Vietnam Has a Women’s Pickleball Pathway Problem

Good morning, pickleballers.

Vietnam has shown how quickly a country can embrace pickleball. Sophia Phương Anh is now asking the harder question: what happens when an ambitious young woman begins moving faster than the competitive pathway around her?

Meanwhile, Las Vegas has delivered the upset its progressive draw was threatening. Luc Pham recovered from a game down to eliminate No.1 seed Christopher Haworth, opening a route into the semi-finals on a quarter-final day packed with opportunity.

“I want to be my own idol.”

Sophia Phương Anh is only 18, but her pickleball journey has already taken her far beyond Vietnam. Four gold medals from eight events at her first international tournament in Bali were followed by three months training in the United States and a move into professional PPA competition.

Yet her progress has exposed a problem. Sophia wants deeper women’s fields and regular competition capable of bridging the gap between becoming one of Vietnam’s better players and being ready for the professional level. At times, she says she has competed against men simply to find the level of match play she needs.

Rather than waiting for somebody else to solve it, Sophia has started developing her own proposal for stronger women’s competition in Vietnam. Her story is therefore about much more than one emerging player. It asks what happens when a country creates ambitious athletes faster than it creates the pathway they need.

Luc Pham just blew open the men’s singles draw.

Christopher Haworth arrived in Las Vegas as the No.1 seed and fresh from winning the Arizona Open in Mesa. He will not be playing on Friday. Luc Pham recovered from losing the opening game 11-4 to take the next two 11-7, 11-8 and produce the defining result of Thursday’s Round of 16.

Now comes the harder part. Pham faces John Lucian Goins for a place in the semi-finals, while Ben Johns meets Christian Alshon in the adjacent quarter. Federico Staksrud faces Gabriel Joseph and Hunter Johnson takes on Roscoe Bellamy in the bottom half.

The opportunity extends beyond men’s singles. Genie Bouchard is back in the Las Vegas quarter-finals, Anna Leigh Waters remains alive in both doubles events as she pursues career PPA title No.200, and No.27 seeds Elliott Schupp and Goins are one victory from the men’s doubles semi-finals.

Three numbers to keep in mind.

18 — Sophia Phương Anh’s age as she attempts to build a professional pathway while continuing her education.

4-11, 11-7, 11-8 — Luc Pham’s comeback scoreline against No.1 seed Christopher Haworth.

2 — titles Anna Leigh Waters needs in Las Vegas to reach 200 career PPA championships, with mixed and women’s doubles both still alive.

More than the daily headlines

The September edition of World Pickleball Magazine goes deeper into the people, technology, culture and structures shaping the sport around the world. Read it online or download the issue free.

Make your next tournament easier to follow

World Pickleball Studio adds commentary, graphics and studio presentation to live tournament coverage, giving viewers a clearer sense of the players, stories and matches in front of them.

Know someone following the global game?

Forward them today’s Report. Five minutes each morning is enough to stay with the stories shaping pickleball around the world.