Jakarta. Once a niche tennis community born in Bali, Liga.Tennis is now positioning itself at the center of Indonesia’s fast-growing racket-sports movement. Founded by Dmitry Shcherbakov, the brand is no longer just about tennis, it’s about creating a sustainable, high-quality ecosystem that combines tennis, padel, and pickleball under one roof.

For Shcherbakov, the rise of padel isn’t random. It’s the result of social behavior, accessibility, and smart economics converging at the right time. Yet, as he told Jakarta Globe, the boom also brings future risks, ones Liga.Tennis is already preparing to navigate.

Why Padel Fits Indonesia’s Lifestyle

Padel’s rise has been rapid but not universal. “People say padel is booming everywhere. Not true,” Dmitry said. “There’s no padel in Vietnam, for example, but pickleball is crazy there.” In Indonesia, however, padel’s formula fits perfectly: it’s social, easier to learn than tennis, and less physically demanding.

“Padel is absolutely fit to Indonesia; accessible, social, and not hard,” Dmitry said. “You can start playing in a week, and people love to gather here. Indonesians are very social people.”

While tennis remains the “king of racket sports,” padel’s growth has brought in a new audience, not just tennis converts, but people from entirely different backgrounds. Dmitry said many new players come from fitness communities like CrossFit or general gym-goers. “It’s a completely new market, a completely new community,” he explained. “A lot of them never played any racket sport before.”

The rise of racket sports in Indonesia also mirrors a larger cultural shift toward wellness. “My generation used to go to bars,” Dmitry said with a laugh. “Now young people go to the gym or play racket sports. They don’t even drink.”

He believes that’s a good thing for the country. “The wellness industry is booming, and racket sports are very special, fun, social, and great for health. It keeps people active and happy. The younger generation will be healthier and more productive. That means a better country.”

Even with padel’s rising popularity, tennis remains strong. Courts in Jakarta are still packed, and many players who enjoy both sports see padel as a complement, not a replacement. As Dmitry put it, “Padel is growing fast, but tennis is timeless.”

Building a Chain, Not Just a Club

As more padel courts pop up across Indonesia, Dmitry warns that oversupply and fragmentation could become major challenges. “Now it feels like everyone is building a padel club in Bali, Jakarta, even Solo,” he said. “Solo’s not even a big city, but five new clubs are under construction there.”

He’s not pessimistic, just realistic. “There are no unified standards, no shared mission. Many investors just see padel as a quick trend,” Dmitry said. “They build because it looks easy. But what happens when there are too many? Prices drop, and quality drops too.”

Liga.Tennis plans to stand apart by becoming what he calls “the iPhone or Mercedes” of racket sports in Indonesia; premium, consistent, and mission-driven. “We’ll never race to the bottom,” Dmitry said. “We’ll keep quality high. You can buy cheaper options, but people still buy iPhones or Mercedes for the experience. That’s what we want Liga.Tennis to be.”

The brand is building toward that goal through standard operating procedures (SOPs), a strong internal system, and its own “Pancasila”. Five core values: discipline and systems, taking bold action, results on time, customer-first hospitality, and integrity.

“We treat it like aviation,” Dmitry explained. “Everything has to be by SOP, digitalized, consistent. Whether it’s in Bali, Malang, or Manado, it should feel the same.”

Liga.Tennis also works closely with the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) to host tournaments and provide free training for junior players. The brand has become an official ATP training base, attracting professionals like former world No. 14 Aslan Karatsev and Indonesia’s rising stars Aldila Sutjiadi and Janice Tjen, who recently won doubles and singles titles in one day.

Looking ahead, Dmitry envisions Liga.Tennis not only as a brand, but as a network operator. The company is offering a management model where independent club owners can lease their venues for Liga to operate under its brand and standards, similar to how airlines lease planes to carriers.

“Instead of simply sharing revenue, you, as the club owner, rent the club to us. We then pay you an agreed fixed rental fee, on which you only pay a low, fixed rental tax,” he said. “It’s like AirAsia, but for racket sports.”

For Shcherbakov, the long game is clear. To create a legacy chain that grows the sport sustainably across Indonesia. “The mission is to inspire people to be better through racket sports,” he said. “It changed my life completely. It can change anyone’s life.”

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