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The professional pickleball season shifts its focus eastward as the PPA Tour Asia prepares to open its 2026 campaign at the MB Hanoi Cup. With the brackets now official for the April tournament at the My Dinh Indoor Athletics Arena, the draw has thrown up a series of punishing early routes for the top seeds. While much of the pre-tournament noise has centred on international debuts, the reality of the draw suggests the established stars of the Asian circuit will have a major say in who reaches Championship Sunday.
A blockbuster quarter-final in wait
The standout storyline of the tournament arguably sits in the Women’s Singles draw, where the seeding has produced a brutally early collision course. Chao Yi Wang and Sahra Dennehy have landed in the same quarter, setting up a highly anticipated rematch of their Hangzhou Open final just three months ago. Dennehy secured gold in that encounter to cap off consecutive tournament victories in Asia, making this projected clash a defining match of the early season. Having to navigate a fixture of this magnitude before the semi-finals will severely test both players and ensures high drama early in the schedule.
Elsewhere in the women’s bracket, top seed Kate Fahey faces a daunting introduction to the Asian tour. Her section includes Yufei Long, a three-time PPA Tour Asia singles champion, presenting a potential hurdle as early as the Round of 16. Brooke Buckner, conversely, has drawn a relatively open section for her own Asia debut.
No straightforward path for top seeds
The Men’s Singles draw offers little respite for the tournament favourites. Top seed Federico Staksrud anchors a top half that could see him face either Connor Garnett or Jay Devilliers, who is making his debut in Asia, in a projected quarter-final. Staksrud must also remain wary of Hong Kit Wong in his quarter; Wong previously dismantled Garnett en route to the Hangzhou Open final and presents a serious threat.
Christian Alshon, occupying the bottom half of the draw, faces an equally complex route. The Panas Malaysia Cup champion shares a quarter with the highly disruptive teenager Tama Shimabukuro, while Dylan Frazier lurks in his half as a potential semi-final opponent. The depth of the Asian field consistently punishes complacency, and this draw ensures neither top seed can coast through the early rounds.
High stakes across the doubles brackets
In the Men’s Doubles, Ben Johns continues his pursuit of an elusive Asian gold medal, partnering with Gabriel Tardio as the top seeds. Their primary threat on paper comes from the second-seeded pairing of Staksrud and Patriquin, though a clustered top half featuring Collin Johns and Len Yang could complicate the progression of early rounds.
The Women’s Doubles sees Anna Leigh Waters making her first international appearance alongside Anna Bright as the number one seeds. However, their path to a potential final against second seeds Tyra Hurricane Black and Catherine Parenteau is obstructed by Brooke Buckner and Chao Yi Wang, who sit in their immediate quarter. Waters will also feature alongside Ben Johns in the Mixed Doubles, where they lead a powerhouse field that includes Bright and Patriquin on the opposite side of the bracket.
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Chris Beaumont
Founder and Editor-in-ChiefChris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine. Chris follows the global game closely, reporting on the latest news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball Podcast, interviewing people at…
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