Pickleball Vietnam has just made a bold impression on the Asian sports map when the player Trinh Linh Giang excelled in winning the championship of the professional men's singles at Panas Malaysia Open 2025 – the opening tournament of the PPA Tour Asia system was first held in Asia.
The tournament takes place from July 3 to July 6 in Malaysia, gathering nearly 500 leading athletes from countries with a thriving Pickleball movement such as Japan, South Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand, Australia … The Vietnamese team participates with 5 players in the men's singles, but only Trinh Linh Giang has overcome the qualifying round, and then creates a wonderful journey to step up the glory.
In the final on July 6, Linh Giang confronted the Indian tennis player vanshik Kapadia – a physical and durable opponent. The player born in 1997 started confidently when leading 2-0, but for the opponent to balance the score 10-10. At high pressure, he showed great bravery with 2 consecutive points to close the first set with a score of 12-10. Sang set two, despite being led, Linh Giang suddenly accelerated and won 5 points immediately to end the match with a score of 11-7, thereby winning the convincing championship.
Earlier, in the semi-final, Linh Giang had a dramatic comeback against Jack Wong (Hong Kong), a former professional player who moved to pickleball from 2024. Fast loss 5-11 in the first set, Linh Giang has been strong to equalize 11-7. In the decision set, despite being 3-5 and 4-7, and the match temporarily interrupted because of the opponent injured, the Vietnamese player still kept the absolute concentration to record 7 points immediately and won the spectacular 11-7 victory.
Trinh Linh Giang – a former member of the National Tennis Team – has just switched to Pickleball since 2024, but quickly asserted his name through a series of domestic titles. With the Panas Malaysia Open 2025 championship, he officially became the first Vietnamese player to be crowned in a tournament of the PPA Tour Asia Professional System, writing his name in the history of this young sport in Vietnam.
Not only Linh Giang, Pickleball Vietnam also received more good news when Tong Nhat Minh – Le Xuan Duc (17 years old) won the gold medal in the U18 men's double content, showing the depth and potential of the younger generation.
After the match in Malaysia, the PPA Tour Asia 2025 system will continue the journey to conquer the continent with a series of attractive tournaments in Hong Kong Open (Hong Kong, August 21-24), Sansan Fukuoka Open (Japan, August 26-3), China Slam (China, 1-5/10) and Kuala Lumpur Cup (Malaysia, 9-12/10). With the positive signals from the recent achievements, Pickleball Vietnam is showing a strong and promising step in the international arena.