Pickleball Scoring

Malaeb, a sports booking app facilitating connections between sports enthusiasts and facilities, identified an opportunity to enhance user engagement within the growing community of pickleball players. The goal was to introduce a feature that streamlined scoring for pickleball matches and provided a platform for organizing and participating in tournaments.

User Research

Understanding the unique needs of pickleball players was critical. Surveys, interviews, and competitive analysis were conducted to identify pain points in current scoring methods and to gauge the level of interest in organized tournaments among Malaeb users.

Ideation

Design

Collaborative brainstorming sessions involving UX designers, product managers, and pickleball enthusiasts led to the conceptualization of a comprehensive scoring and tournaments feature. The team aimed to create an inclusive solution catering to both casual players and those interested in competitive play.

Initial wireframes were sketched to outline the core elements of the new feature. This included a user-friendly interface for scoring matches, an intuitive tournament creation process, and clear navigation for users to explore and participate.

Interactive prototypes were developed using tools like Figma to simulate the user experience. This allowed for early testing and refinement before the feature was integrated into the live app.

Usability Testing

Preliminary testing involved tournament organizers and players. Valuable insights were gathered on the clarity of the scoring interface, the ease of tournament setup, and overall user satisfaction. Feedback was crucial for refining the feature before its official launch.

Implementation

Results

Feature Implementation: The Pickleball Scoring and Tournaments feature was seamlessly integrated into the Malaeb app. Users gained access to a dedicated section for pickleball activities, where they could score matches in real-time, view historical data, and participate in or organize tournaments.

The introduction of the Pickleball Scoring and Tournaments feature significantly boosted engagement among pickleball enthusiasts on the Malaeb platform. We organized the first ever Bahraini pickleball tournament through it!