World doubles and mixed doubles second-ranked pickleball star Anna Bright was immediately blown away by a massive wave of local support after touching down for a jam-packed two-day Manila visit.
Fresh off capturing the Women’s Doubles championship at the Hong Kong Slam, the 43-time Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour titlist was completely floored by the warmth of the Filipino fans during her Tuesday meet-and-greet at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.
Bright quickly broke the ice and sent the roaring crowd into a frenzy by shouting, “Mabuhay! Salamat Manila! Salamat Pilipinas!”.
Fully embracing her host country’s culture, the American sports icon joyfully put on a traditional pink Filipiniana bolero and happily shared that she had already tried street food delicacies like isaw and sisig.
“The Filipino pickleball community here has been so, so, so incredible,” Bright noted. “I knew how much everyone loved pickleball here, but the warm welcome, the culture, the desire to kind of share your culture with me… I’m so excited to be here in front of everyone today”.
When asked about the rapid explosion of the sport across the region, Bright was quick to acknowledge its massive, untapped potential.
“As a spectator sport, pickleball is going to grow so fast in Asia. I think it can even grow faster than the United States where we have other sports that are already very big, very established,” the PPA standout explained. “But here you have courts in malls, and there’s tons of people watching”.
Beyond the fanfare, Bright also took the time to impart a powerful lesson on mental toughness to young Filipina athletes who might be nervous about taking risks on the court.
“Failing is part of the process, failing, losing, these are all normal parts of life, but it doesn’t have to mean that you’re not going to get back up,” Bright powerfully advised.
Her historic visit perfectly sets the stage for the country to officially host the prestigious PPA Asia Tour in 2027, featuring the PPA 125 and the PPA 500 – Manila Open at the upcoming Helios SPARC facility in Pasig City.
For sports executive and former Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Dickie Bachmann, who now serves as the Head of Operations of Kosmas Athletic Ventures Corporation (KAVC), having a global icon like Bright in Manila is a monumental boost in introducing these top-tier international tournaments to the local community.
“First of all, we want to thank Anna Bright for coming over, for helping us promote Helios first, and then hopefully also promoting the PPA 125 and 500,” Bachmann noted. “We needed her to actually introduce to everyone here the PPA 125 and the 500”.
Bachmann also highlighted the massive impact of finally bringing world-class pickleball action straight to the Philippines so fans no longer have to look elsewhere.
“For the people here to experience the PPA here… kasi andaming mga Pilipino that will go to Vietnam, Malaysia, just to play in the PPA,” he pointed out. “And now they don’t have to fly over, it’s here, we’re bringing it here for them”.