Philippine pickleball this week: Parañaque wins MPPT leg two, tennis stars switch, PYCL season 2 and Anna Leigh Waters' return

Pickleball in the Philippines has moved past the novelty stage. In the past week a franchise tour played its second leg, former national tennis players explained why they switched, a league announced a bigger second season, and the sport's world No. 1 visited Manila and promised to return. Here is what happened, based on reports from ABS-CBN, the Daily Tribune, GOD55 Sports, All-Star Magazine and ThePickleBase.

Parañaque wins a second straight MPPT leg

The Maharlika Pilipinas Pickleball Tour (MPPT) Invitational is a team event with eight-team and ten-team fields built on the doubles-and-mixed format familiar from team pro leagues. Its second leg was played at the Tagaytay Velodrome. The Parañaque Titans beat the Tacloban Aces 3-1 in the final, after beating the Gensan Punchers by the same score in the semifinals, ABS-CBN reported on October 19.

The final began badly for the Titans, who lost the men's match 9-11. Sarah Jane Lim and Fatima Amirul then won women's doubles 11-4. Ruben Gonzales and Jess Agra took the first mixed game 11-1, and Leander Lazaro and Lim closed it with an 11-5 win in the second. That makes Parañaque the champion of both the first and second legs. GOD55 Sports reports the first leg was held in Pampanga and that Parañaque beat the Abra River Paddlers 3-1 there, with a prize of 350,000 pesos.

GOD55 Sports also gives the group standings. Abra went 14-1 in Group A and Parañaque went 13-2 in Group B. The biggest surprise came in the quarterfinals, when Tacloban eliminated top-seeded Abra 3-2, winning the deciding tiebreaker 30-29. Tacloban then beat Rizal 3-1 in the semifinals. We are relying on GOD55 for these round-by-round details, and ABS-CBN confirms the finalists and the final score.

Why tennis players are switching

A second ABS-CBN story, published October 20, looks at who is playing. Former tennis players Ruben Gonzales and Johnny Arcilla, and sisters Tin and Clarice Patrimonio, are part of the tour. Gonzales plays for the Titans.

Gonzales says singles is an easier move for a tennis player, but doubles is very different, and that he had to change a lot tactically and technically. A tennis background is "an easier entry point," he said, but that "doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be really good at pickleball." He said the learning curve is "a little bit misunderstood." The main differences, in his words, are the strings-free paddle, the ball and the smaller court. He also said he would still like to play Davis Cup.

Clarice Patrimonio says old habits are the hazard. "I'm always thinking, don't step in the kitchen!" she said, in a mix of Filipino and English that ABS-CBN quoted. That is the non-volley zone, a rule that has no equivalent in tennis.

Arcilla, who ABS-CBN says was the country's top tennis player for 15 years, said that even people in their 40s can compete, and that tennis gave him patience: "We can play for 4 hours in court. Now, here in pickleball, we can do it." A Vietnam-based paddle brand has named a paddle after him, called The Maestro, which he uses on tour.

A second league season with a national tryout

The Pickle Yard Conference League (PYCL) opens its second season on October 24 at The Pickle Yard SOMO, according to All-Star Magazine. Eight corporate franchises will play for about two and a half months. Two teams return from the first season, the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems and the Dentacare Pearly Whites. Six are new: the Cartivo Movers, Thrifty Drivers, Dreamskin Radiants, Konjac Zero Phoenix Force, Black Mamba Aces and GFOXX Paragon.

The league ran a national tryout with more than 16 court partners to find players outside Metro Manila, and it has signed international players from the United States, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore. Two former tennis players were named brand ambassadors: Crystal Mildwaters, a Filipino-Australian based in Queensland, and Mikar Fisher, a British-Filipino pro who trains in Vietnam. Games will air on GMA Pinoy TV, with SPOTV as digital media partner. These details come from the league's own press materials as published by the magazine, so treat the player credentials as the league's claims.

The world No. 1 visits, and returns in December

Anna Leigh Waters made her first trip to the Philippines in mid-October as part of Franklin Sports' Asia showcase. ThePickleBase listed fan meet-ups in Pasig and BGC on October 13 and a showcase at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall in Pasay on October 14. The tour then moves to Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong.

The Daily Tribune reported on October 19 that she will be back on December 9 for the IAM Worldwide Pickleball Showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with celebrities joining. The Tribune also noted Waters recently won her 200th career PPA Tour title, in mixed doubles at the Veolia Chicago Cup with Ben Johns. She said Filipino players show a passion that "maybe it's even part of the culture here," and the Tribune argues the sport has spread because the rules are simple, courts fit onto converted basketball and tennis courts, and doubles suits a social culture.

What it shows

The signs of growth are visible in four places at once: a franchise tour that keeps selling out new venues, corporate teams paying to enter a league, tennis players moving over with a plan, and an international star treating the country as a repeat stop. What is still missing is public data. None of these reports gave attendance, participation numbers or the tour's full schedule, so the strength of the boom is described mostly by the organizers and the athletes who benefit from it. The next MPPT leg will show whether Parañaque's streak holds.

Sources checked 20 Oct 2026.