ベトナムのプロ、クアン・ズオン（Quang Duong、2006年7月生・20歳）が、自身が開発に関わるパドル『Wika QD』の第2世代を発表した。8月23日午前7時、ハノイ・タイ湖畔のUS Tay Ho Pickleball Courtで、ベトナムのブランドWika Pickleballと組んでの披露となった。テニスのジュニアからピックルボールに転じ、DUPRの評価でアジア男子の首位に立つ選手が、輸入ブランドを選ばずに自国メーカーと組んで用具を作り続けている。選手とメーカーが開発を直結させるこのかたちは、国産メーカーが成長するプロセスを示す参考として、日本のプレーヤーにも重要な事例だ。
A 20-year-old from tennis holds his own brand at the top of Asia
Quang Duong built a record in junior tennis before switching sports, and in pickleball he is world No. 1 in doubles and top among Asian men in the DUPR ratings. His game is described as fast, aggressive and precise, and that style is the starting point for the equipment. A player who knows where his own game breaks things and where it bogs down puts those complaints into the design. The first generation, the QD Air and QD Fire, came out of that thinking, launching in February 2026 as a full set that included a 48-hole match ball.
More players worldwide have a paddle carrying their own name at 20. Franklin in the United States handed 20-year-old Patrikina signature paddlein the same vein, and a young star's name has itself become a selling point. With Quang Duong, though, he is not merely lending his name but sitting at the center of development, and the partner he works with is a local Vietnamese maker.
From the full-foam-core QD Air, V2 rebuilds how the core is put together
The first generation was two different paddles. The QD Air, built by Wika with a full foam core, came in 14 mm and 16 mm versions: the thinner one for speed, the thicker one for control. The QD Fire paired a sixth-generation carbon face with a power-oriented core, a paddle tuned for hitting through to win points. Rather than one paddle covering everything, the design assumed from the start that you switch between them depending on the situation.
V2 keeps that foundation but rebuilds the core structure itself. It sends the ball back faster in quick exchanges, widens the margin on off-center contact, and damps the vibration that reaches the hand. The face texture has been reworked for more repeatable spin, and the frame gains rigidity without slowing the swing. Rather than refreshing the spec numbers, V2 picks out the places that decide fast exchanges at the kitchen line and works on those.
How much core material decides matches came into sharp focus over the past two years. Amid the move from honeycomb to foam core andthe change in which paddles lead the market, Wika leaned toward foam cores from the start. Rather than chasing last year's models from import brands, they build their own paddle with current technology, and carrying that stance into a second generation with V2 is no small thing.
A Vietnamese brand pushes onto shelves lined with Western names, led by a player
In pickleball equipment, North American brands lead on volume and capital, and Asian newcomers keep entering behind them. Against rivals ahead on certification and distribution, what an Asian brand can use as a weapon is pairing directly with a local star and running one unbroken line from development to the sales floor. Wika put Quang Duong at the center of development and held the launch on the player's home courts in Hanoi. The brand's story and the player's story overlap in the same place.
Underneath this lies how far Vietnamese players have come in competition.Vietnam took PPA Asia gold on home soil in Ho Chi Minh City, and as that shows, the player pool is deepening; the more results come at home, the more persuasive a home brand becomes. Equipment sells when players win with it. Quang Duong staying No. 1 in Asia is Wika's best advertisement.
What Japanese players can take from the way V2 was designed
Whether V2 itself can be bought in Japan was not settled at launch. Still, there is a view Japanese players can take from how this paddle was built. One is not treating a paddle as a single do-everything model. Splitting the character by thickness, as QD Air does, and switching paddles by situation also means deciding in advance which weakness in your game the equipment should cover. It translates into choosing core response when pace pushes you back, or a wider sweet spot when you miss too often.
The other is the distance between player and brand. The developer is an actual top player, and his wins and losses tie straight to trust in the equipment; that transparency tells a buyer far more than a spec sheet. As domestic makers keep entering in Japan too, the habit of checking who built a paddle and for what kind of play will matter more as player-led models like V2 multiply.
- Brand / model: Wika Pickleball, Wika QD V2 series
- Launch: August 23, 2026, 7:00 a.m., US Tay Ho Pickleball Court (Hanoi)
- Lead developer: Quang Duong (born July 2006, DUPR No. 1 in Asia, men's)
- First generation: the all-foam-core QD Air (14/16mm), the carbon-faced QD Fire, and a 48-hole ball (February 2026)
- What V2 changes: rebuilt core structure, larger sweet spot, vibration damping, face texture, frame rigidity
What to check next
発表当時、価格と日本での取り扱いは公表されていない。国内での入手を狙うなら、Wikaの正規流通と、V2が米国など主要地域の認証を取るかどうかを追うのが実際的だ。芯の作り直しがキッチンライン際の速い打ち合いでどれだけ効くかは、実打とレビューが出そろってからでないと分からない。テニスから来た20歳が、自国のメーカーと二代目まで作り込んだ——この事実自体が、アジアのピックルボールが用具を『使う側』から『作る側』へ回り始めた一場面だ。
