PPA Tour Asia Taps ANCHOR Sports as Social Media Partner, Will Lead China Digital Strategy – Pickleball News Asia

This partnership, though, is more than just content management. ANCHOR Sports will also be tasked with building an active community around PPA Tour Asia, particularly within the massive Chinese audience. The tour is, in particular, banking on ANCHOR Sports’ extensive experience in successfully introducing international sports properties to Chinese audiences and cultivating dedicated fanbases hungry for the next emerging sport. To date, ANCHOR Sports counts the NFL, MLB, and NBA, along with major sports teams such as FC Barcelona and Chelsea, among its high-profile clients.

“We are honoured to partner with the UPA, which represents the highest competitive standards and industry benchmarks of pickleball, to promote this emerging sport in the field of social media, where we excel,” said Tristan Chen, CEO and Founder of ANCHOR Sports. “I believe pickleball will attract the participation of a broader audience and become part of the leisure sports lifestyle of urban residents in China.”

Josephine Tan, Marketing Director at UPA Asia, is unsurprisingly bullish about the partnership, pointing to the agency’s undeniable experience with big-time clients.

“We’re excited to partner with ANCHOR Sports as we continue to grow pickleball across China,” she said. “Their experience building fan communities for some of the world’s biggest sports properties makes them the ideal partner for this next phase of the tour.”

This next phase begins in April, when the PPA Tour Asia kicks off its second season with the MB Hanoi Cup 2026. Last year, the inaugural PPA Tour Asia held seven tournaments across the region, with the season culminating in December with the Vibrant Linping Hangzhou Open, the tour’s first event in mainland China.

This season, the PPA Tour is focused on expanding its reach and deepening fan engagement across key markets, and ANCHOR Sports will be helping to realise those ambitious goals.