Interesting Facts About Mother-Son Duo Turning MatchPoint Vadodara Into Pickleball Brand

Pickleball, a very popular racquet sport which tennis great Andre Agassi has backed for Olympic recognition, is making inroads into the heart of Vadodara thanks to the effort of a mother-son team. At the fore of this is Neha Shah, India’s first certified pickleball coach, who has taken up, along with her son Aman Shah, to run their business -- MatchPoint Vadodara, which they are transforming into a mecca for pickleball fans.

Building a New Culture

Neha Shah's story began when she got certified from the Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR) in the U.S. Out of the gate, she was inspired technically and also received business ideas. She went off the beaten path instead, which many did not follow, in that she took an unused piece of land in Vadodara’s New Alkapuri area and turned it into a lively pickleball court with Aman’s support.

She has designed this space to be a community hub that all age groups will use. However, what we see is that she is most focused on young adults in the 25 to 30 range, a group that is at present changing out of traditional racquet sports like badminton and tennis into pickleball. What is great about pickleball is that it is easy to learn and also is more on a lower end of energy output, which in turn makes it a great sport for new players.

Pickleball is simple to pick up and almost immediately fun. Unlike tennis, which requires great stamina, players here at the intro level can master the basic skills in a few sessions, reports Neha.

Wearing Many Hats

Neha Shah’s background is in her in-depth connection with racquet sports. An ex-national level player in badminton and tennis, and also in the past was a force in getting more women into sports. Through past initiatives that she ran, she brought together communities of senior tennis players and also gave women across India a stage to display their talent. Which, in turn, helped to put her into the management and promotion of sports-based businesses.

Facing Early Challenges

Setting in December 2023 to stage MatchPoint Vadodara was a challenge. From a tier-2 city out of which I come, Neha had her work cut out for her. While in the North American region, the pickleball market is a very large and growing at almost a billion dollars, we in Vadodara had only a few die-hard fans. Also, with nearby tennis coaching academies converting over to pickleball courts, we had to question the long-term sustainability.

But also, Neha did well. In running free workshops, inviting groups out, and as a pro at putting together events that brought the community together with the sport of pickleball, which is a fun one, she did very well. We did see from many that they were against it at first, but I was a believer in what we were doing. It did end up being more than we could handle in terms of interest, she says.

Establishing the Brand

Today at MatchPoint in Vadodara, they provide coaching, weekend group sessions, and access to premium equipment. They are most known for the MatchPoint Pickleball League, which is in the style of the IPL and which has captured the city’s sports spirit. In 2025, the league enters its second season, which will have men’s and women’s singles and doubles, also 96 players will go under the hammer in a fun auction-based team format.

A Steady Rise

In India, which has seen a 159% growth in players from 2019 to 2022, with the rise of pickleball, MatchPoint Vadodara is doing very well. We see the addition of about 50 60 new courts per month, which is a sign of a very bright future. In this growth environment, Neha and Aman Shah’s venture stands out as a great story of what passion, persistence, and innovation can do. They took a bare plot of land and turned it into a successful sports brand.