Sri Lanka’s competitive racket-sports platform takes its ranked tournament model into Pickleball, with 13 players contesting 13 rounds at Air Sports Club.
Padel Chief has officially moved into competitive Pickleball, staging the inaugural SLAM25 Pickle tournament at Air Sports Club on Saturday, July 25.
The event marked the first time Padel Chief’s established SLAM25 competition format, developed and refined through more than 50 Padel tournaments, was applied to Pickleball.
Thirteen players competed across three courts in a rotating-doubles format designed to test consistency across changing partnerships and opponents, with the results now contributing to Padel Chief’s wider competitive rankings ecosystem.
The move comes as Pickleball continues to gain traction alongside Padel in Sri Lanka’s growing racket-sports scene.
Padel Chief has built its platform around tournament administration, player ratings, draws, match tracking, results management and season-long competitive progression. Its expansion into Pickleball represents the first major step in taking that infrastructure beyond Padel.
According to the organisation, Pickleball had been part of the platform’s broader plans from the outset.
There is also a natural crossover between the two player communities. Padel Chief says its network of more than 500 active Padel players already includes players who compete in Pickleball or have shown an interest in taking up the sport.
Rather than simply replicating Padel competition, however, the objective is to apply the organisational framework developed through SLAM25 to a sport with its own playing characteristics, rules and emerging community.
Sahan Edges Burhan in Tight Inaugural Contest
The first SLAM25 Pickle tournament produced a competitive battle at the top of the standings.
Players competed over 13 rounds of rotating doubles, with partnerships and opposition changing throughout the tournament. Matches were played to 11 points under rally scoring, placing a premium on consistency as every rally contributed to the score regardless of which side was serving.
Dominik, Sahan and Ishan were among the early front-runners before Sahan began to establish himself through the middle stages of the competition.
Burhan then mounted a strong late challenge, setting up a close finish between the leading pair.
Sahan and Burhan both completed the tournament with 10 wins from 12 matches, leaving point differential to decide the inaugural champion.
Sahan finished with a tournament-best +50 differential, edging Burhan’s +40 to secure first place.
Yoosuf completed the podium after recording nine victories and a +27 point differential.
Final podium: Sahan, first; Burhan, second; Yoosuf, third.
The narrow margin at the top provided an early demonstration of the value of SLAM25’s ranking structure, where performance across an entire tournament can matter beyond the simple win-loss column.
Pickleball Enters the Padel Chief Rankings Ecosystem
The introduction of SLAM25 Pickle means Pickleball results will now form part of that wider competitive picture.
Matches are rated through Padel Chief’s proprietary player-rating system, which is already used across its Padel competitions.
Padel Chief says it is also working towards an affiliation with a globally recognised ranking platform, with the longer-term objective of providing players competing in its events with a pathway towards broader international recognition.
Air Sports Club Partnership
The inaugural tournament was staged in partnership with Air Sports Club, whose air-conditioned Pickleball courts hosted the 13-player field.
Padel Chief credited the venue and its operational team with helping deliver a smooth first edition, with the tournament forming part of a broader collaboration between the two organisations to develop competitive Pickleball.
That collaboration has already moved beyond the launch event.
SLAM25 Pickle is now scheduled as a weekly competition at Air Sports Club every Tuesday night, giving players a regular opportunity to compete in structured, ranked matches.
The weekly format is expected to play an important role in establishing a consistent competitive environment as Pickleball participation grows.
For Sri Lankan Pickleball, it also introduces something increasingly important as participation expands: a regular tournament structure in which every match, point and result can contribute to a wider season.
