Image Credits to: Sports Business Journal
She is the most dominant athlete in the history of pickleball. She is 19 years old, ranked world No. 1 in all three professional disciplines, and now, for the first time, she is coming to Asia. Anna Leigh Waters has confirmed her entry into the PPA Tour Asia MB Hanoi Cup 2026, making her long-awaited international competition debut at the My Dinh Indoor Athletics Arena in Hanoi, Vietnam, from April 1-5.
For Asian pickleball fans who have watched her dismantle every opponent on the Carvana PPA Tour, the wait is finally over." Making my international debut in Vietnam is one of the highlights of my career," Waters said. "I've experienced the sport's growth in the U.S., and I am honored to be part of the first PPA Tour Asia event in Hanoi. To be able to compete and then share the sport I love through exhibitions and clinics in Ho Chi Minh City with Franklin Sports is an incredible opportunity to help grow the game on a world stage." The Defining Numbers It is difficult to overstate what Waters has accomplished.
At just 19, she holds 181 PPA titles, including 41 hat-tricks — tournaments where she swept singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles in a single weekend. She is the current world No. 1 in all three categories: singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. In 2026, she also became the first pickleball player in history to sign with Nike. Those are not the credentials of an athlete coming to Asia for a vacation. Waters is coming to compete, and she is bringing her full arsenal.
Image Credits to: PPA Tour
A Powerhouse Lineup
In Women's Doubles, Waters partners with world No. 2 Anna Bright — a pairing that has dominated tournaments on the PPA Tour and now brings its firepower to Southeast Asia. The marquee combination, however, arrives in Mixed Doubles: Waters alongside Ben Johns, pickleball's most dominant pairing, competing on Asian soil for the first time. Other confirmed international stars include Tyson McGuffin and Gabriel Tardio, while Vietnam's own national stars — Ly Hoang Nam, Trinh Linh Giang, Phuc Huynh, Ken Tam, and Sophia Phuong Anh — will have the rare opportunity to compete against the world's very best.
A Tournament Built for the Moment
The MB Hanoi Cup marks the PPA Tour Asia's first-ever visit to Vietnam's capital city, following successful events in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. Held at the My Dinh Indoor Athletics Arena — a venue capable of hosting approximately 3,000 spectators per day — the event has drawn nearly 700 registered athletes, the largest turnout ever recorded for a PPA Tour Asia event. The tournament carries a total prize pool of US $300,000, with singles champions taking home $4,500. Crucially, 2026 is the first season in which PPA Tour Asia has unified its ranking points system with the global Carvana PPA Tour — meaning every point earned in Hanoi will count directly toward official world rankings. The Hanoi Cup, as a PPA Asia 1000-tier event, awards 1,000 ranking points to the singles champion.
After the Paddles Are Put Down
Waters' time in Vietnam will not end when the tournament does. On April 6 and 7, she will travel to Ho Chi Minh City to host clinics and a showcase event in partnership with equipment manufacturer Franklin Sports. The initiative underscores a broader mission that has accompanied the growth of PPA Tour Asia — not just staging elite competition, but nurturing the grassroots community that will fuel the sport for generations. For the hundreds of thousands of pickleball players across Asia who have grown up watching Waters on highlight reels, that chance to step on court alongside — or against — the queen herself is something no announcement has quite matched before. The court at My Dinh is ready. April 1 cannot come soon enough.
