Da Nang to host first Pickleball World Cup in Asia, 2026

Da Nang has secured the biggest pickleball stage in the sport’s history, with the Pickleball World Cup 2026 set for the central Vietnamese city and, for the first time, for Asia. The announcement on April 24 by the Da Nang Pickleball Federation and local partners marked the tournament’s third edition and shifted its geography from the Americas to Southeast Asia.

The choice of Da Nang is a signal as much as a selection. Previous Pickleball World Cup editions were held in Peru and the United States, but the 2026 event will run from August 30 to September 6 in Vietnam, giving the region its first chance to host the sport’s global showcase on home courts. Several reports say the timing lines up with Vietnam’s National Day holiday on September 2, a stretch that could lift travel, hotel demand and event attendance in a city already built around tourism.

Da Nang’s case was strengthened by its recent record-setting crowd for pickleball. The city drew 7,906 spectators for the 2025 PPA Tour Asia MB Vietnam Cup finals, a Guinness World Record crowd that topped the previous mark of 5,522. That kind of turnout matters to organizers looking for more than a ceremonial venue. It suggests a market with real fan interest, a proven event base and enough local momentum to support a global tournament.

The city is also expected to lean on venues that have already handled major pickleball traffic, including Tien Son Sports Palace and Tuyen Son Sports Village. That would keep the World Cup inside an established competition footprint rather than turning it into a one-off experiment. For players and federations across Asia, the payoff is simple: a marquee event will now sit inside the region’s own calendar, instead of always arriving from abroad.

The selection lands at a moment when Vietnam’s rise in pickleball is no longer easy to ignore. Regional coverage has pointed to the emergence of players such as Quang Duong and Phuc Huynh as signs of deeper competitive talent, while Da Nang has increasingly been described as one of the sport’s most active destinations. The World Cup gives that growth a global stage and gives Southeast Asia a new reference point for what the sport’s next phase can look like.