New Delhi: Shubham Malhotra is a lawyer by profession and a pickleball enthusiast by choice, based in India’s national capital, New Delhi. Although he does not practice law, he is a creative individual passionate about innovation and improving the legal profession.

Combining his love for pickleball with his professional background, Malhotra - the founder of LawStrings Management, a business development consultancy for the global legal industry offering services such as marketing, public relations, and branding - has launched India’s first-ever exclusive pickleball league for lawyers, marking a significant boost to the sport’s soaring popularity in India.

The inaugural LawStrings Pickleball Premier League – Lawyer’s Edition will be held over two days, May 24–25, at the Rackonnect Exclusive Padel Pickle Park (REPPP), Farm No. 1, Mehrauli, South Delhi.

“I am a lawyer myself and have been in the industry for almost 8–9 years now. But I always wanted to start something new, because the legal industry is largely about networking,” Malhotra told Pickleball Now.

“The idea of the league came from my long-standing love for sports. I wanted to create something where lawyers could engage in a fun activity that not only benefits them physically but also provides an opportunity to network with one another,” he added.

Building on this vision, the inaugural league will feature a total of eight teams owned by prominent legal professionals. Each franchise will consist of six players - three male and three female - with teams expected to include a healthy mix of seasoned lawyers and emerging legal talent. The matches will be played in a team format across five categories: mixed doubles, women’s doubles, men’s doubles, men’s singles, and women’s singles.

However, Malhotra was initially sceptical about the prospects of turning his idea into reality. It was Sacchin Puri, the Vice-President of the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA), who backed his vision.

“Initially, we were a bit sceptical because the legal community itself is quite niche. Apparently, I was having a chat with Senior Advocate president Sacchin Puri, who supported my idea and found it very exciting,” said Malhotra.

“Something like this had never been done for the legal community before. So, after conceptualising everything, we came up with the idea of having eight teams.”

The league is designed to merge law and leisure through pickleball, the fastest-growing racquet sport in India.

The teams - Amicus Aces, Pickle Pleaders, Smash Squad, Sood’s Smashers, Net-workers, Supreme Strikers, Legal Pickle and Lex Saviours - will be divided into two groups of four, with the group winners competing for the Gold Cup. The remaining teams will have a chance to contend for the Silver Cup.

“We are planning a Gold Cup for the ultimate winners, and a separate category for the Silver Cup,” explained Malhotra.

“The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals for the Gold Cup. As for the Silver Cup, we are still in the process of finalising the format. The idea is to make the tournament more engaging and to give everyone more opportunities, especially since this is a new sport for many. So, we will also award the best male and female players to boost enthusiasm.”

The league has received a strong response from the Indian legal community since the registration process began.

“A lot of lawyers have registered for this. In fact, the number of players registering for each team is almost three to four times the original requirement of six players,” said Malhotra.

“Each team will have an owner, team coordinator, manager, or captain. Overall, more than 60 lawyers are participating, while 48 players will actually compete on the court. The tournament is open exclusively to lawyers,” he emphasised.

But why pickleball over other sports? Malhotra said he wanted to leverage his passion for the sport to benefit the country’s legal community. “The reason is that I have been thoroughly enjoying this sport. I have also played in a few amateur pickleball tournaments where I won, which motivated me even more. So, I thought, why not try this for the legal community? That was how the idea was born,” he said.

“This sport has a big advantage - people of all ages can play it," said Malhotra. "The game is beautifully designed from that perspective, which is a strong reason we chose pickleball over other sports. It is easier compared to other racquet sports and easy to adapt to, even for those who have never played sports before. Beginners can pick it up quickly. Of course, there are many technicalities at the advanced level, but for beginners, it is much simpler to play."

“At the same time, pickleball remains a niche sport, unlike badminton. Many players are relatively new, which creates a unique balance in the competition,” observed Malhotra.

With this brand-new league, which promises to become a major attraction on India’s pickleball map, the sport is set to take a giant leap.

Amicus Aces – Senior Advocate Guru Krishna Kumar

Pickle Pleaders – Senior Advocate Dr. S. Muralidhar

Smash Squad – Senior Advocate Sonia Mathur

Sood’s Smashers – Senior Advocate Vivek Sood

Net-workers – Senior Advocate Haripriya Padmanabhan

Supreme Strikers – Senior Advocate Rupesh Kumar

Legal Pickle – Advocate Shrey Sharawat

Lex Saviours - Praveen Sharma