First in the country

When I asked, I found out that they were playing pickleball - a new sport that combines three basic sports: badminton, tennis and table tennis. When I heard that the two outdoor courts in this town were the first pickleball courts in the country, I was surprised. And I was even more surprised to know that a child far from home had brought this sport back to the country, investing in a free playground as well as giving away tools and technical instructions for beginners. At the end of 2018, Ms. Truong Thi Lien - an overseas Vietnamese in the US, a child of Phan Ri Cua town, brought this new sport to Vietnam. During her visit to her hometown, she accidentally met Mr. Dang The Hung (born in 1982), a long-time tennis player in the area. After a fun conversation about sports, Mr. Hung agreed to try it out and suddenly took up the new sport passionately. So she taught all the techniques, rules, rackets, and balls for free, and invested in building two outdoor courts at Phan Ri Cua Sports Center in April 2019, with the hope that people here could access pickleball as soon as possible. Currently, Ms. Truong Thi Lien is a senior coach of the IPTPA (International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association), in charge of the Southeast Asia region.

By 2022, the pickleball movement suddenly spread throughout the provinces and cities, without any new sport developing as quickly. Mr. Dang The Hung shared: “After more than 18 years of playing tennis locally, when I switched to this sport, I easily approached it and quickly learned the techniques. The more I played, the more attractive it became because it did not require too much force, but only required the player to be patient, skillful, and flexible. In particular, this sport is suitable for everyone, regardless of age and gender”. Few people expected that pickleball, although seemingly light, helped players lose weight quite quickly and improve their health, even though it did not take much time to approach and practice this sport.

Local badminton and tennis players also gradually learned about and switched to playing the new sport. Children in junior high and high schools also enjoyed participating and were trained properly. From a few initial members, the Pickleball group in Phan Ri Cua now has 33 members. In April 2023, after a long period of training, Mr. Hung and 3 others in the group went to Ho Chi Minh City to attend a training course and were granted a coaching certificate by Mr. Seymour Rifkind - President and founder of IPTPA (International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association) to train and coach new players. At that time, there were only 15 people in the country who were granted a Level I coaching certificate and Mr. Hung was one of them.

Travel and play sports at the same time

After that time, Mr. Hung was very enthusiastic about this sport in the locality. He spent his own money to train and instruct techniques for new members in the locality, especially students. Not only that, he and other members traveled to many provinces and cities such as Da Lat, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City... to learn from experience and to spread and develop the sport that, according to him, has a strange appeal! According to members participating in this sport in Phan Ri Cua, pickleball is easy to practice and not difficult to develop thanks to moderate investment costs. The playing field area is only 1/4 of that of a tennis court, and can be played indoors and outdoors without worrying about weather factors.

In the past 3 years, pickleball has been present in many places around the world and has been voted as the fastest growing sport in recent times. In Vietnam, this sport has just begun to develop, but has attracted many players. Although it is the "cradle" of this sport, the group playing in the town has not yet established a club. Local pickleball players are waiting for the Tuy Phong District Cultural Information Center to guide the procedures to establish a club, organize activities with the aim of gradually bringing this sport into schools, widely developing in neighborhoods to help people exercise.

Mr. Hung added: “Currently, tourist areas and resorts in large provinces and cities have combined to make fields for families and clubs to travel and play pickleball for entertainment and fun. This is also a way to promote tourism and destinations. Last summer, many clubs from all over came to Phan Ri Cua to play pickleball, which was also an opportunity for them to visit, have fun and learn about famous local attractions. Hopefully, when this sport develops strongly, it will be a highlight for local tourist areas to pay attention to and promote, contributing to the development of tourism in the district.”

“Pickleball is quite new in Vietnam and has not yet been recognized as an official sport. Currently, Pickleball groups and clubs in provinces and cities all spend their own money to participate in tournaments and try to socialize to maintain their activities. We hope to receive attention from leaders at all levels, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to expand this sport, then bring it to competitions in large and small tournaments from local to central levels as an official sport…”.

Mr. Dang The Hung - Pickleball coach in Phan Ri Cua town expressed.