On the evening of July 12, 2025 (Vietnam time), United Pickleball Association (UPA) – the leading Pickleball Organization in the US – officially announced the termination of a professional contract with the Vietnamese original player Quang Duong (full name Duong Thien Quang), currently ranked 6 of the men's singles content.
This is the result of his absence in the Major League Pickleball (MLP) in the middle of the season held at Grand Rapids, Michigan (July 9–13) without UPA approved, while appearing in Vietnam to participate in Pickleball event in Nha Trang on July 12.
This is the second time Quang Duong violates the contract. Earlier in May, UPA punished him 50,000 USD (about 1.3 billion) and suspended 8 matches by arbitrarily participating in the Lao Cai Open 2025 in Vietnam without permission.
Although he later complained, the amount of fines has not been paid until the time of termination and the organizers see this as a sign of the severity.
UPA's notice emphasized: He has repeatedly violated the exclusive terms – the requirement of the athletes can only play or attend the approved UPA event – without notice or permission. This seriously affects the transparency, cooperation with partners, sponsors and general reputation of the American professional tournament system.
Immediately after the announcement, the PPA and MLP systems have bricked Quang Duong from the rankings and the list of competitions at the upcoming events. This is a decisive step that makes the career of “prodigy Pickleball” of Vietnamese origin in the US facing great challenges.
On his side, Quang Duong spoke out to reject on the Pickleball fanpage in Vietnam. He asserted that he did not violate, because his return to Vietnam was just to rest and treat his nose, he asked for permission from MLP MV Drops from the beginning of July; At the same time, it is affirmed that it is only the meeting, not playing or performing.
Duong also said UPA has “distorted” reality as an excuse to terminate the contract, and revealed that UPA/PPA wanted to force to extend with the remuneration.
The incident created a wave of intense controversy in the international Pickleball community. Some famous athletes such as Zane Navratil (Top 10 in the world) voiced that the punishment was too heavy, unfair, due to the Ina-PPa contract that was still inadequate.
With the shock of termination of this contract, Quang Duong's future becomes challenging, especially the professional path in the US. However, with the previous influence and performance, he could completely find a new path in Asia. This also asks a big question about the long -term development of Pickleball Vietnam: Will we continue to keep a solid step on the world map?