How Venise Chan Is Helping Lead Pickleball’s Rise in Hong Kong
Pickleball arrived in Venise Chan’s life in a way few athletes would expect—at her own wedding.
In 2019, while celebrating with friends and family, Chan was introduced to the sport by her friend Irina Tereschenko, one of pickleball’s top professional players. What began as a casual introduction quickly sparked something more serious for the former Hong Kong No. 1 tennis player.
Within a year, Chan wasn’t just playing pickleball. She was helping build it.
Today, Chan has become one of the most important figures driving pickleball’s development in Hong Kong and across Asia—as a competitor, coach, and leader working to establish the infrastructure needed for the sport’s long-term growth.
From Tennis Champion to Pickleball Builder
Venise Chan’s background in tennis made the transition to pickleball feel natural. After years competing at the highest levels of tennis in Hong Kong, the speed, touch, and strategic battles at the kitchen line immediately appealed to her.
But what stood out even more was the sport’s accessibility.
Pickleball was easy to learn, social by nature, and capable of bringing together players of different ages and skill levels. Chan quickly recognized that those qualities could make the sport particularly appealing in Hong Kong.
Her competitive instincts took over first. In 2020, she traveled to Thailand and won her debut pickleball tournament, proving that her athletic transition was more than just curiosity.
But the bigger opportunity she saw wasn’t personal success. It was helping introduce pickleball to an entirely new community of players.
Building the Foundation for Pickleball in Hong Kong
Rather than focusing solely on competition, Chan began taking an active role in building pickleball’s infrastructure in Hong Kong.
In 2021, she helped organize the inaugural Hong Kong Pickleball Open, one of the city’s first major tournaments designed to introduce the sport to a broader audience. The event helped bring together players, coaches, and organizers while demonstrating that pickleball could thrive in the region.
From there, Chan expanded her efforts even further.
She launched the Asia Aces Pickleball Academy, creating a training hub where beginners could learn the sport and competitive players could prepare for international events. The academy quickly became one of the central spaces for pickleball development in Hong Kong.
At the same time, Chan strengthened her connection to the global coaching community through the Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR).
As a certified PPR instructor, Chan has been actively involved in bringing professional coaching standards and structured training to the region. Through her work with PPR, she has helped spearhead initiatives aimed at developing certified instructors, improving coaching quality, and introducing more players to the sport.
That effort is part of a much larger shift happening across Asia. Pickleball is evolving from informal recreational play into a sport supported by coaching systems, academies, and organized competition.
Chan has been at the forefront of that transformation.
Why Pickleball Works in Hong Kong
At first glance, Hong Kong might seem like an unlikely place for a booming racquet sport.
The city is one of the most densely populated in the world, and land is famously expensive. Large tennis facilities are difficult to build, and sports like padel require even more space and higher construction costs.
Pickleball, however, fits surprisingly well within those constraints.
The courts are smaller, meaning several pickleball courts can be placed in the space typically required for a single tennis court. The sport is also easy for beginners to pick up, which makes it attractive to people looking for both exercise and social interaction.
“Land is expensive in Hong Kong and pickleball courts are small,” Chan has explained. “Padel is also popular but courts cost more to construct. Pickleball is good socially, it’s easy to learn, and it’s the sport that’s rising.”
Those same characteristics helped fuel pickleball’s explosive growth in the United States. Now the sport is beginning to follow a similar path across Asia.
A New Generation of Hong Kong Players
The momentum Chan and others have helped create is already producing results.
Hong Kong has begun developing players capable of competing on the international stage, including rising star Ryan Lam. Lam recently climbed to No. 1 in the World Pickleball Championship combined rankings for the men’s 19-plus category after a rapid rise through the sport.
Just a few years ago, he was outside the global top 100. Today he leads the rankings with more than 51,000 points across singles, doubles, and mixed play.
“Pickleball has completely changed my life in many different ways,” Lam said. “I’m grateful to be at the forefront of this ongoing pickleball craze in Hong Kong.”
For players like Lam, the growing local infrastructure—including coaching, tournaments, and academies—has made that progress possible.
A Breakthrough Moment on the World Stage
Hong Kong’s credibility within the global pickleball community reached a new level during the 2025 Pickleball World Cup in Florida.
Competing against teams from 68 countries, Hong Kong advanced all the way to the final and secured a silver medal.
For a city with limited court space and a relatively young pickleball community, the result was significant. It demonstrated that Hong Kong players could compete with some of the most established nations in the sport.
Venise Chan and the team representing Hong Kong at the World Pickleball Cup in 2025.
The achievement also sparked greater interest locally, encouraging more players to pick up paddles and join the growing community.
Leading a Movement
For Chan, the rise of pickleball in Hong Kong has never been just about competition.
It has been about building something lasting.
Through her work as a player, academy founder, and PPR-certified instructor, she has helped lay the groundwork for pickleball’s long-term growth in the region.
What began as a casual introduction to the sport at her wedding has evolved into a leadership role in one of pickleball’s fastest-growing international markets.
And if Hong Kong continues on its current trajectory, Venise Chan may be remembered not only as one of the city’s top players—but as one of the people who helped bring pickleball to Asia in the first place.
