Pickleball is Popping Off in Vietnam
Last Edited
Jul 03 2024
Category
News
Pickleball may still be the fastest-growing sport in North America, but calling it that overshadows how significant its growth is in other areas of the world - especially in Asia.
Over 10,000 courts and 100 million players are expected in China over the next five years.
But there's another Asian nation that's taking pickleball infrastructure seriously.
"Vietnam has the most pickleball dedicated centers and players in Asia," says pickleball pro Quang Duong in a recent Instagram post.
The 18-year-old rising pickleball star explains he visited a few months ago and saw first hand how popular the sport has become.
Unsurprisingly, he says, its growth rate has exceeded that of tennis, just as it has in the United States.
"Many pickleball tournaments running weekly thru out the country. Their system is like 1.0-2.0 lower rating than DUPR, but don't be fool[ed] by it. A 3.5 Vietnamese player is like a 5.0 equivalent in DUPR."
In the three years since pickleball was reportedly first introduced in Vietnam, it seems to have skyrocketed in popularity.
“This sport is very suitable to Vietnamese people because they are fast and they are quick learners,” Vincent Nguyen, who manages courts at Câu lạc bộ Pickleball, told Dan Fellner for his travel blog.
Badminton is cited as the second-most popular sport in Vietnam, so it comes as no surprise that pickleball has seen success since its inception in the country.
Pickleball in Vietnam: More Signs of Growth
We dug into the growth of pickleball in Vietnam and found some impressive facts:
- In Ho Chi Minh City alone, there are reportedly "several dozen" courts with "more being added continually." - one fan told us there's a new court added every week.
- Around 500 athletes recently competed at the VTV Times Pickleball tournament in Hà Nội last month.
- Vietnam's Truong Quang Vu won gold in the men’s 35+ singles division at the 2023 World Pickleball Championship in Bali.
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