA Games, Thailand hosted many demonstration sports such as MMA, tug-of-war, and discus throwing, but Pickleball was still excluded. The main reason was that the Pickleball community in Thailand was very limited, having almost no influence on the selection process for the competition.

According to regulations, for a sport to be included in the SEA Games, it must meet criteria such as having an active federation in at least four countries, a sufficiently large number of referees and coaches, and a popular number of players. These standards are usually strictly applied at the Olympics or the Asian Games.

At the SEA Games, the decision-making power largely rests with the host country, with a tendency to prioritize familiar sports or those with strong domestic movements. The exclusion of pickleball in Thailand and then Malaysia shows that this sport has not yet established a solid foundation in Southeast Asia.

Malaysia continues to exclude Pickleball from the squad.

Although the Malaysian Olympic Committee and the SEA Games Council have not yet made an official announcement, the country's media, including Malaymail, have published a list of 38 sports tentatively scheduled to be held at the 34th SEA Games. Pickleball is not included in this list.

Not only was Pickleball a setback, but the Vietnamese sports delegation also suffered further losses when wrestling and rowing, including canoeing, were also removed from the competition program in Malaysia.

Not being selected for the 2027 SEA Games marks a second failure for AFP in its plan to include Pickleball in three consecutive SEA Games between 2025 and 2029. Previously, AFP had hoped that Pickleball would progress from a demonstration sport to an official sport and gradually gain popularity in the region.

Currently, the earliest chance for Pickleball to appear at the SEA Games is the 2029 Games in Singapore.

Recently, pickleball has faced further disadvantages as the Asian Olympic Council officially recognized padel and included it in the Asian Games program. Meanwhile, pickleball has yet to be featured in any mainstream sporting events such as the SEA Games, Asian Games, or the Olympics.

Despite its rapid development in Vietnam, Pickleball has not been widely accepted in many countries. Some sports administrators predict that the domestic Pickleball movement may reach saturation and stagnate within the next 2-3 years if it is not expanded to an international arena.