Despite their best efforts, Vietnamese players have repeatedly missed out on the top spot in the continental arena. After the unfortunate defeat in the men's singles final of the Hong Kong Open 2025, Vietnamese pickleball players continued to miss out on the Asian gold medal when Phuc Huynh lost bitterly to top seed Connor Garnett at the PPA Asia Japan Open 2025.
Phuc Huynh missed the Gold Medal at the PPA Asia Japan Open 2025 (Photo: PPA).
In the world of pickleball, Connor Garnett has emerged as a top player. Few people know that before achieving success in this sport, he was a practice partner of tennis superstar Novak Djokovic.
With a DUPR of 6.846, Connor Garnett is currently ranked among the Global Elite (the best players in the world). His talent was clearly demonstrated at this tournament when he appeared in all three finals: men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles.
However, on the DUPR scoring system, Garnett still lost to Quang Duong with 6,865 points. Although these two players have never met, the pickleball community still rates the Vietnamese player higher than the reigning champion of the PPA Asia Japan Open 2025.
In the context of two experienced players, Trinh Linh Giang and Phuc Huynh, both missing the opportunity to win the championship in the continental arena, Vietnamese pickleball fans continuously mentioned Quang Duong's name even though the 19-year-old player previously announced that he would not participate in any tournaments under the PPA Tour Asia.
Account Kien Tran commented: “Quang Duong has competed in the world's top tournaments, the talent of the young Vietnamese tennis player is undeniable. It's a waste that he decided not to participate in attractive tournaments like the PPA Tour.”
Meanwhile, Son Nguyen added: “Quang Duong seems to have left the rest of the Asian players far behind. He is truly a promising young talent of Vietnamese pickleball, he is ready to compete with the world's top players like Ben Johns without being outdone.”
Quang Duong was ranked in the top 4 in the world in men's singles according to the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) rankings in 2024, he was the only player in the top 10 when he was only 18 years old.
Quang Duong made Vietnamese pickleball fans regret when he decided not to attend PPA Tour Asia (Photo: PPA).
Quang Duong's notable achievements include defeating world number one Ben Johns twice in 2024 and winning the Silver Medal at the 2024 Houston Open.
After terminating his contract with UPA (the PPA system's administrator) in July due to breach of terms, Quang Duong was unable to participate in tournaments under the UPA system such as Major League Pickleball (MLP) and the PPA Tour, but still participated in other tournaments such as the pickleball championship in India in August.
The 19-year-old player's performance is still highly appreciated by experts and he is a bright face for Vietnamese pickleball when he participates in international tournaments.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/quang-duong-khien-nguoi-ham-mo-pickleball-viet-nam-tiec-nuoi-20250903144157957.htm
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