Ho Chi Minh City Surrenders to Pickleball: BIDV Cup 2026 D-Joy Leg 2 Closes With History
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — June 21, 2026.
Thousands of miles from the American courts where modern pickleball was born, Vietnam wrote another chapter this Sunday in a story that has no turning back. The BIDV Cup 2026 | D-Joy Pickleball Tour Leg 2 closed its Finals Day with matches that deserve to be remembered — a stunning upset in women's doubles, a local title in men's doubles and a rivalry between two Vietnamese players that stopped the stands of the D-Joy South Saigon complex cold.
Asia is no longer an emerging market for pickleball. It's a destination.
The Stage
The D-Joy South Saigon complex needs no introduction: 52 courts in a single facility — the largest pickleball venue on the Asian continent, located in the Tan My Ward neighborhood of Ho Chi Minh City. This week it hosted more than 1,500 registrations — a tournament record, up 15% from Leg 1 — with over 800 athletes competing and more than 25% international participants representing over 20 countries including the United States, Australia, India, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
BIDV — the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam — backed the event as Title Sponsor. And to guarantee the highest competitive standard, the chief referee was Byron Freso — the APP Tour's International Training and Referee Director, with over 12 years of experience at USA Pickleball. An automated VAR system with 9 to 11 ultra-slow-motion cameras tracked every ball trajectory in real time, removing human review from the equation entirely.
PRO WOMEN'S DOUBLES — The Upset of the Week
If there was a team arriving at Sunday's final as the absolute favorite, it was Domenika Turkovic and Megan Fudge. Their semifinal had been a masterclass: 11-0, 11-1 over Boi Ngoc Si and Connie Lee. The APP Tour itself called their performance "DOMINANT." The courts of D-Joy South Saigon were expecting a coronation.
What happened instead was something far more interesting.
Roos Van Reek and Vivian Glozman didn't come to follow the script. In a final the D-Joy Tour described as "an emotional and memorable display of skill, intensity, and heart", the Dutch-American pair turned every prediction upside down to take the women's doubles gold. The image of Van Reek dropping to the court in celebration after the final point is already circulating as the defining image of the tournament.
Turkovic and Fudge — silver. The Runner-Up graphic posted on @officialmeganfudge's account states it gracefully, but the result speaks of a team that arrived as favorites and ran into something they didn't see coming.
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PRO MEN'S DOUBLES — The Substitute Who Became Champion
The most cinematic story of the tournament began with a withdrawal. Jack Munro, the defending men's doubles champion, was not physically fit to compete. His replacement was Trinh Linh Giang — and what followed is the kind of moment sport reserves for those who know how to make the most of an opportunity.
Alongside Richard Livornese Jr., Giang faced Quang Duong and Harsh Mehta in the final — the most explosive pairing on the other side of the draw. The tournament's official post described it as "THE CLASH FOR THE TITLE — a high-intensity battle from start to finish, where every point was a test of resilience and mental strength."
Trinh Linh Giang and Richard Livornese Jr. took the gold. The substitute became champion. Munro, watching from the sidelines, had to see his slot taken — and his replacement win it all.
PRO MIXED DOUBLES — A Final of Two Generations
"A Final of Two Generations." That's how the D-Joy Tour framed the mixed doubles clash between Jack Munro & Roos Van Reek — proven intensity and experience — against Arjun Singh & Naomi Amalsadiwala — youth, energy and hunger for a first title.
An explosive final from start to finish that confirmed something important: international pickleball is no longer just an American spectacle. Players coming from India, Australia and the Netherlands don't arrive to fill out the draw — they arrive to win it.
PRO MEN'S SINGLES — Phuc Huynh vs Quang Duong: The Rivalry That Stopped Vietnam
No match in the entire tournament was more anticipated. Phuc Huynh against Quang Duong — the local hero against the global icon. The man who has dominated the domestic circuit for years against the young player who signed with the APP Tour and turned Vietnamese pickleball into an international phenomenon.
The D-Joy Tour called it "A Final Worth Remembering" — and the atmosphere in the D-Joy South Saigon stands during that match confirms that pickleball in Vietnam already carries the emotional weight of a major sport. Phuc Huynh had the home crowd. Quang Duong had the weight of expectations from the global community that follows him.
A rivalry that is only just beginning to write itself.
Player of the Tournament
No debate needed. Roos Van Reek was the undisputed standout of the BIDV Cup Leg 2. The Dutch player from Oostvoorne won the women's doubles alongside Vivian Glozman and reached the mixed doubles final on the same day — carrying the weight of two finals, two disciplines and the full pressure of Finals Day at the biggest venue in Asia.
With a 69.3% career win rate in professional competition, Van Reek confirmed in Vietnam what she has been showing on the APP Tour: she is one of the most complete players in international pickleball, and her time at center stage is only beginning.
What This Tournament Says About the Future
Five years ago, talking about professional pickleball in Vietnam was a fantasy. Today the BIDV Cup draws over 800 athletes from 20 countries, runs an automated VAR system, brings in APP Tour referees, has the country's most important bank as its title sponsor and produces finals that generate viral images across social media.
The D-Joy Pickleball Tour is not a regional event with international ambitions. It is an international circuit that uses Vietnam as the epicenter of Asian pickleball expansion. The next date — the Vietnam Masters 2026 in November — promises to be even bigger.
Pickleball has no borders. And Ho Chi Minh City just proved it once more.
Editorial note: At the time this article was published, some Finals Day results — including the Pro Mixed Doubles winner and the final score of the Pro Men's Singles — were not yet available through officially verified sources. Dink Authority Magazine only publishes what it can confirm. We will update this article as soon as complete results are released by the D-Joy Tour and the APP Tour.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — June 21, 2026.
Thousands of miles from the American courts where modern pickleball was born, Vietnam wrote another chapter this Sunday in a story that has no turning back. The BIDV Cup 2026 | D-Joy Pickleball Tour Leg 2 closed its Finals Day with matches that deserve to be remembered — a stunning upset in women's doubles, a local title in men's doubles and a rivalry between two Vietnamese players that stopped the stands of the D-Joy South Saigon complex cold.
Asia is no longer an emerging market for pickleball. It's a destination.
The Stage
The D-Joy South Saigon complex needs no introduction: 52 courts in a single facility — the largest pickleball venue on the Asian continent, located in the Tan My Ward neighborhood of Ho Chi Minh City. This week it hosted more than 1,500 registrations — a tournament record, up 15% from Leg 1 — with over 800 athletes competing and more than 25% international participants representing over 20 countries including the United States, Australia, India, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
BIDV — the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam — backed the event as Title Sponsor. And to guarantee the highest competitive standard, the chief referee was Byron Freso — the APP Tour's International Training and Referee Director, with over 12 years of experience at USA Pickleball. An automated VAR system with 9 to 11 ultra-slow-motion cameras tracked every ball trajectory in real time, removing human review from the equation entirely.
PRO WOMEN'S DOUBLES — The Upset of the Week
If there was a team arriving at Sunday's final as the absolute favorite, it was Domenika Turkovic and Megan Fudge. Their semifinal had been a masterclass: 11-0, 11-1 over Boi Ngoc Si and Connie Lee. The APP Tour itself called their performance "DOMINANT." The courts of D-Joy South Saigon were expecting a coronation.
What happened instead was something far more interesting.
Roos Van Reek and Vivian Glozman didn't come to follow the script. In a final the D-Joy Tour described as "an emotional and memorable display of skill, intensity, and heart", the Dutch-American pair turned every prediction upside down to take the women's doubles gold. The image of Van Reek dropping to the court in celebration after the final point is already circulating as the defining image of the tournament.
Turkovic and Fudge — silver. The Runner-Up graphic posted on @officialmeganfudge's account states it gracefully, but the result speaks of a team that arrived as favorites and ran into something they didn't see coming.
LOVE PICKLEBALL?
Get Dink Authority Magazine updates, new editions, pro stories and event alerts.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
PRO MEN'S DOUBLES — The Substitute Who Became Champion
The most cinematic story of the tournament began with a withdrawal. Jack Munro, the defending men's doubles champion, was not physically fit to compete. His replacement was Trinh Linh Giang — and what followed is the kind of moment sport reserves for those who know how to make the most of an opportunity.
Alongside Richard Livornese Jr., Giang faced Quang Duong and Harsh Mehta in the final — the most explosive pairing on the other side of the draw. The tournament's official post described it as "THE CLASH FOR THE TITLE — a high-intensity battle from start to finish, where every point was a test of resilience and mental strength."
Trinh Linh Giang and Richard Livornese Jr. took the gold. The substitute became champion. Munro, watching from the sidelines, had to see his slot taken — and his replacement win it all.
PRO MIXED DOUBLES — A Final of Two Generations
"A Final of Two Generations." That's how the D-Joy Tour framed the mixed doubles clash between Jack Munro & Roos Van Reek — proven intensity and experience — against Arjun Singh & Naomi Amalsadiwala — youth, energy and hunger for a first title.
An explosive final from start to finish that confirmed something important: international pickleball is no longer just an American spectacle. Players coming from India, Australia and the Netherlands don't arrive to fill out the draw — they arrive to win it.
PRO MEN'S SINGLES — Phuc Huynh vs Quang Duong: The Rivalry That Stopped Vietnam
No match in the entire tournament was more anticipated. Phuc Huynh against Quang Duong — the local hero against the global icon. The man who has dominated the domestic circuit for years against the young player who signed with the APP Tour and turned Vietnamese pickleball into an international phenomenon.
The D-Joy Tour called it "A Final Worth Remembering" — and the atmosphere in the D-Joy South Saigon stands during that match confirms that pickleball in Vietnam already carries the emotional weight of a major sport. Phuc Huynh had the home crowd. Quang Duong had the weight of expectations from the global community that follows him.
A rivalry that is only just beginning to write itself.
Player of the Tournament
No debate needed. Roos Van Reek was the undisputed standout of the BIDV Cup Leg 2. The Dutch player from Oostvoorne won the women's doubles alongside Vivian Glozman and reached the mixed doubles final on the same day — carrying the weight of two finals, two disciplines and the full pressure of Finals Day at the biggest venue in Asia.
With a 69.3% career win rate in professional competition, Van Reek confirmed in Vietnam what she has been showing on the APP Tour: she is one of the most complete players in international pickleball, and her time at center stage is only beginning.
What This Tournament Says About the Future
Five years ago, talking about professional pickleball in Vietnam was a fantasy. Today the BIDV Cup draws over 800 athletes from 20 countries, runs an automated VAR system, brings in APP Tour referees, has the country's most important bank as its title sponsor and produces finals that generate viral images across social media.
The D-Joy Pickleball Tour is not a regional event with international ambitions. It is an international circuit that uses Vietnam as the epicenter of Asian pickleball expansion. The next date — the Vietnam Masters 2026 in November — promises to be even bigger.
Pickleball has no borders. And Ho Chi Minh City just proved it once more.
Editorial note: At the time this article was published, some Finals Day results — including the Pro Mixed Doubles winner and the final score of the Pro Men's Singles — were not yet available through officially verified sources. Dink Authority Magazine only publishes what it can confirm. We will update this article as soon as complete results are released by the D-Joy Tour and the APP Tour.
