Pickleball 'takes over' international sports exhibition

Gathering more than 450 booths from 15 countries and territories, but the most vibrant booths at the Vietnam International Sports and Entertainment Exhibition 2025, taking place in Ho Chi Minh City, are those of pickleball racket brands.

A booth of a Chinese manufacturer looking for an official distributor in the Vietnamese market - Photo: HAI KIM

Vietnam Sport Show 2025, the largest international sports and entertainment exhibition of the year, is taking place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (HCMC), gathering 450 booths from 15 countries and territories.

Compared to a year ago, the market is very different.

The highlight of this year is the China Sports (Vietnam) Expo exhibition area, where more than 50 businesses from Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang... introduce a series of training equipment, high-performance sportswear and especially products for pickleball, a sport that is causing a "storm" in Vietnam.

According to records, out of more than 100 sports booths, there are nearly 40 booths specializing in the production and sale of rackets, balls, bags and accessories for pickleball. These booths are always crowded with customers coming to experience and buy with a bustling atmosphere.

Mr. Steven - in charge of international sales of the racket manufacturer Beesoul (China) - said that just over a year ago, when trying to approach the Vietnamese market, the company almost did not make a splash. However, at this year's fair, everything was reversed.

"Many customers came to buy rackets right at the booth, even asking about becoming an official distributor. We did not expect the attraction of this sport to be so great," he said, adding that although not officially present in Vietnam, the brand's products were widely sold on online platforms in Vietnam.

With special exhibition-specific discounts of 20-40%, many booths have "sold out" almost all of the sample rackets brought to greet distributors and introduce products. Many pickleball rackets priced from 3-6 million VND/piece are still being asked to buy immediately.

Many other manufacturers have also recorded a surge in demand for equipment serving this new sport. A representative of a business participating in the exhibition revealed that the number of Vietnamese tourists going to China to buy pickleball rackets and online orders from Vietnam have both increased sharply. Therefore, the unit wants to find an exclusive distributor, aiming to build a racket factory in Vietnam.

Booming business

According to data from Metric.vn, in the first 6 months of 2025, Vietnamese people spent more than 510 billion VND on pickleball products, from rackets, balls, shoes to costumes, equivalent to 2.4 million products sold. This figure is nearly 5 times the revenue of the whole year of 2024 (271.9 billion VND), an increase of 1,282% over the same period last year.

Pickleball’s appeal comes from its low barriers to entry, such as small courts, cheaper equipment than tennis or golf, and simple rules, making it easy for newcomers to join. As the movement spread rapidly, demand for equipment increased sharply, creating a boost for suppliers.

Mr. Vo Hong Son, Chief Representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the Central and Southern regions, said that the sports exhibition is an opportunity for businesses, manufacturers and distributors to introduce modern and advanced products and equipment, serving all needs in the sports field.

Currently, Vietnamese people's spending on sports has increased significantly, promoting the development of equipment manufacturers, gyms, training centers... The market is open to both domestic and international businesses.

The explosion of pickleball at this year's exhibition is clear evidence that exhibitors can assert their connecting role by simply grasping the right trends and entering the market in time.

Chinese electric vehicles are also actively looking for distributors in Vietnam.

Chinese electric vehicles seek opportunities in the Vietnamese market - Photo: HK

Along with the Vietnam International Sports and Entertainment Exhibition, the 10th International Two-Wheel Vehicle Exhibition is held simultaneously. This is an interesting exhibition specializing in bicycles, electric bicycles and accessories. There are at least 15 electric two-wheeler brands, mostly Chinese enterprises, participating this year.

Most of these brands are still quite new in the Vietnamese market, so they all want to survey the market and find distributors in the context that Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are planning to switch from gasoline motorbikes to electric motorbikes in some areas and target groups.

The exhibition will be open to visitors until August 16 at SECC, and is expected to welcome over 15,000 visitors.

HAI KIM

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/pickleball-khuynh-dao-trien-lam-quoc-te-the-thao-20250816000933796.htm