SINGAPORE, 25 October 2025 – OCBC Group is partnering with the Singapore Sports Hub to host one of Southeast Asia's largest pickleball tournaments at the National Stadium in 2026. The tournament will be the competitive highlight of a programme that will also see the commissioning of eight new outdoor pickleball courts at the Singapore Sports Hub that will be open for public use from January 2026, and a lead-up competitive series to build excitement. This comprehensive pickleball programme is supported by the corporate sector, bringing together OCBC Bank, Bank of Singapore, Great Eastern and Kallang Alive Sport Management.
With this partnership, two junior tennis courts at the Kallang Tennis Hub and three basketball courts at the Promenade at National Stadium will be modified as dual-use courts – which can be used either for pickleball, or, respectively, tennis or basketball. Pre-determined play times for each sport will be scheduled to facilitate ease of bookings for all patrons.
This move will add more than 20,000 hours of pickleball play annually, in line with Singapore Sports Hub’s vision of being the venue for everyday athletes, families and friends to stay active and learn new sports together. The new courts will be ready for public use from January 2026 and per-court bookings will start from S$5 (non-peak hours). Members of public may register interest for pickleball activities at Singapore Sports Hub at https://www.sportshub.com.sg/form/pickleball-register-interest.
Aside from the new courts, over 500 players will be able to take part in a lead-up series of pickleball games and activities that will build towards a finale tournament. For the tournament itself, more than 20 pickleball courts will be specially set up at the National Stadium. More than 2,000 players are expected to compete over three days, making this amongst the largest pickleball competitions in the region. The lead-up series will kick off in early 2026 while the tournament will be held in the third quarter of 2026.
As part of the tournament, Bank of Singapore – the private banking subsidiary of OCBC – will host an exclusive, invite-only corporate challenge. This special category will see pickleball enthusiasts from leading corporates and the bank’s clients vie for the honour of being crowned champions.
More details of the series and the tournament will be announced in the first quarter of 2026.
Growing popularity of pickleball
The growing popularity of pickleball in Singapore is due its ease of learning and play, making the sport suitable for all ages and fitness levels. This partnership between OCBC Group and Singapore Sports Hub seeks to support this growing sport with new spaces and an interesting platform to bring pickleball enthusiasts together.
During the official announcement on 25th October, Ms Helen Wong, Group CEO of OCBC, Mr Jason Moo, CEO of Bank of Singapore and Mr Gregory Hingston, CEO of Great Eastern, joined Mr Quek Swee Kuan, CEO of Kallang Alive Sport Management, which manages the Singapore Sports Hub, in a game of pickleball on OCBC Square. Mr Adrian Ang, better known by his online persona “Xiaoming” and the founder of popular Singaporean social media and entertainment platform SGAG, also played an exhibition match with Singapore’s top-ranked pickleball male player by the Singapore Pickleball Association, Mr Richie Ong.
Group CEO Helen Wong, a tennis enthusiast, said of the pickleball partnership with the Singapore Sports Hub, "We are excited to bring pickleball to even more people in Singapore as One OCBC Group. For the first time, all our major entities, OCBC Bank, Bank of Singapore and Great Eastern, are coming together to jointly support an increasingly popular sport that deserves to be even more easily accessible. The Singapore Sports Hub and OCBC Group share a common vision—not just in promoting sports, but in bringing entertainment and lifestyle activities to the community. Two other iconic sporting events, OCBC Cycle and the Great Eastern Women’s Run, are already staged at the Singapore Sports Hub. Expanding this partnership represents a natural and strategic alignment for us.”
Quek Swee Kuan, CEO, Kallang Alive Sport Management said, "As a destination, Singapore Sports Hub offers quality spaces and programmes for lifestyle, recreational and competitive sporting pursuits. The addition of pickleball, an accessible and inclusive sport, to our offerings reflects our commitment to be responsive to the needs of players and communities in our midst. We are pleased to partner OCBC Group, amongst other like-minded organisations, to deliver on our various initiatives to grow the sport and strengthen the broader pickleball ecosystem.”
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ABOUT OCBC
OCBC is the longest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932 from the merger of three local banks, the oldest of which was founded in 1912. It is one of the world’s most highly-rated banks, with Aa1 by Moody’s and AA- by both Fitch and S&P. Recognised for its financial strength and stability, OCBC is consistently ranked among the World’s Top 50 Safest Banks by Global Finance and has been named Best Managed Bank in Singapore by The Asian Banker.
OCBC is the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets. The Group offers a broad array of commercial banking, specialist financial and wealth management services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services.
OCBC’s private banking services are provided by its wholly-owned subsidiary Bank of Singapore, which operates on a unique open-architecture product platform to source for the best-in-class products to meet its clients’ goals. Its insurance subsidiary, Great Eastern Holdings, is the oldest and most established life insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia. Its asset management subsidiary, Lion Global Investors, is one of the leading asset management companies in Southeast Asia. Its brokerage subsidiary, OCBC Securities, is one of the leading securities firms in Singapore.
The Group’s key markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China. It has over 400 branches and representative offices in 19 countries and regions.
For more information, please visit www.ocbc.com.
ABOUT BANK OF SINGAPORE
Bank of Singapore is the dedicated private banking subsidiary of OCBC. Backed by OCBC’s strong credit ratings of Aa1 by Moody’s and AA- by both Fitch and S&P, it offers a unique value proposition as a safe Singapore-registered private bank.
Its open-architecture product platform backed by strong research capabilities provides clients with first-class private banking and bespoke wealth planning solutions. It is also able to leverage OCBC’s capabilities to extend its clients a broad array of services across the OCBC’s regional and international network.
Bank of Singapore serves high net worth individuals and wealthy families in its key markets of Asia, Greater China, the Indian subcontinent and other international markets.
Headquartered in Singapore, Bank of Singapore and its subsidiaries have offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre, Hong Kong, London, Malaysia and Manila. Its strong performance has won it numerous industry recognitions. Bank of Singapore was named Best Chief Investment Office in Private Banking in Asia by PWM/The Banker in 2024 and Best Private Bank in Asia for use of Technology by PWM in 2025.
For more information, please visit www.bankofsingapore.com.
ABOUT GREAT EASTERN
Founded in 1908, Great Eastern is a well-established market leader and trusted brand in Singapore and Malaysia. With over S$117 billion in assets and more than 15.5 million policyholders, including 11.5 million from government schemes, it provides insurance solutions to customers through multiple distribution channels – a tied agency force, bancassurance, direct digital, digital partnerships and financial advisory firm Great Eastern Financial Advisers. The Group also operates in Indonesia and Brunei.
The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited and Great Eastern General Insurance Limited have been assigned the financial strength ratings of "AA" by Fitch Ratings and "AA-" by S&P Global Ratings, one of the highest among Asian life insurance companies. Great Eastern's asset management subsidiary, Lion Global Investors Limited, is one of the leading asset management companies in Southeast Asia.
Great Eastern is a subsidiary of OCBC, the longest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932. It is the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets and one of the world’s most highly-rated banks, with an Aa1 rating from Moody’s and AA- by both Fitch and S&P.
Recognised for its financial strength and stability, OCBC is consistently ranked among the World’s Top 50 Safest Banks by Global Finance and has been named Best Managed Bank in Singapore by The Asian Banker.
ABOUT SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB
Singapore Sports Hub is an iconic, premier destination offering sporting, entertainment and lifestyle experiences for all to enjoy. This world-class development is managed by Kallang Alive Sport Management Co Pte Ltd (KASM). It offers programming that comprises international recreational and competitive events, live entertainment as well as activities that cater to the broader community. The Singapore Sports Hub aims to serve the sporting and entertainment needs of people from all walks of life.
Home to unique world-class sports facilities within the city, the Singapore Sports Hub plays a critical role in accelerating the development of Singapore’s sports industry, excellence and participation. Located in Kallang, the Singapore Sports Hub includes the following facilities:
- A 55,000-capacity National Stadium with a retractable roof and movable tiered seating
- A 12,000-capacity Singapore Indoor Stadium with pillarless interior
- A 6,000-capacity OCBC Aquatic Centre that meets FINA standards
- A 3,000-capacity OCBC Arena which is scalable and flexible in layout
- Kallang Tennis Hub, Singapore’s first international tournament-ready indoor tennis facility
- Kallang Football Hub housing Singapore’s National Training Centre for football
- Water Sports Centre featuring kayaking and canoeing
- 41,000 sqm Kallang Wave Mall, including indoor climbing wall and Splash-N-Surf facility (Kids Waterpark, Stingray and Lazy River)
- Promenade that encircles the National Stadium
- Singapore Youth Olympic Museum & Singapore Sports Museum
- Shimano Cycling World
- Daily community facilities and activities, including beach volleyball, hard courts (futsal, basketball and netball) lawn bowls, giant chess, skate park and running & cycling paths.
For more information, please visit the Singapore Sports Hub website:
Website: www.sportshub.com.sg
Facebook: @sgportshub
Instagram: @sgsportshub
LinkedIn: @SingaporeSportsHub
X: @sgsportshub
TikTok: @sgsportshub
For media queries, please contact:
Lim Zi Hao
Vice President
Group Brand and Communications
OCBC
Tel: (65) 9026 5901
Tan Shi Ying
Assistant Vice President
Group Brand and Communications
OCBC
Tel: (65) 8133 5595
Singapore Sports Hub
Communications Team
[email protected]
