Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper organizes the 1st Pickleball Tournament

The 1st Pickleball Tournament of the Lao Dong Newspaper - 2025 is held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025); the 135th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday (May 19, 1890 - May 19, 2025), the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925 - June 21, 2025) and the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Lao Dong Newspaper (July 28, 1975 - July 28, 2025).

This new sports playground is also organized to encourage and promote sports practice, improve physical health and spiritual and cultural life of people in general, develop the pickleball movement in agencies and departments in the city in particular. The tournament also aims to strengthen solidarity, create relationships, and exchange sports between cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers after school and work hours.

Báo Người Lao Động tổ chức Giải Pickleball lần 1 - 2025- Ảnh 1. — The first Pickleball Tournament of the Lao Dong Newspaper - 2025 took place in June. Photo: PHAN THANH

The 1st Pickleball Tournament of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper - 2025 is expected to take place all day on June 14 at THE 8386 Pickleball Club (No. 71 National Highway 13, Hiep Binh Chanh Ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City), with a total prize of 98 million VND.

The tournament is divided into 2 groups according to the age groups from 18 to 39 and from 40 years old and above; each age group has the contents of men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. The level of the participating pairs is regulated as follows: women's doubles maximum 4.5; mixed doubles maximum 5.0 and men's doubles maximum 5.5. There is no age limit for the guest artist pairs.

The tournament officially opens for registration from April 1 to June 10. Depending on the number of athletes and pairs participating, the Organizing Committee will decide on the appropriate competition format. The registration fee is 1 million VND/pair.

According to the tournament rules, the qualifying matches will take place in one set, each set of 11 points and change of field from 6 points, 2 points away is a win from 10-10 points with a final score of 15; from the knockout round, each match will take place in one set, each set of 15 points and change of field from 8 points, 2 points away is a win from 14-14 points with a final score of 21. As for the final matches, the competition will be in the format of 3 sets, 2 wins, each set of 11 points.

Pickleball is a new sport introduced to Vietnam not long ago but has quickly received the response of a large part of the public who love sports. Regardless of gender, age or social relationships, pickleball is easily accepted because it is easy to play, the rules and regulations are not too strict, easy to understand.

More importantly, anyone can quickly approach pickleball without having to be a professional athlete. Pickleball is even recognized by society as a sport with strong connections, from family members to friends, colleagues... besides its main role as a supplementary tool for daily life through training and competition, improving health.

All of the above advantages are the foundation for pickleball to develop widely at a rapid pace. Practice and competition courts for pickleball appear everywhere and the Vietnamese pickleball community is growing stronger and stronger, many pickleball events and tournaments are organized to serve the almost endless needs of the public.

It is not an exaggeration to say that a new industry has been born, from the production of equipment, facilities for competitions to organization technology, event organization services with the participation of many leading figures in both the sports world as well as domestic and international showbiz. Controversy also arose from incidents of "following" pickleball, but very quickly, people saw the positive points of this trendy sport to bring pickleball back to the development orbit.

In all categories, the first prize is 10 million VND and a trophy; second prize is 4 million VND and a trophy; third prize is 2 million VND and a trophy.