A single defeat can spark a movement. 

For Shery Cu, that setback happened on a pickleball court, where a veteran of tennis, badminton, ping-pong and volleyball found herself soundly beaten by someone much older.

It wasn’t supposed to be a life-changing moment, but it became one.

That competitive fire pulled her deep into pickleball, a sport she only picked up in June 2024 but now carries with a mission far bigger than winning medals or settling scores.

“You become addicted. You think, ‘How can I lose? I can do this.’ But the person who beat me was much older. That’s where you get hooked,” Cu said during the previous episode of Off the Court, the weekly online sports show of DAILY TRIBUNE. 

“It’s easy to pick up. If you’re persistent, like me, who becomes addicted and plays a few days a week, it’s really fun.”

As president of the Philippine Pickleball Federation (PPF), the 48-year-old Cu is steering a rapidly growing community. She believes the sport can place the Philippines on the global map — not just as a breeding ground for elite players, but as a premier training and competition hub for international athletes.

“It is really the passion for pickleball and for the players. My motivation is wanting to put the Philippine pickleball community on the world stage,” Cu added.

That inclusivity has turned the sport into a family affair for Cu, the second of five siblings from a deeply athletic household. Her father was a ping-pong player, while her mother was a cheerleader.

Still, breaking into traditional racket sports wasn’t automatic. Cu recalled how one of her brothers, a tennis purist, initially scoffed at the sport — a common sentiment among tennis players. 

But the paddle eventually did the talking.

“One of my brothers is really into tennis. Usually, tennis players feel that pickleball is not a real sport because tennis is the real sport,” Cu said, smiling. 

“My brother told me, ‘let’s play singles,’ but he lost. Now, other tennis players play pickleball. My other brother plays recreationally, and my dad likes it, too.”

Guiding this explosive, wild growth is the PPF’s main challenge. Incorporated in 2023 by a group of badminton enthusiasts turned pickleball pioneers, the federation is moving from grassroots promotion to serious governance.

The warmth of the community was on full display during the 1st ArenaPlus-KaTribu Pickleball Tournament at The Dink Lab Elite in Kawit on 12 June.

“It was very memorable because it was Independence Day. The tournament was highly competitive but very friendly and warm. Even your competitors greeted you and asked how long you’ve been playing,” Cu said.

Now comes the hard part. The sport has exploded across the country, but rapid growth without structure breeds chaos.

“Right now, we really need people to get behind the federation so that our governance and structure can be formed, followed, implemented, and executed,” Cu said.

“What’s important is that we put structure in place so we can have national rankings and sanctioned tournaments that feed into the international federation.”

The PPF isn’t looking to monopolize the game, but rather to establish baseline standards that protect players and organizers alike. Unsanctioned tournaments popping up left and right have already led to complaints on social media, threatening the sport’s reputation.

“We’re not after control. What we’re after is the best experience for all our players,” Cu clarified, noting that the federation recently launched a national rankings and points system to track the country’s top performers.

“For now, since the rankings and points system have just been recently launched, the basis for the top players is those who have already won tournaments and those who usually come out as winners when they compete.”

This structure will face its biggest litmus test when the country hosts its first major international pickleball competitions, the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Asia 125 this November and the PPA Asia 500 Manila Open in 2027 together with the Philippine Sports Commission. While the venue and registration details will be rolled out soon via pickleball.ph, Cu is confident that testing local talent against foreign styles will elevate the local game.

“It’s really good to experience competing against international players because their style of play is different,” Cu said.

“You will really experience it and level up after the tournament.”

For Cu, a casual loss ignited a personal obsession. 

Today, that obsession has morphed into building a legitimate vehicle for the next generation of Filipino athletes.