THE SECOND SEASON of the World Pickleball League (WPBL), held at Mumbai’s Jio World Garden, concluded with Dilli Dillwale delivering a composed display to overcome Chennai Super Champs in the final.
The Dillwale ownership group spearheaded by Terra Invest and featuring Sunil Gavaskar, Ashok Amritraj and other investors highlighted the growing institutional confidence in emerging sports leagues, where professional governance and long-term strategy are increasingly central to sustained success.
Founded by Gaurav Natekar, Arjuna Awardee and two-time Asian Games gold medalist and Arati Ponnappa Natekar, a former India tennis No. 1, the league is positioning itself as the world’s biggest pickleball festival while steadily building a scalable ecosystem around the sport in India.
Across 13 days of competition, seven teams competed in 120 matches, featuring 56 players representing 18 countries.
A defining feature of WPBL has been its focus on delivering a holistic spectator experience. Matchdays were complemented by curated fan engagements such as the Servd Food Festival in collaboration with Swiggy Scenes, along with innovations including the Celebrity Pickleball Showdown and Battle of Clans, blending competitive sport with lifestyle entertainment.
The on-court appearance of actor Aamir Khan through a fan lucky draw further enhanced the league’s cultural visibility. Meanwhile, the ‘WPBL On Tour’ initiative, staged across multiple Indian cities between seasons helped sustain grassroots interest beyond the main event.
Media distribution significantly amplified the league’s reach. Broadcast coverage on Eurosport India extended to approximately 70 million homes, supported by streaming on Sony LIV. League data indicated that digital content generated more than 10 million views during the tournament window, reflecting strong engagement among digitally native audiences.
Commercial momentum was equally evident, with brands such as Tata Harrier EV, Bisleri, Johnnie Walker and Eka Mobility aligning with WPBL’s premium and innovation-driven positioning.
Gaurav Natekar said, “Our vision with the World Pickleball League has been to build more than just a competition. Season 2 reinforced that WPBL can deliver a world-class festival that blends sport and entertainment in a way that is engaging and immersive for fans, while also creating meaningful value for players, franchises and partners. The scale and response this year give us strong confidence in the direction in which we are building the property.”
