7月9日から12日にかけてホーチミンで開かれた大陸選手権「AOPC 2026 – Fitgon Cup」で、ベトナムのホアン・ナム・リーが男子シングルスとミックスダブルスを制し、地元開催で2冠を手にした。世界の主要タイトルを欧米勢が握ってきたこの競技で、アジアの開催地がアジアの選手を頂点に押し上げた一戦になった。日本のピックルボール界にとっても他人事ではない。隣国が短期間で自前の王者を育て始めた事実は、8月30日から9月6日にダナンで開かれる世界大会の前哨戦として読む価値がある。
What happened in Ho Chi Minh City
The tournament was run by the Asia Pickleball Federation. In the men's singles final Ly faced fellow Vietnamese player Phuc Huynh, dropped the first game 5-11, then took the second 11-0 and the third 11-5 to come from behind. Shutting his opponent out in the middle game was the turning point that brought the home crowd to its feet.
Ly also took gold in mixed doubles with Rose van Leek of the Netherlands. In the men's doubles final, though, he lost 4-11, 6-11 to the pair of Quang Duong and Harsh Mehta, falling one title short of a treble. That the home star did not sweep every event says something about how deep the field was.
What should not be missed is that the men's singles final was an all-Vietnamese affair. Two players from the same country contesting the title shows that Ly is not a lone outlier, and that a competitive layer is growing behind him. A country that can keep a final within its own borders tells you more about a sport's maturity than one prodigy does.
What it means for Vietnam to have a champion of its own
Ly's double is symbolic because he became the first Vietnamese player to top the continental rankings. He reached 6,267 points in the Asia standings of DUPR, the global rating system, putting his name at the top of the region. A system in which a win in Hanoi is measured on the same scale as a win in Los Angeles moves in step with Vietnam's domestic registrations, which rose 184% in 2025.How DUPR laid a global standard over Vietnam, traced in full, shows that this title is not a one-off feat but rests on an accumulation of system-building and player numbers.
The other lead role, van Leek's treble, deserves attention too. She won women's singles, women's doubles with Vivian Glozman, and mixed with Ly. A Dutch player carrying three titles home from Vietnamese soil shows the event has become a crossing point for talent from across borders. A home champion and a visiting contender sharing the same podium is where Asia's championship stands today.
Two years of growth in numbers
The weight of this event shows in how its scale has changed. Here is the comparison with the 2024 edition, held in the same city.
| Item | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Players | More than 400 | More than 1,000 |
| Participating countries | More than 20 countries | From around the world |
That works out to the field more than doubling in two years. As a gauge of how fast a sport takes root, the growth in unknown entrants tracks reality better than prize money or the number of famous names. The figure of 1,000 confirms that this is not just top players travelling, but a thick layer beneath them.
What Japanese stakeholders should take away
Seen from Japan, Vietnam is moving faster. While Japan has begun signing pro contracts and building permanent courts, Vietnam has spread a global rating system across its player base and pushed its own ace to the top of the continent. The order is close to reversed. Japan started with facilities and professionalization; Vietnam started with a shared yardstick and a full calendar. Neither is the single right answer, but how quickly a country lays the foundation for comparing players internationally will decide how far its national squad can rise.
On the blueprint for player development, Vietnam also runsa league that carries beginners to a national final in nine months. A structure that lifts players to the next stage quickly is what produces champions like Ly. For junior and amateur development in Japan, the conditions next door may be a closer reference than those in the United States or Europe.
A warm-up for the Da Nang world championships
These results also set up the world championships in Da Nang from August 30 to September 6. The first edition held in Asia is expected to draw more than 80 countries and around 4,000 participants, and the team event will put numbers on where India, Vietnam and Japan stand relative to one another for the first time. Harsh Mehta, who beat Ly's pair in men's doubles, will captain India's pro division there.India going for gold with Harsh as captainshows that the AOPC final was itself a preview of Da Nang. The faces that met in Ho Chi Minh City will face off again six weeks later, this time carrying their countries.
Summary
AOPC 2026 will be recorded as the tournament where Asian players took the lead role at an Asian host city. That Vietnam reached the top with all three pieces in place, a system, player numbers and an ace, gives Japan a concrete benchmark as it thinks about strengthening its national team. The first step is to look coolly at where Japan sits in the Da Nang team event. Refusing to file a neighbor's result under 'a faraway country' and instead copying it into development and international rating design is this summer's homework.
Sources
- Pickleball News Asia「Hometown Hero Hoang Nam Ly Nets Double Gold at AOPC 2026 as Roos van Reek Bags Triple Crown」
- Pickle Times, 'A win in Hanoi now worth the same as one in LA: the global standard DUPR is laying in Vietnam'
- Pickle Times, 'India goes for gold with captain Harsh, and Japan gets measured at the Da Nang World Cup'
