PPA Tour Asia event in Vietnam sets new pro pickleball attendance record
This weekend’s PPA Tour Asia Vietnam Cup — held at the Tien Son Sports Arena in Da Nang — officially set a Guinness World Record for the most people to attend a pickleball event, with 7,906 fans attending Saturday’s matches.
The previous record for the largest attendance at a pickleball event was 5,522.
“This achievement reflects the strong coordination between local authorities, organizers, sponsors, athletes and especially the fans,” Da Nang Pickleball Federation president Tran Phuoc Son told a local news outlet.
Several U.S.-based players were competing in the event, including Ben Johns, Dekel Bar, Tyson McGuffin, Eric Oncins, Zane Navratil, Jonathan Truong, Kaitlyn Christian, Chao Yi Wang, Alix Truong, Liz Truluck and Hannah Blatt. Many of the same players also competed in last week’s PPA Tour Asia Malaysia Cup.
The two-week stretch in Asia further proved that countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, China and India could be the site of pickleball’s next boom.
“Keep me in Asia, baby! Keep me right here in Vietnam!” McGuffin said to the crowd after Saturday’s matches. “The last two weeks has been a dream come true for me. Thank you for coming out and bringing the energy. I know Eric and I felt it. You guys are awesome, and we can’t wait to come back here next year.”
Medal winners from the weekend:
Men’s doubles
Gold: McGuffin/Oncins
Silver: Navratil/Armaan Bhatia
Bronze: Johns/Bar
Women’s doubles
Gold: Christian/Wang
Silver: Alix Truong/Ting Chieh Wei
Bronze: Nicola Schoeman/Danni-Elle Townsend
Mixed doubles
Gold: Jonathan Truong/Alix Truong
Silver: McGuffin/Wang
Bronze: Navratil/Townsend
Men’s singles
Gold: Phuc Huynh
Silver: Hien Truong
Bronze: Hoang Nam Ly
Women’s singles
Gold: Sahra Dennehy
Silver: Liz Truluck
Bronze: Roos van Reek
