Zane Navratil Takes Pickleball Global: Inside the PPA Tour's Historic Malaysia Stop

The veteran pro felt the love in Malaysia. Now, he's signed a contract extension with the UPA to play 10 international events every year for the next three years.

Not too long ago, Zane Navratil flew halfway around the world, stepped onto a professional pickleball court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and reminded everyone why the sport's international expansion isn't just hype; it's the real deal.

In a new video posted to his YouTube channel, the veteran pro documents his journey to Malaysia for one of the PPA Tour's marquee international stops, capturing everything from the grueling 17-hour flight from Dallas to Hong Kong to the absolute chaos of meet-and-greets where he signed over 100 paddles in 10 minutes.

What emerges is a portrait of pickleball's explosive growth beyond American borders and the kind of celebrity status the sport's top players are starting to command.

100 paddles, 100 photos

Navratil and his crew didn't just show up to play matches. They experienced Malaysia like tourists first, hitting up Batu Caves, the Monkey God Temple, and Chinatown with a local guide. They tried street food, got facials (with hilariously awkward language barriers), and even went go-karting with a view of the Petronas Towers.

But the real story isn't the sightseeing. It's what happened when pickleball actually arrived.

The exhibition match on Wednesday night, before the tournament even officially started, drew hordes of people.

The venue was packed.
People were going wild for mini-games where players had to hit balls into boxes.
When Navratil finished and tried to leave, he told his security team to back off because he wanted to keep signing autographs and taking pictures.

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A post shared by Zane Navratil (@zanenavratilpickleball)

Within 10 minutes, he'd signed over 100 paddles and taken 100-plus photos.

The PPA Tour Asia team's attention to detail was, by Navratil's account, unmatched.

They provided security, organized photo shoots across the city, and created an experience that felt bigger than a typical American tournament.

More than a Pickleball Tournament

Navratil's actual performance at the Malaysia Cup was mixed. He and his mixed doubles partner lost their first match, which he admits frustrated him. But he and Armnann Bhatia won their men's doubles match and eventually took bronze on Sunday.

"It's been a little bit of a down year for me," Navratil says, so grabbing his first medal of 2025 in Malaysia felt significant.

The bronze medal match was followed by another meet-and-greet where he estimates he took around 500 pictures. The line stretched for over an hour.

What's worth noting here is that Navratil didn't just show up, play, and leave.

He engaged with the community.
He educated people who didn't know what pickleball was.
He signed paddles from sponsors like ProXR and collected gear from the PPA Asia store.

These details matter because they show how professional pickleball players are becoming ambassadors for the sport in ways that go beyond just winning matches.

Pro Pickleball's International Movement

Navratil signed a contract extension with the UPA to play 10 international events every year for the next three years. So his trip wasn't just a one-off trip. It sparked a commitment to building pickleball globally.

Malaysia was the proof of concept. The crowds showed up. The excitement was real. The infrastructure worked. And now there's a video coming about his trip to Vietnam where Navratil says they played in front of "the world's largest crowd" and pulled off a "pretty cool upset."

The sport that started in a backyard in Washington state in 1965 is now drawing international crowds and commanding the kind of attention usually reserved for far more established sports.

Navratil's journey to Malaysia seems to capture that inflection point perfectly.