Meet Team Asia Domestic | MLP Nations Cup 2026
Meet Team Asia Domestic: Asian Roots, Champion Hearts
A US Open champion with ping-pong reflexes, a player who took Anna Leigh Waters to a final, a biostatistician who left everything behind for a paddle and a former college captain who is now one of Taiwan’s top pros. Asia Domestic arrives at the MLP Nations Cup presented by DoorDash with a mix of roots, sacrifice and talent that could surprise anyone.
Some teams are built on passports. This one was built on roots.
China, India, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei: four flags, six stories and one common thread. These are players with Asia in their blood, most of them forged on American courts, who grew up hearing that their place was somewhere else: in a lab, in an office, at a ping-pong table. Every one of them decided their place was right here, at the kitchen line.
Now they arrive in Dallas with a clear mission: to prove that Asia isn’t the future of pickleball. It’s the present.
And the draw gave them nothing for free: Team USA, Canada and Europe – West. Group A is pure fire. Perfect. They love the heat.
The Roster
Captains: Geoffrey Nguyen and Jeff Tsao
Augie Ge (China)
Len Yang (China)
Zoey Wang (Chinese Taipei)
Jamie Wei (Chinese Taipei)
Milan Rane (India)
Jonathan Truong (Vietnam)
Geoffrey Nguyen And Jeff Tsao: Two Minds, One Mission
It’s the only team at the Nations Cup with two captains, and it makes sense: there’s a lot to bring together. Four countries, very different styles and a group where every point is life or death.
Geoffrey Nguyen and Jeff Tsao will have to read every match, build the right pairings and decide who carries the weight of the DreamBreaker. If they can make this puzzle fit, Asia Domestic could be Group A’s worst nightmare.
Augie Ge: The Man Who Bet It All
If any story captures this team’s courage, it’s his.
Augie grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, first played pickleball in middle school and then walked away from it. He earned a master’s degree in biostatistics and worked in the pharmaceutical industry. A safe, stable, planned-out life.
In November 2023, he was laid off. Many would have crumbled. Augie saw an open door. He went all in on pickleball, and at the 2024 Desert Ridge Open he won a mixed doubles medal that changed his life. His partner that day? Tyra Black.
And here’s the twist: Tyra Black plays for Team USA, a direct rival in Group A. The partner who helped launch his career will now be on the other side of the net. What a story!
Then came the MLP draft, where Augie was picked in the Premier round by Dallas. So he’s also returning to a city he knows well.
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Len Yang: Ping-Pong Reflexes
Few hands are as fast as his, and there’s a reason: Len Yang was a competitive table tennis player. That’s where his reflexes, counters and lightning hand speed come from, the kind that leaves opponents watching the ball fly by.
He turned pro in early 2024 and wasted no time:
Men’s doubles gold at the 2025 US Open Pickleball Championships
Men’s doubles gold at the 2026 PPA Asia Shenzhen Open, alongside Collin Johns
Gold in doubles and mixed at the Expo Bridge Cup in China
Commentators praise his “mature court sense”: patience, resets and precision. When the match gets tense, Len gets cold. And at a Nations Cup, that’s worth gold.
Zoey Wang: The Queen Challenger
Pay attention, because this is a player who has already reached finals against the best in the world.
Her first PPA final came in Milwaukee in 2024, against… Kate Fahey, who plays for Team USA in the same group. She lost in three games. In Dallas, the rematch is served.
In 2025, in Lakeland, she was down 0-7 in the semifinal. She called a timeout, took a breath, and came back to win 12-10, 11-2 and reach the final against Anna Leigh Waters. “I knew I would have to play my best today,” she said.
And this year she was crowned women’s singles champion at the PPA Asia Shenzhen Open, beating Rika Fujiwara. Zoey fears no one.
Jamie Wei: The Captain Who Dared
Before pickleball, Jamie Wei was an NCAA Division I tennis star. She was captain of the Temple University women’s tennis team and ranked among the best in the national rankings during the 2022-2023 season.
She tried pickleball once in 2020 and walked away. She came back in 2024. And in 2025 came the call that changed everything: a spot on the PPA Asia Trailblazers. She had a stable job and plenty of doubts, but she told herself she was too young to settle for work she didn’t love. She quit. And she jumped.
Was it worth it? At the Orange County Cup, alongside Yufei Long, she pulled off the upset over Jorja Johnson and Lacy Schneemann, the No. 4 seeds, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5. Today she plays in MLP for the Chicago Slice and is considered one of Taiwan’s top professional players.
Her advice to dreamers: take the risk if you’d regret not trying. She did, and here she is.
Milan Rane: Citizen Of The World
Born in Saudi Arabia, schooled at a boarding school in Georgia, a graduate of Florida Atlantic University and now living in Boca Raton. Few players better represent the global spirit of this Nations Cup.
She played tennis growing up, discovered pickleball in 2020 and turned pro in 2022. Among her proudest memories is a World Pickleball Open title with Jorja Johnson. She’s a certified fitness instructor and an all-around competitor, dangerous in singles, doubles and mixed.
Now she wears the jersey for India, one of the countries where pickleball is growing at breathtaking speed.
Jonathan “lj” Truong: The Baby Of The Team
He’s 19 years old, lives in Boca Raton and discovered pickleball in March 2020, playing with family during the pandemic. What started as a pastime became a dream.
In 2023 he started competing seriously. In 2024 he made the main draw at his first PPA qualifier and won his first main draw match in Daytona. In 2025 he turned pro and debuted in MLP with the Bay Area Breakers. Today he’s ranked among the top 20 in mixed doubles.
He carries the flag of Vietnam, another country where pickleball is booming. Young, fast and with nothing to lose. Keep an eye on him.
Group A: The Group Of Fire
Asia Domestic landed in the toughest group of the entire Nations Cup:
Team USA, the hosts, with Ben Johns, Anna Bright, Kate Fahey, Tyra Black, CJ Klinger and Will Howells
Team Canada, led by captain Steve Deakin
Team Europe – West, with Judit Castillo practically playing at home
There’s unfinished business everywhere. Zoey vs. Kate Fahey. Augie vs. Tyra Black. Every match has a story, and Asia Domestic is coming to write its own.
The Details
Dates: October 30 – November 1
Venue: Brookhaven Country Club, Farmers Branch (Dallas), Texas
Format: group play Friday and Saturday; single elimination Sunday
The MLP Nations Cup presented by DoorDash kicks off the Opendoor Pickleball World Championships, running through November 8
A biostatistician who turned a layoff into a career. A former ping-pong player with US Open gold. A champion who comes back from 0-7. A former captain who gave up everything for a dream. A citizen of the world. And a fearless 19-year-old.
Asia Domestic is coming to Dallas to prove that when your roots are strong, no opponent can knock you down.
Let’s Go, Asia Domestic!
Meet Team Asia Domestic: Asian Roots, Champion Hearts
A US Open champion with ping-pong reflexes, a player who took Anna Leigh Waters to a final, a biostatistician who left everything behind for a paddle and a former college captain who is now one of Taiwan’s top pros. Asia Domestic arrives at the MLP Nations Cup presented by DoorDash with a mix of roots, sacrifice and talent that could surprise anyone.
Some teams are built on passports. This one was built on roots.
China, India, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei: four flags, six stories and one common thread. These are players with Asia in their blood, most of them forged on American courts, who grew up hearing that their place was somewhere else: in a lab, in an office, at a ping-pong table. Every one of them decided their place was right here, at the kitchen line.
Now they arrive in Dallas with a clear mission: to prove that Asia isn’t the future of pickleball. It’s the present.
And the draw gave them nothing for free: Team USA, Canada and Europe – West. Group A is pure fire. Perfect. They love the heat.
The Roster
Captains: Geoffrey Nguyen and Jeff Tsao
Augie Ge (China)
Len Yang (China)
Zoey Wang (Chinese Taipei)
Jamie Wei (Chinese Taipei)
Milan Rane (India)
Jonathan Truong (Vietnam)
Geoffrey Nguyen And Jeff Tsao: Two Minds, One Mission
It’s the only team at the Nations Cup with two captains, and it makes sense: there’s a lot to bring together. Four countries, very different styles and a group where every point is life or death.
Geoffrey Nguyen and Jeff Tsao will have to read every match, build the right pairings and decide who carries the weight of the DreamBreaker. If they can make this puzzle fit, Asia Domestic could be Group A’s worst nightmare.
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Augie Ge: The Man Who Bet It All
If any story captures this team’s courage, it’s his.
Augie grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, first played pickleball in middle school and then walked away from it. He earned a master’s degree in biostatistics and worked in the pharmaceutical industry. A safe, stable, planned-out life.
In November 2023, he was laid off. Many would have crumbled. Augie saw an open door. He went all in on pickleball, and at the 2024 Desert Ridge Open he won a mixed doubles medal that changed his life. His partner that day? Tyra Black.
And here’s the twist: Tyra Black plays for Team USA, a direct rival in Group A. The partner who helped launch his career will now be on the other side of the net. What a story!
Then came the MLP draft, where Augie was picked in the Premier round by Dallas. So he’s also returning to a city he knows well.
LOVE PICKLEBALL?
Get Dink Authority Magazine updates, new editions, pro stories and event alerts.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
Len Yang: Ping-Pong Reflexes
Few hands are as fast as his, and there’s a reason: Len Yang was a competitive table tennis player. That’s where his reflexes, counters and lightning hand speed come from, the kind that leaves opponents watching the ball fly by.
He turned pro in early 2024 and wasted no time:
Men’s doubles gold at the 2025 US Open Pickleball Championships
Men’s doubles gold at the 2026 PPA Asia Shenzhen Open, alongside Collin Johns
Gold in doubles and mixed at the Expo Bridge Cup in China
Commentators praise his “mature court sense”: patience, resets and precision. When the match gets tense, Len gets cold. And at a Nations Cup, that’s worth gold.
Zoey Wang: The Queen Challenger
Pay attention, because this is a player who has already reached finals against the best in the world.
Her first PPA final came in Milwaukee in 2024, against… Kate Fahey, who plays for Team USA in the same group. She lost in three games. In Dallas, the rematch is served.
In 2025, in Lakeland, she was down 0-7 in the semifinal. She called a timeout, took a breath, and came back to win 12-10, 11-2 and reach the final against Anna Leigh Waters. “I knew I would have to play my best today,” she said.
And this year she was crowned women’s singles champion at the PPA Asia Shenzhen Open, beating Rika Fujiwara. Zoey fears no one.
Jamie Wei: The Captain Who Dared
Before pickleball, Jamie Wei was an NCAA Division I tennis star. She was captain of the Temple University women’s tennis team and ranked among the best in the national rankings during the 2022-2023 season.
She tried pickleball once in 2020 and walked away. She came back in 2024. And in 2025 came the call that changed everything: a spot on the PPA Asia Trailblazers. She had a stable job and plenty of doubts, but she told herself she was too young to settle for work she didn’t love. She quit. And she jumped.
Was it worth it? At the Orange County Cup, alongside Yufei Long, she pulled off the upset over Jorja Johnson and Lacy Schneemann, the No. 4 seeds, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5. Today she plays in MLP for the Chicago Slice and is considered one of Taiwan’s top professional players.
Her advice to dreamers: take the risk if you’d regret not trying. She did, and here she is.
Milan Rane: Citizen Of The World
Born in Saudi Arabia, schooled at a boarding school in Georgia, a graduate of Florida Atlantic University and now living in Boca Raton. Few players better represent the global spirit of this Nations Cup.
She played tennis growing up, discovered pickleball in 2020 and turned pro in 2022. Among her proudest memories is a World Pickleball Open title with Jorja Johnson. She’s a certified fitness instructor and an all-around competitor, dangerous in singles, doubles and mixed.
Now she wears the jersey for India, one of the countries where pickleball is growing at breathtaking speed.
Jonathan “lj” Truong: The Baby Of The Team
He’s 19 years old, lives in Boca Raton and discovered pickleball in March 2020, playing with family during the pandemic. What started as a pastime became a dream.
In 2023 he started competing seriously. In 2024 he made the main draw at his first PPA qualifier and won his first main draw match in Daytona. In 2025 he turned pro and debuted in MLP with the Bay Area Breakers. Today he’s ranked among the top 20 in mixed doubles.
He carries the flag of Vietnam, another country where pickleball is booming. Young, fast and with nothing to lose. Keep an eye on him.
Group A: The Group Of Fire
Asia Domestic landed in the toughest group of the entire Nations Cup:
Team USA, the hosts, with Ben Johns, Anna Bright, Kate Fahey, Tyra Black, CJ Klinger and Will Howells
Team Canada, led by captain Steve Deakin
Team Europe – West, with Judit Castillo practically playing at home
There’s unfinished business everywhere. Zoey vs. Kate Fahey. Augie vs. Tyra Black. Every match has a story, and Asia Domestic is coming to write its own.
The Details
Dates: October 30 – November 1
Venue: Brookhaven Country Club, Farmers Branch (Dallas), Texas
Format: group play Friday and Saturday; single elimination Sunday
The MLP Nations Cup presented by DoorDash kicks off the Opendoor Pickleball World Championships, running through November 8
A biostatistician who turned a layoff into a career. A former ping-pong player with US Open gold. A champion who comes back from 0-7. A former captain who gave up everything for a dream. A citizen of the world. And a fearless 19-year-old.
Asia Domestic is coming to Dallas to prove that when your roots are strong, no opponent can knock you down.
