Vietnam to host Asia Open 2026 with 600 pickleball players, big purse

Ho Chi Minh City is set to host one of Asia’s biggest pickleball stages when the Michelob ULTRA - Asia Open 2026 opens June 4 and runs through June 7 with about 600 players from across the Asia-Pacific region and a prize purse of VNĐ3 billion, about US$115,000. For Vietnam, the scale is the story: this is not just another tournament, but another marker that the country is building itself into a commercial and competitive hub for the sport.

The event was announced in HCM City on May 8 and will feature five disciplines, men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. Organizers said the tournament will use rally scoring, a format designed to keep matches moving quickly and make the action easier to follow for spectators who are still learning the game. That matters in a market where pickleball is still fighting for attention, sponsorship and repeat viewership, and where presentation can be as important as the result on court.

Vietnamese ace Lý Hoàng Nam is expected in the field, giving home fans a familiar name in a draw that should also pull elite players from the broader region. The tournament is being co-organized by America & Asia Connect Company Limited and FPT Play, with AB InBev’s Michelob ULTRA serving as title sponsor. FPT Play will also broadcast the event, a sign that the platform sees real commercial value in pickleball’s growth. Dương Quang Thun said the goal is to create a professional, open and connected playing field in Vietnam and the wider community, while also proving the country can host top-tier international sporting events.

The Asia Open arrives with Vietnam already carrying momentum. HCM City hosted the Asia Open Pickleball Championships in 2024 with more than 400 athletes, and Vietnam also hosted a major PPA Tour Asia stop in 2025. At that 2024 event, Vietnam finished with 17 golds, 13 silvers and 17 bronzes, ahead of Singapore and Chinese Taipei in the medal table. Those results helped establish the country as more than a host, but the place where regional standards are being set.

That case gets stronger from the wider calendar. PPA Tour Asia’s 2026 schedule already stretches from Kuala Lumpur, Macao and Beijing to Tokyo, Singapore, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City, showing how quickly the professional circuit is spreading across Asia. A 2025 event in Vietnam reportedly drew nearly 600 players and set a Guinness World Record for live attendance at a pickleball tournament. With another large field, a bigger purse and broadcast backing, the Asia Open looks designed to deepen that momentum and keep Vietnam at the center of the sport’s expansion.