PPA Tour Asia Opens in Hanoi With Nearly 800 Players Registered

The MB Hanoi Cup drew nearly 800 registered players to My Dinh Indoor Athletics Arena when the PPA Tour Asia's opening event of 2026 got underway in Hanoi on April 1. The five-day tournament runs through April 5, setting the tone for the entire Asia season with a field that spans amateur divisions and a pro draw stacked with recognizable names from the U.S. circuit.

Anna Leigh Waters, Ben Johns, Anna Bright, Catherine Parenteau, Hayden Patriquin, and Gabe Tardio are among the pros who made the trip to Vietnam, giving the Hanoi Cup a competitive weight that matches its point value. The event is structured as a PPA Asia Cup awarding 1,000 PPA Points to winners, equivalent to a domestic Open, which means early-season ranking implications are real for anyone in contention.

One equipment detail separating Hanoi from a typical U.S. stop: the official tour ball for PPA Asia events is the JOOLA HC-40, which plays measurably slower than most balls used on the domestic circuit. For visiting players calibrating their drives and resets after months of U.S. conditions, the speed differential requires tactical adjustment from the first warm-up session.

The five-day format uses a progressive draw, where qualifiers, Round of 32, and Round of 16 matches can fall on the same day. That compression puts a premium on recovery and scheduling, as athletes and coaches navigate overlapping rounds inside a nearly 800-person bracket.

Broadcast windows are staggered by territory, with dedicated viewing slots mapped for audiences in the U.S., Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. PPA Asia channels are carrying the live stream, and the time-zone spread means North American fans should expect late-night or early-morning windows to catch top-level singles and doubles action live.

For the first week of April, Hanoi is the center of the pickleball world.