The short answer: Anna Leigh Waters is set to make her first competitive appearance outside North America at the MB Hanoi Cup in Vietnam, a PPA Tour Asia event. The 19-year-old will headline the tournament, which is a significant moment for PPA Tour Asia as it works to build the profile of its events and of pickleball across the region.
American professional player Anna Leigh Waters is scheduled to make her inaugural competitive appearance outside of North America at the forthcoming MB Hanoi Cup in Vietnam. The nineteen-year-old athlete will headline the event, which operates under the jurisdiction of the newly established PPA Tour Asia circuit. The tournament is set to commence on the first of April and will be hosted at the My Dinh Indoor Athletics Club in the Vietnamese capital.
During the Hanoi competition, Waters will contest the women’s doubles division partnered with fellow American professional Anna Bright. Furthermore, she will compete in the mixed doubles bracket alongside frequent collaborator Ben Johns. This deployment of the sport’s highest-ranked athletes marks a significant operational shift for the American-based tour as it attempts to establish a foothold in the Asian racket sports market.
Following the conclusion of the competitive tournament in Hanoi, Waters will travel south to Ho Chi Minh City. There, she is contracted to host an instructional clinic and participate in an exhibition showcase on the sixth and seventh of April. This subsequent event is organised in partnership with equipment manufacturer Franklin Sports, highlighting the commercial dimensions of her international deployment.
The decision to send the sport’s most dominant female competitor to Vietnam represents a calculated strategic initiative by both the tour organisers and their corporate partners. Waters, who recently secured her forty-first triple crown victory on the domestic circuit, provides immediate credibility to the fledgling Asian tour. By pairing her with established top-tier professionals like Bright and Johns, the organisers are ensuring that international spectators witness the highest technical standard the game currently offers.
Waters publicly expressed her satisfaction regarding the upcoming deployment, framing her participation as a career milestone. She noted her desire to contribute to the sport’s regional expansion, acknowledging the privilege of headlining the first tour event of its kind in Hanoi.
What’s the score?
The deployment of Anna Leigh Waters to Vietnam signals the beginning of the sport’s global commercialisation phase. Until now, the professional game has been overwhelmingly concentrated within the United States, creating an uneven global picture. By dispatching its apex athletes to Southeast Asia, the tour is explicitly transitioning from a domestic American enterprise into an international sporting property, testing whether the star power generated in domestic markets can translate into ticket sales, broadcast metrics, and equipment purchases across different continents.
The World Pickleball magazine verdict
The upcoming MB Hanoi Cup represents a watershed moment for the professional game. The willingness of top-tier athletes like Waters to undertake significant international travel indicates a collective understanding that the sport must evolve beyond its American borders to achieve sustained commercial legitimacy.
Looking ahead, the success of this Vietnamese initiative will likely serve as a blueprint for future deployments. If the attendance figures and regional engagement metrics meet expectations, it is highly probable that the tour will establish a permanent, multi-country Asian swing in forthcoming seasons. The transition from an American phenomenon to a recognised global property relies entirely on operations of this exact nature.
