More trouble is brewing in the Malaysian pickleball scene as WPC Pickleball Malaysia Sdn Bhd, formerly Rival Sports Sdn Bhd, has received a warning letter from the Sports Commissioner’s Office (SCO) for signing a sponsorship deal with a company linked to an online gambling platform.
This was confirmed by Muhammad Shafiq Mohtar, an officer from the SCO’s development unit. Gambling is prohibited in Malaysia under the Common Gaming Houses Act.
The third leg of the WPC Malaysia Series in Johor Bahru, which was scheduled from Oct 31 to Nov 2, was cancelled. Two other legs were planned in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, but no dates were announced. Only the events in Petaling Jaya, Selangor (Oct 10-12), and Kuching, Sarawak (Oct 14-20) – the birthplace of the Malaysian Pickleball Association – were held.
According to the Companies Commission of Malaysia, WPC Pickleball Malaysia’s business activities include the wholesale of various goods without specialisation, online retail, and retail sale of sports goods and equipment.
WPC Pickleball Malaysia was also served with a cease-and-desist letter by Jan ‘David’ Papi, the founder of Pickleball Global and the World Pickleball Championship, ordering it to stop using the World Pickleball Championship name.
Papi, when contacted by Twentytwo13, said his organisation decided to terminate WPC Malaysia’s licence as a rights holder to the World Pickleball Championship in Malaysia.
“Our lawyers sent the legal notice to WPC Pickleball Malaysia,” said Papi. “The agreement was for WPC Malaysia to pay a sanction fee after each round, but I have yet to receive a single sen. When we license a company to run events in a country, it is with the understanding that they follow the law of the land.”
Papi declined to comment on the sponsorship issue, saying it was between the company and the authorities. His concerns, he said, centred on the alleged breach of contract. Despite the fallout, Papi said he still hoped to work with another organiser to bring the World Pickleball Championship to Malaysia, as the country had great potential in the sport.
Twentytwo13 reached out to WPC Pickleball Malaysia director, Chuan Yee Kuan, who referred the writer to the company’s managing director, Caryn Yap.
Yap claimed it was WPC Malaysia that chose to stop working with Papi due to what she alleged were “Jan’s unethical deeds”.
“To be clear, we did not sign a sponsorship deal with the online gambling platform, but with a sports media company which, unknown to us, was affiliated with it. It was a mistake on our part,” said Yap.
“We were contacted by the Sports Commissioner’s Office and issued a warning, as this was our first offence.”
On the future of the World Pickleball Championship series, Yap said: “The series is over. We had second thoughts about continuing as we were not happy with Jan. I have prepared a document detailing his alleged ‘unethical deeds’ and am withholding payment until the issues are resolved.”
Yap said WPC Malaysia would now work with the Association of Pickleball Players.
These troubles come a week after Twentytwo13 reported that the SCO had warned the Malaysian Pickleball Association to address governance issues or face deregistration. The SCO has also given the national body until Jan 14, 2026 to hold fresh elections for its office bearers.
The national body had sanctioned the WPC Malaysia Series but had no say in its sponsorship deals.
