A place that used to be a badminton court had its lines redrawn and become a pickleball court. Nets go up on vacant lots, and courts appear in what used to be a parking lot. I have lived in Vietnam for three years, and the streetscape has changed this way only in the past year or two. Where the courts cluster in Ho Chi Minh City, and where they are good to play on. I want to put down how it looks from the inside.
Walk the streets and you can see how fast courts are multiplying
The claim that pickleball courts are multiplying in Vietnam is backed by numbers. Court facilities within Ho Chi Minh City have reached a scale of roughly 1,000 locations, and in Hanoi's Long Bien district a count at the end of 2024 exceeded 54 courts, with the real figure reported as likely already above 100. Online sales of pickleball equipment have swelled from about 15 billion dong (about 92 million yen) in January to March 2024 to about 357 billion dong (about 2.2 billion yen) in July to September 2025.
One reason it grows so fast is thatyou do not have to build from scratch. A pickleball court is 13.41m×6.10m, almost the same dimensions as a badminton doubles court. In other words, a badminton hall works as is once the lines are redrawn. Conversions from badminton halls, tennis courts and billiard halls are happening all over Ho Chi Minh City, and local papers report that one tennis court yields four pickleball courts, so revenue can rise two to three times. When open space comes up in a Vietnamese city now, a pickleball court is the first candidate on the list.
Thao Dien has the most courts. But more does not mean more comfortable
Court density in Ho Chi Minh City stands out around Thao Dien, where many Western residents live. This is also where I usually play, and by feel there are 20 to 30 courts in the neighborhood alone. With that many within walking distance, you can play somewhere as long as the timing works.
New courts and old courts
That said, having many courts and having good ones are separate things. New builds continue, but the older courts from the early wave can have uneven surfaces, or side and back space too tight to back up freely.The court count is beyond anything in Japan, yet the hit rate varies widely— that is how it feels after three years of playing here. Photos on booking sites do not tell you, so at a new place I try a short session once before deciding whether to keep going back.
So what about the city center, District 1
Visitors usually stay first in the District 1 center, and while the area is not without courts, it has nothing like Thao Dien's numbers. Some venues run at a two-court scale, such as the city's Labor Culture House, and downtown properties are limited in how many courts they can fit. If you are staying downtown and building your days around pickleball, plan on traveling out to an area that has courts.
The local neighborhoods have the nicer courts, and they are busier
Meanwhile, in areas with few foreigners such as Districts 9, 7 and 4, there are courts packed with Vietnamese players. This was the biggest surprise for me personally:the local neighborhoods have more of the nice courts. Built later, their surfaces and fences are newer, and they are packed even on weeknights. The Huynh Tan Phat Sports Center in District 7 is reported to be booked solid on weekdays too, and at the Ho Xuan Huong Gymnasium in District 3, two tennis courts were converted into five pickleball courts.
Go local for socials
So when I join a social meetup, I deliberately pick a local area. You get to play on courts you would not normally visit, and the faces change. Social listings gather on an app called Reclub, where clubs in Ho Chi Minh City post sessions by level and by time slot. Level labels can run high by local standards, so it is worth estimating yourself conservatively when you sign up (I have covered this incourt etiquette).
Courtside note: District 9 no longer exists as an address
I have written in district names so far, but Vietnam's administrative reorganization on July 1, 2025 abolished the quan district tier itself, and addresses now run on phuong wards. Thao Dien was merged as a ward and is now part of An Khanh ward. Even so, District 7 and District 9 still get understood in local conversation, and old district names are quicker when explaining where a court is. Addresses and conversation no longer line up, so it is better to treat the address you put into a map app and the way you describe it to people as two different things.
Booking is prepaid by QR payment. This is where travelers get stuck
What stops travelers is the prepaid QR payment
Court booking widely runs on a Vietnamese app called ALOBO (Alo Booking). Seeing open slots on the spot and holding one without contacting the court owner is convenient, butpayment is upfront, and it needs a Vietnamese QR code payment rather than a credit card. Travelers without a Vietnamese bank account stop right here.
After 5 p.m. it fills up. Mornings and midday are the openings
In that case, going to the court and signing up in person is the realistic move. There are enough courts that walking in on the day often works. In popular areas such as Thao Dien, though, evening slots from 5 p.m. go first. Difficulty differs clearly by time of day, so it pays to plan around it.
| Time slot | Availability | What travelers should do |
|---|---|---|
| Early morning to late morning | Easy to get | Walk-ins almost always get on. You play before it gets hot |
| Daytime | Easy to get | Choose covered or indoor courts. Slots are open even on the day |
| After 5 p.m. | Fills up fast | Advance booking is the assumption. If that fails, head to areas away from the center |
Payment methods and how deposits work are covered inthe article on court fee rates, dealing with courts directly without an app inthe article on booking through Zalo. If you plan to buy a paddle locally, seethe shop guideas well.
If you are looking for a court to play on in Ho Chi Minh City, narrowing by area is the fastest way.
Summary
Pick by court count alone in Ho Chi Minh City and you land on Thao Dien, but pick on how good the playing is, surface and space included, and it is worth traveling out to the local neighborhoods. And the fact that Thao Dien courts have become harder to book than before is, to me, the clearest proof that more people in Vietnam are playing pickleball.
From August 6 to 9, 2026, the PPA Tour Asia's MB Ho Chi Minh City Open (PPA Asia 500) will be held at The Global City. More than 500 players from over 20 countries and territories gather for it, and international tournaments arriving on a regular basis is itself one of the changes of the past year or two. Courts will keep increasing, and for anyone who wants to play on the side of a trip, this will stay an interesting place for a while.
(Written by Rei Kojima, based in Vietnam)
