On the morning of December 5, Ly Hoang Nam created a historic victory in pickleball at the PPA Asia Tour Hangzhou Open 2025 when he defeated the No. 1 seed, world No. 2 player Federico Staksrud (Argentina) in the men's singles semi-final.
Entering the tournament as the number 3 seed, Hoang Nam was considered to be inferior in terms of physique, experience and class compared to his Argentine opponent, the former world number 1 and top star of the PPA system.
However, the Vietnamese player played with great courage and intelligence. In the first set, Hoang Nam took advantage of Staksrud's weak backhand and quickly rushed the net to win 11-7.
In the second set, he continued to excel, creating a series of points to lead 6-0. Staksrud fought back to equalize 10-10, but Hoang Nam still maintained his spirit of steel, scoring 2 consecutive final points to close the match with a score of 12-10, winning 2-0 overall.
Hoang Nam immediately lying down on the field to celebrate was the most emotional image, marking a big milestone for Vietnamese pickleball on the international arena. This victory also showed the remarkable progress of the former number 1 tennis player in Vietnam when he overcame his psychological weakness and played more maturely at key moments.
Hoang Nam's opponent in the final will be Jack Wong (Hong Kong), the player who defeated Truong Vinh Hien in the other semi-final with a score of.
The PPA Asia Tour Hangzhou Open takes place from December 3 to 6 at the Liping Sport Center (Hangzhou, China), bringing together 372 players and has a total prize fund of 50,000 USD.
This is also the final leg of the Asian PPA system, which is important in the ranking points race before the 2026 season.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/ly-hoang-nam-ha-so-2-the-gioi-ve-pickleball-tai-ppa-asia-tour-vao-chung-ket-19625120512292362.htm
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