Johnson, Tardio and Black headline PPA Australia Pickleball Cup

Johnson, Tardio and Black headline PPA Australia Pickleball Cup

Hunter Johnson captured men's singles gold at the 2026 WALKER Australia Pickleball Cup, defeating Christian Alshon 11-8, 5-11, 11-8 in Sunday's final at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Brisbane. The top seed reached the final with straight-game wins over Kyle Stoker, Daiki Tanabe, Hong Kit Wong and Grayson Goldin, including an 11-9, 11-3 semifinal victory over Goldin. The win continued a strong 2026 for Johnson, who also beat Ben Johns in straight games at the Las Vegas Open earlier this month.

Black paired with Jorja Johnson to win women's doubles gold over Parris Todd and Australian Danni-Elle Townsend. Australian Andie Dikosavljevic, a former Auburn University tennis standout, delighted the home crowd by beating Judit Castillo 11-6, 11-6 for the women's singles title.

First-time champions and Kate Fahey's double gold highlight Virginia Beach Open

The 2026 Mojo Energy Pouches Virginia Beach Open crowned five champions Sunday, with several of the PPA Tour's biggest stars, including Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns, absent. Kate Fahey was the lone double-gold winner, taking women's singles and mixed doubles titles one day before her 30th birthday.

Fahey, the top seed in women's singles, beat No. 21 seed Helena Jansen Fink 11-1, 11-9 in the final after dominant wins over Zoey Weil and Catherine Parenteau. In mixed doubles, playing with Eric Oncins for the first time, Fahey rallied from an 8-2 deficit in the deciding game to beat Catherine Parenteau and Riley Newman 11-9 and complete her first career PPA doubles title.

Elliott Schupp and Jaume Martinez Vich won their first career PPA Tour title together in men's doubles, beating No. 3 seeds Riley Newman and Noe Khlif 11-4, 4-11, 11-4 in their first tournament as partners. John Lucian Goins swept through the men's singles draw without dropping a game, while Catherine Parenteau and Sofia Sewing won women's doubles gold, with Sewing earning her first PPA Tour championship.

Hong Kong Slam opens with wins for 鄧諾瑤 and 王康傑

The PPA Tour Asia 1500 Hong Kong Slam began at Kai Tak Arena, with Hong Kong's top-ranked woman, 鄧諾瑤, beating close friend and fellow Hong Kong player 文君媛 11-5, 11-0 in the women's singles round of 64 to advance to the round of 32. 鄧諾瑤 said the match against a longtime friend made her nervous early before she settled into her rhythm.

Home favorite 王康傑, the No. 7 seed in men's singles, overcame a 7-9 deficit in the first game to beat China's 李子達 11-9, 11-5 and reach the round of 32. He called Kai Tak Arena one of the best venues in Asia.

The tournament, running October 19-25, carries a prize pool of about $1.1 million, a record for professional pickleball in Asia, and marks the first PPA Tour Asia event to reach the 1500 level. Vietnamese player Truong Vinh Hien, who withdrew from the 2026 Pickleball World Cup in Da Nang in August due to dengue fever, returned to competition in men's singles, men's doubles with Do Minh Quan and mixed doubles with Sophia Huynh Tran.

Tardio details pressure of partnering with Ben Johns

Gabe Tardio said teaming up with Ben Johns in men's doubles in late 2024 changed his career trajectory after he had been planning a hybrid schedule overseas and on the APP Tour. Tardio said he played tight in the partnership's debut at the Mesa Cup in February 2025, where the pair settled for silver after losing to Andrei Daescu and Christian Alshon.

Tardio said he felt added pressure playing alongside the world's top-ranked player and was more hesitant than usual as the two got to know each other. Since gelling, the duo has won 19 gold medals together and won more than 95% of their matches over nearly two years.

Vietnamese hospital trade unions mark Women's Day with pickleball

Trade unions across Vietnam organized pickleball tournaments to celebrate Vietnamese Women's Day on October 20. At Ha Giang General Hospital, 52 people competed in leaders doubles, men's doubles and women's doubles pickleball alongside a volleyball tournament held October 17-18.

In Tuyen Quang, the provincial general hospital's trade union held a pickleball tournament with 22 mixed-doubles pairs split by age group. In Ha Tinh and Quy Nhon, local unions, including at the Quy Nhon Medical Center, organized pickleball tournaments alongside other sporting and cultural events, with the Quy Nhon event drawing 20 teams competing in mixed doubles and women's doubles.

Pickleball events expand across China

The 2026 JOOLA Hengqin Pickleball Championship concluded October 17-18 at the Hengqin International Tennis Center, drawing 218 player appearances from countries including China, the United States, Spain and South Korea. In the championship group, 16-year-old local player 何泳霖 won the men's singles title, while 李泽峰 won both men's doubles and mixed doubles titles.

The 2026 Shandong Province Pickleball Super League concluded its grand final October 17-18 in Jinan, with the Qingdao galabobo team and Zibo Xinjing team winning the trendy and youth group titles respectively, capping a four-stop series that also visited Zibo, Dongying, Yantai and Binzhou. In Shenzhen, the first Futian District campus pickleball league for primary and secondary students concluded October 18, bringing together 110 athletes from 19 schools across 20 teams.

Actress Hiroe Igeta finishes fourth in pickleball tournament

Japanese actress and model Hiroe Igeta announced on Instagram that she competed in a pickleball tournament, finishing fourth out of 64 teams after three days of competition. She described the experience as fun and exhausting, saying she truly felt the joy of sport through the team event.