PICKLEBALL star Anna Bright was blown away by the reception from Filipino fans upon his arrival for a jampacked two-day Manila visit.
Fresh off a women’s doubles championship at the Hong Kong Slam, the 43-time Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour titlist was touched by the warmth of the Filipino fans during her meet-and-greet at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall on Tuesday.
Bright quickly broke the ice by shouting, "Mabuhay! Salamat Manila! Salamat Pilipinas!" to the roaring crowd.
READ World No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters arrives in Manila
Fully embracing the local culture, the American star joyfully put on a traditional pink Filipiniana bolero and happily shared that she had already tried street food delicacies like isaw and sisig, much to the delight of the audience.
"The Filipino pickleball community has been so, so, so incredible," Bright, ranked No. 2 in the world doubles and mixed doubles rankings, said.
"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".
Asked about the phenomenal growth of the sport in the region, Bright was quick to acknowledge its massive potential.
"As a spectator sport, pickleball is going to grow so fast in Asia. I think it can even grow faster than in 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".
Bright also took the time to impart a powerful lesson on mental toughness to young Filipina athletes who might be nervous to take 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 told the crowd.
Her visit paves the way for the country's hosting of the prestigious PPA Asia Tour in 2027, featuring the PPA 125 and the PPA 500 – Manila Open at Helios SPARC facility - Asia's first tournament-grade pickleball center currently under construction at the Bridgetowne Destination Estate in Pasig City.
Former Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Dickie Bachmann, now the head of operations of Kosmas Athletic Ventures Corporation (KAVC), said 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 said. "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 to the Philippines.
"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".
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
