SM Supermalls expands its nationwide presence for Pickleball

 

Pickleball continues to find its home in SM Supermalls.

Through the SM Sports and Lifestyle Center (SLC), SM expands its permanent pickleball court locations to SM Center Shaw and SM Center Muntinlupa, giving the all-inclusive sport, its athletes, and enthusiasts even more venues for their next friendly or competitive matches. Because of this, SM closed 2025 with 61 court locations across the Philippines with 37 total permanent courts—the largest among mall operators. 

SM empowers the thriving local pickleball scene with maxed-out sports experiences for picklers and the active lifestyle community nationwide. Through its launch of SM Active Hub, the country's largest sports playground, partnered with SM SLC's mission of revolutionizing fitness and sports engagement in the country, it encourages tournament play, friendly competition, and fun bonding moments.

"SM launched SM Active Hub in March last year with the strong intention of giving athletes, sports enthusiasts, and even casual players alike high-quality and easily accessible spaces that can house their best sports experiences—whether that's lighthearted fun or high adrenaline competition," said Joaquin San Agustin, SM Supermalls Executive Vice President for Marketing. "Closing 2025 with our largest pickleball court locations while adding two new permanent courts in SM Center Shaw and SM Center Muntinlupa in Metro Manila is evidence that sports remains not just a strong interest, but a new way of life for our customers." 

Opened in partnership with Paloo, the pickleball court locations of SM Center Shaw and SM Center Muntinlupa boast three outdoor and four indoor permanent courts respectively, both intuitively designed to accommodate experienced and novice players, with accessible rates. v The Home of Elevated Sports Experiences

Through Active Hub, SM gave local picklers the ultimate spot to maximize movement and active lifestyles, meeting the athletic appetite of customers through its modular court approach. With the integration of the SM Malls Online app, players can easily sign up to be part of the community, discover upcoming events, and gain exclusive access to the best deals that maximize experiences they'll love.

"On top of the permanent courts, we also have 24 semi-permanent courts all over the country to accommodate the maximum amount of activity our customers seek,” said San Agustin. 

This holistic approach has made SM the favorite go-to pickleball hangout place for customers, almost doubling the 44 courts initially constructed through the rise of interest in the sport. Also following strong demand and fully booked courts until the end of 2025, SM's upcoming thrust focuses on building more permanent courts to increase its inventory to close to 80 in 2026.

"The high volume of bookings across all our courts hints that pickleball isn't an exclusive sport—anyone can play. And because it is inclusive and easy to learn, SM saw this as an opportunity to naturally drive active lifestyles for our customers," said San Agustin.

A Favorite for Maxed-out pickleball gatherings

Active Hub caters to a wide group of picklers—from competitive enthusiasts to casual first timers looking to play or find a new and fun bonding activity with their friends, every kind of player can find an event that encourages them to keep playing. 

Out-of-the-box creative concepts like the Glow Ball pickleball event giving the game a fun and exciting glow in the dark twist, while enrichment activities such as free coached Pickleball Clinics encouraged newbies and young players to try the sport out.

Active Hub is also home of the major competition SM Pickleball Super Series in partnership with Toby's Sports running alongside local tournaments and events. It initiated the Pickleball Power Tour with Filipino-American, world-ranked pro-athlete Lauren Mercado igniting passion for the sport among the next generation of players. The event was such a massive hit that SM will be hosting a second iteration within the first half of 2026. 

"This is a testament to SM's desire of hosting the most creative and commercially attuned sports events that our customers can always look forward to. As long as the Filipino desire for community and activity remains ablaze, SM is determined to continually give that passion for sports a home," said San Agustin.