The 1st Pickleball Tournament of Lao Dong Newspaper

The increasing number of tournaments at all levels, organized everywhere with increasingly improved professional quality and prize values enough to attract all types of players, makes pickleball considered a "national" sport at the present time.

Get into pickleball

The fact that a series of tennis stars have switched to playing pickleball and quickly achieved success at domestic and international playgrounds has further motivated a large number of sports fans to become more determined to pursue pickleball.

In line with the general flow and keeping up with the trend of sports, Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper decided to organize the 1st Pickleball Tournament - 2025 as a behind-the-scenes activity to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925 - June 21, 2025) and the 50th anniversary of the founding of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper (July 28, 1975 - July 28, 2025).

This sports playground is also organized to encourage and promote sports practice, improve physical health and spiritual and cultural life of people in general, develop the pickleball movement in agencies and departments in the city in particular. The tournament also aims to strengthen solidarity, create relationships, and exchange sports between officials, civil servants, public employees, and workers after school and work hours.

Giải pickleball Báo Người Lao Động lần 1 - 2025: Sân chơi mang nhiều ý nghĩa - Ảnh 1. — Athletes practice and compete before the tournament. Photo: TRANG BUI

The first Pickleball Tournament of the Lao Dong Newspaper - 2025 is scheduled to take place all day on June 14 at THE 8386 Pickleball Club (No. 71 National Highway 13, Hiep Binh Chanh Ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City). It is expected that there will be more than 300 athletes participating in the tournament and all will compete in 2 groups according to the ages from 18 to 39 and from 40 years old and above; each age group has the contents of men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. The level of the participating pairs is regulated as follows: women's doubles maximum 4.5, mixed doubles maximum 5.0 and men's doubles maximum 5.5.

High value prizes

The tournament officially opens for registration from April 1 to June 10. Depending on the number of athletes and pairs participating, the Organizing Committee will decide on the appropriate competition format. The registration fee is 1 million VND/pair.

According to the tournament rules, the qualifying matches will take place in 1 set, each set will be 11 points and change the field from 6 points, 2 points away is a win from 10-10 points with the final score being 15; from the knockout round, each match will be 1 set, each set will be 15 points and change the field from 8 points, 2 points away is a win from 14-14 points with the final score being 21. As for the final matches, the competition will be in 3 sets, 2 wins, each set will be 11 points.

Along with the support of THE 8386 Pickleball Club, the tournament also received support from many partners. Zocker is the ball sponsor; many other businesses also agreed to participate, helping the Organizing Committee form a high-value prize fund.

In all competition categories, the first prize is 6 million VND and a trophy; second prize: 4 million VND and a trophy; third prize: 2 million VND/pair and a trophy. With the support of the accompanying units, the Organizing Committee will award additional prizes in kind, specifically: HP 02 competition rackets worth nearly 4 million VND/pair, high-quality competition balls for high-ranking players in all 3 categories of the age group 40 and above and women's doubles 18 - 39 years old; HP 03 rackets worth over 5 million VND/pair, competition shoes worth over 3 million VND/pair for the second-place pair, high-quality competition balls (box of 3 balls) for the 2 third-place pairs of mixed doubles 18 - 39 years old; HP 05 rackets worth nearly 5.5 million VND/pair for the champion pair, competition shoes worth over 3 million VND/pair for the second place pair, high quality competition balls (box of 3 balls) for 2 third place pairs of the men's pair aged 18 - 39.

In addition to the guest players who are artists and celebrities in the showbiz world, the Organizing Committee also invited many players who are journalists working at press agencies in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces to contribute to promoting the tournament.

With the aim of promoting the movement, teams that register to participate in the tournament in large numbers will receive incentives. Specifically, a team that registers to compete in 5 pairs will receive a free competition spot (pairs).