Tennis academy to stop pickleball activities at Tanglin Road due to 'noise' & usage approval

A pickleball court in Singapore had to cease all pickleball activities after it received a directive from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

It cited "noise disamenities" and "pickleball is not an approved use", which meant Ignite Academy Tennis and Pickleball had to stop all pickleball activities by Sep. 21, 2025.

Ignite Academy, established in 2010, has three tennis courts located at 356 Tanglin Road. In late 2024, it then introduced pickleball to the academy and eventually converted the courts to house eight pickleball courts.

According to the official announcement by the academy, their sub-tenancy agreement included both tennis and pickleball.

However, the master tenancy agreement between SLA and the master tenant only stated tennis, which Ignite Academy had no insight into.

"Steps have been taken by the master tenant to address this issue. Ignite has also proposed to put in place some operational safeguard," the academy added.

However, these steps will need to be reviewed and approved by SLA, which Ignite says could take more than a month, and approval is not guaranteed.

"We are truly sorry for this unfortunate disruption. We know how much pickleball at Ignite means to many of you. We are just as shocked and disappointed as you are, but let's remain hopeful for a favourable outcome."

A distance away

Speaking to Mothership, Jaime Wong, head coach and co-founder of Ignite Academy, shared that Ignite Academy had previously received a noise complaint directly from a nearby resident.

When they attempted to address the issue with the individual, they did not receive a response.

Soon after, they began receiving emails from multiple government agencies about noise complaints.

Wong said that all the complaints included a photo taken from the same angle as the first complaint from the resident, leading them to believe that the "multiple complaints" likely came from the same single source from the same HDB block.

According to Google Maps, the nearest HDB blocks to Ignite Academy are a distance away.

Pictures on Google also showed that the nearest residential blocks in the background are still quite a distance away from the courts.

Wong added that Ignite Academy sits at a "rare sweet spot" that is more than 150m away from HDB blocks to minimise noise impact, yet still close enough for residents in the neighbourhood and accessible for families and players across Singapore.

The academy is advised to use the National Environment Agency (NEA) framework for construction sites, where residents within a 150m radius are considered Noise Sensitive Receivers, as a benchmark.

Ignite Academy has since replied to all the agencies regarding the noise complaints, refuting some inaccurate allegations made by the complainant that were "exaggerated claims" about pickleball being played at certain times when it was not.

Games and activities run by Ignite Academy conclude at 10 pm.

They also included testimonials from other residents in the same block who said they were not affected by the noise.

While Ignite Academy offers coaching for tennis, Pickleball has a far larger community.

Wong says that pickleball players may sign up for introductory lessons and once they know the rules, they would book courts on their own or join the open plays.

The social open plays that Ignite Academy hosts can cater to about 50 players in one night.

"We don’t typically see these kinds of numbers in tennis because there are only three courts (compared to eight pickleball courts overlaid) and we have a cap on coach-student ratio for tennis lesson," Wong added.

Not approved use

In response to Mothership's queries, SLA stated that several factors are considered when using State properties for adaptive reuse.

SLA consults various agencies and takes into account factors such as the suitability of the properties for their intended use(s) and the compatibility of the proposed use(s) with surrounding developments.

In addition, care is taken to assess the impact of the intended use(s) on the surrounding environment, to minimise disamenities to nearby residents and members of the public.

Previously, on Aug. 25, SLA announced that, along with Sport Singapore, it had launched the State property at 179 Piccadilly in Seletar for multi-sports use, with plans for at least eight pickleball courts on-site.

SLA explained that Ignite Academy is a subtenant and started pickleball activities at the site even though the tenancy agreement for the site, which expires on Jun. 30, 2026, does not include pickleball activities as an allowable use.

"Hence, pickleball is not allowed on the site and SLA gave Ignite Academy some time to wind down the pickleball activities."

Shocked

While Pickleball is not an approved use of the space at this point, having to stop using the courts for pickleball still came a shock.

"We were shocked by the total ban," said Wong.

"At first, I questioned the proportionality, and later learned it came down to a technicality... While I respect SLA's position, I can't help but feel it's unfair for an entire community to be penalised for something beyond our control."

Wong shared that she was previously a competitive tennis player who represented Singapore.

However, she was struggling with chronic back pain due to degeneration of her spine, and she thought her coaching career was coming to an end.

Then one day in August 2024, she was introduced to pickleball.

She was initially very reluctant to pick it up, thinking it was a game for "people who cannot play tennis." To her surprise, it was actually fun.

The game's limited movements were exactly what her body needed, and the game gave her renewed joy and purpose.

She has even begun competing in local and international pickleball tournaments, where she recently won a gold medal in Malaysia.

"Pickleball has given me a second lease of life - what could have been the end of my coaching career has become a new beginning."

Wong's also said the sport has transformed the lives of others at Ignite.

She added that the knee-jerk reactions and/or blanket restrictions were not the way forward, calling them too extreme.

"What we need is engagement with stakeholders to work towards a curated compromise. It has to be give-and-take with players being considerate and neighbours being tolerant," she added.

"At Ignite, we’ve also done our part to put forward constructive proposals to the government on the things we are doing behind the scenes to alleviate the noise issue and how we believe the sport can grow responsibly in Singapore."

Top photos via Google Maps