Though not a mainstream sport, pickleball is making a racket among Gen Y and Z Chinese youth due to its Xiaohongshu-friendly urban core outfits and low-commitment, low-impact nature. However, it could explode in popularity and even become an Olympic sport, creating plenty of growth opportunities.
Anaïs Bournonville is the co-founder and president of Reverse Group, a creative marketing agency that seeks to build a meaningful ecosystem and trustworthy communication for brands and individuals looking to expand in China. In 2022, she was selected as one of the Top 10 Empowering Women Leaders by Industry Era. She has contributed insights to Vogue Business, Luxus Plus, Jing Daily, and more.
Yaxi Pintado Xu is a Spanish transplant to Shanghai who, as an account manager, has helped companies open and develop new markets around the world. He fostered a passion for sports marketing while playing college tennis in the US and has documented the growth of pickleball across China.
Alison Bringé is the Chief Marketing Officer of Launchmetrics, the leading Brand Performance Cloud in fashion, lifestyle and beauty. Previously, she was the director of marketing and communications at IMG Fashion, where she was responsible for the digitalisation of New York Fashion Week. Alison has also worked as an adjunct professor at Parsons The New School.
Evan E. Lambert is a journalist, travel writer, essayist, and short fiction writer with bylines at Thought Catalog, Business Insider, Mic, People, Queerty, BuzzFeed, Going, The Discoverer, and many more. You can check out his other work at https://evanlambert.journoportfolio.com/.