Image Credits to: Danang 365
Pickleball's great international expansion has found its next frontier, and it sits on the central coast of Vietnam.
The Pickleball World Cup (WCP) has officially confirmed that its 2026 edition will be held in Da Nang, Vietnam — marking the first time in the event's history that competition leaves the Americas and travels to Asia. The tournament runs August 30 through September 6, 2026, in a city that has already staked its claim as one of the world's elite pickleball destinations. "For the first time, WCP comes to Asia, and the destination is Da Nang," the organizers announced. A Global Event with a Rapidly Expanding Map The World Cup Pickleball is a relatively young competition, but its growth has been nothing short of extraordinary.
The inaugural 2023 edition launched with just 14 athletes representing a handful of nations. By 2024, that had grown to competitors from 33 countries. The 2025 edition expanded the field further to representatives from 68 countries and territories, with over 3,000 players competing across the event. The 2026 jump to Da Nang signals the next chapter of this expansion — extending beyond the Americas to a continent where pickleball is growing faster than almost anywhere else on earth.
Image Credits to: VOV
Why Da Nang?
The choice of Da Nang is no surprise to anyone who has been following the sport in the region. In October 2025, the PPA Tour Asia MB Vietnam Cup was held at Da Nang's Tien Son Sports Arena and delivered a moment that echoed around the world: a Guinness World Record crowd of 7,906 spectators packed Championship Saturday, shattering the previous record of 5,522 for the largest attendance at a pickleball event anywhere, ever.
The city had already welcomed a purpose-built pickleball venue — the ATP Pickleball Clubhouse, Vietnam's first facility designed exclusively for the sport — and is rapidly building the infrastructure to support major international competition. Vietnam's broader pickleball ecosystem has also been among the fastest-growing on the continent. Awareness of the sport in Vietnam grew by 152% in 2024 compared to 2023 — the highest rate of any country surveyed globally.
The sport has penetrated all levels of Vietnamese society, from grassroots community leagues to government-supported programs, producing a pipeline of competitive talent that players like Ly Hoang Nam and Quang Duong have already taken to the world stage.
What to Expect
The 2026 WCP in Da Nang is expected to feature hundreds of matches across the week-long event, with all competition available for live broadcast on the FPT Play platform — giving Vietnamese fans and viewers across Asia the ability to follow every rally. The format is structured around national team competition, pitching countries head-to-head in a format that amplifies the pride of representing one's nation.
For Asian nations that have been sending players to the WCP held in the United States, the arrival of the event on home soil is transformational. Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and others will now be able to field home crowds and home-court energy in a way that was never previously possible.
