I had booked a covered court, so I figured rain would not matter. Then water came through the seam between two roof sections and soaked the ground under my feet. The rainy season in Ho Chi Minh City runs from around May to around November. After three years here, I have come to see that keeping a rainy-season schedule depends less on finding a rain-proof court than onhow you book when the session may be washed out. That is what it comes down to.
Do not trust the rain forecast
In the rainy season, Ho Chi Minh City gets stretches of days with an afternoon squall. Some days it rains for 15 minutes and stops; on others it keeps up for an hour or two. It often clears afterward. September brings the most rainfall, and in some years typhoons reach the city.
The awkward part is thatyou cannot read what time it will rain. You check the forecast, decide it will stay dry, and it starts coming down about the time you reach the court. Other days the forecast calls for rain all day and none falls. Deciding whether to book by looking at the forecast simply does not work in the rainy season. Rather than treat the forecast as your basis, decide bywhether the booking costs you nothing if the rain comes. That is the realistic approach.
One approach is to avoid booking too far ahead during the rainy season. Ho Chi Minh City has plenty of courts, and walking in on the day often works. If you can look at the sky before you move, you cut down on the times rain costs you the whole fee. On days when you are gathering a group and need the plan fixed, book a covered court in advance instead. Court density varies a lot by area, though, so whether you can operate on a walk-in basis depends on where you are. I covered that gap inthe guide to courts in Ho Chi Minh City, which goes into it in detail.
Do not expect a refund
This is the part that stings most in the rainy season. Coming from Japan you assume a rainout means a refund or a reschedule, but that is not how the courts I have used work.
Once the start time passes, the money is gone
In my experience,once your booked start time has passed, even by a minute, you get nothing back if rain stops play. From the court's side the slot was held for you, so the logic makes sense. Still, paying full price after 30 minutes of play cut short by a downpour took some getting used to.
Some places require cancellation 24 hours ahead
At some courts the cancellation deadline is set at 24 hours or more before the slot. Look at the sky on the morning of and call it off, and you are already too late. When you book a slot a day or more out in the rainy season,check the cancellation policy first. That comes before anything else. How deposits work and how you pay are covered inthe article on court fee rates.
A roof does not keep you dry: how to pick a court
A listing that says covered has not meant I was safe. At the covered courts I have used, when several courts sit side by side,there is a gap between one roof section and the next. Rain falling straight down is no problem, but a squall with wind behind it comes through there. Roofing contractors themselves warn that a mistake in slope or guttering lets rain blow in from the side, so covered does not automatically mean dry.
Avoid the end courts
For the same reason,the courts at either end get wet most easily. Rain blowing in sideways reaches the end courts first, and when I get to choose I stay away from them. If the booking screen lets you pick a court number, taking one toward the middle improves your odds.
Even under the roof, your bag gets wet in the wrong spot
If rain blows in through the roof gaps and the ends, it reaches not only the court butthe place where you put your bagas well. Where the benches and racks sit near the end, you can finish playing and find your change of clothes and towel soaked. In the rainy season, one look at where to leave your things when you arrive is enough to avoid it.
The air-conditioned indoor court as an escape route
If you want to rule out both the rain and the heat, an air-conditioned indoor court is an option. One club in Ho Chi Minh City keeps seven covered outdoor courts alongside a single air-conditioned indoor court. There are not many of them, but on a rainy-season day when the plan cannot slip, it does the job.
| Court type | How it works in the rainy season | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor | Rain ends the session, and there is generally no refund | Early morning and late morning, when rain is less likely |
| Covered (multiple courts) | Rain blows in at the roof gaps and the ends; pick a middle court | The rainy-season workhorse, usable at any hour |
| Indoor (air-conditioned) | Avoids rain, heat and insects; few of them, and hard to book | Sessions you cannot afford to lose |
What soaks you is the road there, not the court
It rarely comes up, but the most draining part of the rainy season is getting around. Heavy rain floods the streets of Ho Chi Minh City every time. By the city's own count, as of this point in 2026 there are26 roads that flood from rain and 8 that flood from high tides. In places the water comes up to nearly half a motorbike wheel.
Among the roads named as regular offenders is Huynh Tan Phat Street in the former District 7. That one, though, appears on the city's list not as rain flooding but astidal flooding. There is a popular court on that street, so keep high-tide days in mind as well as the aftermath of heavy rain. The city is running nine mitigation projects worth a combined 7.15 trillion dong, aiming to finish within 2026, but they will clear only 3 of the 50 flood points. For anyone heading out to play right now, the thing to do isplan around what the roads will be like after the rainis all there is.
One more thing: courts in Vietnam are often set back down an alley. The main road may be draining fine, butthe few dozen meters of alley to the court hold puddles deep enough to swallow your shoes. I have soaked a pair that way. The last few dozen meters decide what you are standing in for the rest of the day.
Courtside note: insects come out on rainy-season nights
It is not much of an issue at urban courts, but at courts near greenery or water, insects come out after dark. If cockroaches bother you, picking a court close to nature on a rainy-season night will ruin your mood. If that matters, check the location on a map beforehand, or take an air-conditioned indoor court, which is the quicker fix. Put the other way round, for anyone who does not mind, the options widen.
Search for covered and indoor courts by the conditions you need.
Summary
In the rainy season, judging by forecast will fail you every time. Assume there is no refund, read the cancellation policy first, avoid the end courts if you are under a roof, and plan for flooded roads and puddled alleys as part of the trip. Do that much and the rainy season barely dents how often you play.
The differences between courts by area are covered inthe guide to courts in Ho Chi Minh City, and booking by dealing with the court directly is inthe article on booking through Zalo. Finding someone to hit with once you are there is covered inImpressions of Vietnamese playerstoo.
(Written by Rei Kojima, based in Vietnam)
