Pro player Quang Duong fined $50K, suspended by PPA Tour and MLP for violating contract
Last Edited
May 29 2025
Category
News
Pro player Quang Duong has been fined $50,000 and suspended for one PPA Tour event and four Major League Pickleball matches after participating in an event in Vietnam last weekend that was not sanctioned by the PPA Tour.
The United Pickleball Association (the governing body of the PPA Tour and MLP) announced the punishment Wednesday night, just one day ahead of MLP Phoenix, which starts Thursday evening.
Most players under UPA contract — including Duong — are not allowed to participate in non-PPA Tour events without prior approval from the UPA.
MLP implications
The Los Angeles Mad Drops (Duong's MLP team) will play six matches this weekend at MLP Phoenix. He'll be sidelined for the first four of those, and the team has picked up on-site replacement player Spencer Smith. The team's usual bench player, Wes Burrows, apparently did not travel with the team this week.
According to MLP rules, anytime a team uses an on-site sub instead of their own bench player, they will start down 0-1 in any game the on-site sub plays in.
Duong will presumably return for the team's final two matches of MLP Phoenix, which are against the Dallas Flash and Atlanta Bouncers on Sunday.
It's a big blow for the Mad Drops, who were without their other men's starter, Hunter Johnson, at the first event of the season in Orlando because of a finger injury. They are 1-2 and 13th in the point standings currently.
PPA Tour implications
Duong will also miss the Orange County Cup in June, which as a "Cup" offers 1,500 points to the winner in each division and is one of the bigger tournaments of the year.
He was slated to play with Jade Kawamoto and Jay Devilliers in that tournament. Those players will now be forced to look for other partners.
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