MB Hanoi Cup Tournament Preview

The MB Hanoi Cup is the first PPA Asia Tour event of the 2026 calendar year. Nearly 800 players are registered for the event, including both amateurs and pros.

My Dinh Indoor Athletics Arena in Hanoi, Vietnam is hosting the event, from Wednesday, April 1 - Sunday, April 5. 

As previously reported by Alex E. Weaver, this is the first international tournament for Anna Leigh Waters, the most decorated pickleball athlete in history.

In fact, the pro field is full of top players from around the world. Over 25 U.S. based players are competing, including the following:

• Anna Leigh Waters
• Ben Johns
• Anna Bright
• Hayden Patriquin
• Christian Alshon
• Hurricane Tyra Black
• Gabe Tardio
• Catherine Parenteau
• Federico Staksrud
• Tina Pisnik
• Eric Oncins
• Kate Fahey
• Riley Newman
• Lea Jansen
• Will Howells
• Alix Truong
• Jonathan Truong
• And more...

A few notes about the format of play in Hanoi:

• This is a PPA Tour Asia Cup worth 1,000 PPA Points to the winners, which is the same as a US based Open tournament
• The official ball of the PPA Tour Asia is the JOOLA HC-40, which plays a LOT slower than the ball the US based players are used to
• This is a progressive draw tournament, with the Round of 32 and Round of 16 being played on the same day

How to Watch the MB Hanoi Cup

Day 1 - Qualifiers

• USA - Tuesday, March 31 - 9pm-8:30am ET - PPA Asia YouTube Channel & pickleballtv
• Vietnam - Wednesday, April 1 - 8am-7:30pm - PPA Asia YouTube Channel & FPT Play
• Japan - Wednesday, April 1 - 6am-5:30pm - TBS Sports
• Thailand - Wednesday, April 1 - 8am-7:30pm - True Vision Now

Day 2 - Round of 32 & Round of 16

• USA - Wednesday, April 1- 9pm-8:30am ET - PPA Asia YouTube Channel & pickleballtv
• Vietnam - Thursday, April 2 - 8am-7:30pm - PPA Asia YouTube Channel & FPT Play
• Japan - Thursday, April 2 - 6am-5:30pm - TBS Sports
• Thailand - Thursday, April 2 - 8am-7:30pm - True Vision Now

Day 3 - Quarterfinals

• USA - Thursday, April 2 - 9pm-8:30am ET - PPA Asia YouTube Channel & pickleballtv
• Vietnam - Friday, April 3 - 8am-7:30pm - PPA Asia YouTube Channel & FPT Play
• Japan - Friday, April 3 - 6am-5:30pm - TBS Sports
• Thailand - Friday, April 3 - 8am-7:30pm - True Vision Now

Day 4 - Semifinals

• USA - Friday, April 3 - 9pm-8:30am ET - PPA Asia YouTube Channel & pickleballtv
• Vietnam - Saturday, April 4 - 8am-7:30pm - PPA Asia YouTube Channel & FPT Play
• Japan - Saturday, April 4 - 6am-5:30pm - TBS Sports
• Thailand - Saturday, April 4 - 8am-7:30pm - True Vision Now

Day 5 - Championship Sunday

• USA - Saturday, April 4 - 9pm-8:30am ET - PPA Asia YouTube Channel & pickleballtv
  • Note - Bronze is from 9pm-2am ET & Gold is from 2am-8:30am ET
• Vietnam - Sunday, April 5 - 8am-7:30pm - PPA Asia YouTube Channel & FPT Play
  • Note - Bronze is from 8am-1pm & Gold is from 1pm-7:30pm
• Japan - Sunday, April 5 - 6am-5:30pm - TBS Sports
  • Note - Bronze is from 6am-11am & Gold is from 11am-5:30pm
• Thailand - Sunday, April 5 - 8am-7:30pm - True Vision Now
  • Note - Bronze is from 8am-1pm & Gold is from 1pm-7:30pm

Women’s Singles 

PPA Tour Asia

Top Storylines

• Despite playing in the tournament, #1 star on the PPA Tour, Anna Leigh Waters is sitting this one out in the singles event
• Kate Fahey, Kaitlyn Christian, and Brooke Buckner are the top seeds, with Lea Jansen also not playing singles
• The best Asia Pacific (APAC) players in the draw are Sahra Dennehy, Andie Dikosavljevic, Yufei Long, and Albie Huang

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Kate Fahey, (3) Brooke Buckner, (6) Sahra Dennehy, and (2) Kaitlyn Christian
• Finals: Kate Fahey defeats Kaitlyn Christian

Men’s Singles

PPA Tour Asia

Top Storylines

• Despite just losing to Chris Haworth, there is a chance for Federico Staksrud to take over the #1 seed on the PPA Tour this weekend with a win
• Connor Garnett has not had the year he was looking for - does the slower ball help or hurt his chances?
• Christian Alshon withdrew from singles last week in Utah, citing the flu and a 103 degree fever - is he healthy enough to finish a singles draw in Vietnam?
• The best Asia Pacific (APAC) players in the draw are Hong Kit “Jack” Wong (recently signed PPA player), Armaan Bhatia, Marco Leung, and Aditya Ruhela

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (6) Hong Kit Wong, (5) Jay Devilliers, (7) Eric Oncins, and (2) Christian Alshon
• Finals: Hong Kit Wong beats Christian Alshon in the finals

Mixed Doubles

PPA Tour Asia

Top Storylines

• This is Anna Leigh Waters’ first foray into international pickleball - her and Ben Johns are heavily favored to win it all
• Former Texas Ranchers teammates are teaming up as the 4 seed, in Christian Alshon and Kaitlyn Christian
• Gabe Tardio and Hurricane Tyra Black are partnering for the first time - could this be a preview of a partner switch when they get back to the states?
• On that note, Eric Oncins is playing with one with Catherine Parenteau
• Look out for the following APAC partnerships that could take out some of the top US based teams:
  • Danni Townsend/Joey Wild
  • Sahra Denney/Robert Stirling

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns, (3) Tyra Black/Gabe Tardio, (4) Kaitlyn Christian/Christian Alshon, and (2) Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin
• Finals: Anna Leigh and Ben beat Anna and Hayden 

Women’s Doubles

PPA Tour Asia

Top Storylines

• If Anna Bright and Anna Leigh Waters are heavy favorites in the US based tournaments, they are near locks to win the women’s doubles event this week
• Catherine Parenteau and Hurricane Tyra Black are the 2 seed, running it back together in Vietnam, after earning a silver medal in Daytona Beach this past December
• An interesting pairing of a US player and an APAC player is Judit Castillo and Sarah Burr - the lefty/righty combo could make some noise
• Danni Townsend and Sahra Dennehy have been winning APAC tournaments together for about a year now, but they have a tough road to even make it to the semis

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Anna Bright/Anna Leigh Waters, (4) Jessie Irvine/Tina Pisnik, (8) Jamie Wei/Yufei Long, and (2) Catherine Parenteau/Hurricane Tyra Black
• Finals: AB and AL beat Catherine and Tyra in the finals

Men’s Doubles

PPA Tour Asia

Top Storylines

• Ben and Gabe have not lost all year - will the slow ball do anything to help someone take them down?
• Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin last played together at Worlds in November and they won the whole thing - if they win in Vietnam, could we see some partner shakeups in the states?
• There are plenty of very good APAC men’s doubles teams that could make a run:
  • George Wall/Joey Wild
  • Mitch Hargreaves/Zachary Grabovic
  • Jimmy Leung/Roman Estareja
  • Kenta Miyoshi/Robert Stirling

Predictions

• Semifinalists: (1) Gabe Tardio/Ben Johns, Tama Shimabukuro/Jonathan Truong, (4) Tyson McGuffin/Riley Newman, and (2) Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin
• Finals: Gabe and Ben beat Fed and Hayden in the finals

Header graphic provided by iStock/Lord Runar