Bollywood movie mogul Karan Johar, tennis legend Sania Mirza champion Pickleball Open 2025 in Dubai, calls it "pop-cultural phenomenon"

Dubai: Leave it to Bollywood movie mogul Karan Johar to turn a sports event into a full-blown pop-culture moment.

The filmmaker, unapologetically flamboyant and always quotable, joined tennis icon Sania Mirza in Dubai on May 6 to throw their weight behind the Pickleball Open 2025, taking place from May 8 to 11.

And he didn’t hold back. "Pickleball is beyond sport. It's pop culture. It's pop-cultural phenomenon," he declared at a press conference.

For someone who once thought sports weren’t for him, Karan was surprisingly candid.

“The one aspect of my life and personality that has never been associated with anything close to sport has been the truth of my life and my interest in sport,” he admitted. “Because of my own physicality, my own shortcomings, my own limitations, I didn’t veer my life towards sport.” But discovering football—and now pickleball—changed that.

“It made me realise that at any age and stage, you will be relevant in sport. And relevance, darling, is everything.”

When Gulf News asked him on teaching his twins to be graceful losers in life and sports, Karan said he leads by example. Even if his movie doesn't do well, he doesn't take the failure as if it's the end of the road.

“They do martial arts, and even when they don’t win, I don’t give them grief about it. I lead by example,” he said, adding that building resilience through sport is something he now truly values.

Meanwhile, Sania Mirza brought her trademark charisma and perspective as a former athlete. “As an ex-athlete—it still hurts to say ex, trust me—I’m passionate about growing sport globally,” she said. “Sport builds community, teaches teamwork, and helps people deal with both victory and defeat.”

She’s seen interest in pickleball skyrocket over the past 8-10 months. “People keep asking me, ‘Where can we play more pickleball?’ The vibe has really reached Dubai,” she said.

“I’m so proud to be part of this revolution.”

She gave a shoutout to Karan for flying in just for the event, and praised her partners for making it all happen.

“Now is the time to grow. Let’s make pickleball the fastest-growing sport not just globally, but here in Dubai.”

With this partnership, Johar and Mirza join the ranks of global icons like LeBron James and Naomi Osaka, who’ve already invested in pickleball’s soaring rise.

"Pickleball is the ultimate party central these days and I being late to any party," said Johar with a laugh on his new business union.

Read our full interview with Sania Mirza in Gulf News soon.