When the "stars" leave the tennis court one by one
At the Davis Cup 2025, Group 3 Asia - Oceania region, which just ended in Bac Ninh , the Vietnamese tennis team almost lost its position to opponents who were not superior in terms of skill. From the squad that was expected to compete for promotion just 2-3 seasons ago, the Vietnamese team now only has Nguyen Van Phuong, an experienced player, and Vu Ha Minh Duc. Before the tournament, the Vietnam Tennis Federation had to organize an internal competition between talented young players to select more athletes to participate.
From here, Pham La Hoang Anh, Nguyen Minh Phat, Dinh Viet Tuan Minh were named in the list of participants in Davis Cup 2025 Group III Asia - Oceania. With such a thin force, in this tournament, the team lost to Thailand and Saudi Arabia. The team even lost to Singapore - something that had never happened in previous Davis Cup participations.
Meanwhile, if Ly Hoang Nam, Trinh Linh Giang... still stick with tennis, the opportunities will be difficult for the young players above. And the reason why these faces are absent is not because of injuries or internal disagreements - but because they have turned to a new path called pickleball.
Over the past two years, pickleball – a sport that combines tennis, badminton and table tennis – has become a new destination for many professional players around the world. In Vietnam, this wave quickly affected the tennis world, especially those athletes who had struggled to find sponsorship and did not have many opportunities to compete abroad. Many tennis courts were converted to pickleball courts due to their higher profitability.
Many tennis, badminton, and table tennis players also choose pickleball to assert their talent, earn income, and gain fame. Up to now, Ly Hoang Nam is the representative face of several pickleball brands with a stable income, Trinh Linh Giang has just won a PPA Asia Tour stage in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, pickleball has not yet been included in important sports events for Vietnam such as SEA Games, ASIAD and Olympics. But this is not important to the participating players as they receive enough income, reputation and exposure on media channels.
Change to keep people
The shift to pickleball of top players not only leaves the national team lacking in strength but also raises concerns about the future of the country's tennis industry. Fortunately, Vietnamese tennis still has people determined to pursue their passion to the end. Mr. Vu Huu Ha - father of young tennis player Vu Ha Minh Duc - shared that his son also received many attractive invitations to switch to pickleball, but the family still pursues professional tennis. Not to mention, Minh Duc currently has a brand to accompany him so he can confidently pursue his passion.
Mr. Vu Huu Ha also said that the cooperation between the Federation and sponsors in recent times is an important factor in retaining young tennis talents. This has been shown more positively recently, when tennis faces a "heavyweight opponent" called pickleball.
Mr. Nguyen Hong Son, General Secretary of the Vietnam Tennis Federation, admitted that the attraction of pickleball to tennis players is a real challenge and the Federation must have practical solutions to retain top players, helping them focus on tennis instead of constantly glancing at pickleball. Mr. Nguyen Hong Son also said that the Vietnam Tennis Federation is focusing on expanding the domestic tournament system, adding incentive mechanisms, free competition, supporting air tickets for young athletes with good results... In addition, the Federation also continuously sends official dispatches to the localities where the athletes live to organize timely rewards when they achieve impressive international achievements. However, Mr. Son himself also acknowledged that more is needed to retain people.
In fact, in recent youth tournaments such as the 2025 National Youth Championship or the 2025 National Youth Championship, the number of players is still very large. Most recently, 300 athletes from U8 to U18 participated in the 2025 National Youth Championship in Ho Chi Minh City, showing the potential of the next generation. However, as Mr. Nguyen Kim Cuong, in charge of the tennis department (Vietnam Sports Administration) also commented: "To develop to the top, athletes need a long-term roadmap and professional investment, not just initial passion."
In the immediate future, although the achievements of the Vietnamese men's tennis team at the Davis Cup 2025 meet the goal of staying in the rankings, clear solutions are still needed, such as having more high-quality domestic tournaments and increasing opportunities for international competition. At the same time, it is necessary to retain young faces through clear policies on finance and training... so that athletes do not switch to other sports as in the past.
The emergence and strong transformation of pickleball is a necessary reminder for Vietnamese tennis. If the development environment is not improved, tennis will continue to witness a wave of "talent drain" and soon lose its former position.
The question "Who will carry international achievements for Vietnamese tennis in the coming time?" is not only posed to coaches or athletes, but also to those who are managing this sport at both the federation and sports industry levels.
No target for SEA Games 33 gold medal
Just a few years ago, Vietnamese tennis was still in a state of excitement when Ly Hoang Nam won the gold medal in the men's singles tennis event at the 31st SEA Games (in 2022, held in Vietnam). Thereby, Ly Hoang Nam won the championship for the second time in a row after the gold medal at the 30th SEA Games (in 2019 in the Philippines). This was also a milestone that helped Ly Hoang Nam become the first Vietnamese male tennis player to successfully defend the SEA Games men's singles gold medal.
At the 32nd SEA Games in 2023 held in Cambodia, Ly Hoang Nam failed to defend his gold medal in men's singles and only won a silver medal. But now, without Ly Hoang Nam, the Vietnamese tennis team does not dare to set a target of winning a gold medal at the upcoming 33rd SEA Games.
Minh Khue
Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/quan-vot-viet-nam-va-bai-toan-lam-moi-minh-i775802/
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