🌍 APP spotlights its international wave, from Turkovic's first gold to Van Reek's Triple Crowns
Summary by Coachino Daily Digest · Original reporting by APP
Published
The APP says players from abroad have shaped its 2026 season, winning titles in Malaysia and England and breaking through in the United States. Croatia's Domenika Turkovic took her first APP Tour gold in Columbus, beating Jessica Evanier 11-8, 11-7, and now has seven medals this year.
The Netherlands' Roos Van Reek collected Triple Crowns in Vietnam and Penang, Vietnam's Quang Duong won singles gold in Penang, and 19-year-old Australian Nicola Schoeman claimed mixed gold in Detroit. Hungary's Bálint Bakó, part of the Touring Pro program, earned his first medal there.
Coachino Insight
International players now win regularly on American courts. For coaches abroad, the tour development pathways show a realistic route from national rankings to professional medals.
Vietnam has named eight players for the China–ASEAN Open in Guilin, scheduled for October 30 to November 2. Dân trí’s roster report includes Trần Tuệ Ngọc and Nguyễn Đắc Tiến, with Nguyễn Hải Long coaching the team and Lê Ngọc Anh leading the delegation. The ten-person group combines athletes with its coach and delegation leader. Vietnam’s sports authority separately confirms a planned 32-team competition spanning singles, doubles and mixed doubles, with the draw still to come.
Coachino Insight
A team event across five disciplines rewards balanced preparation and flexible pairings, giving coaches a different planning challenge from a stand-alone singles or doubles tournament.
Tyson McGuffin defeated Jimmy Liong 11–4, 11–4 to reach the Hong Kong Slam’s last 16. After the match, he reflected on the change from his early pickleball days to a global professional circuit. The next singles test is Hunter Johnson, while McGuffin also remains involved in doubles at the event.
Coachino Insight
An experienced player’s perspective can help developing athletes separate a long career from one tournament. Coaches can pair match review with discussion of sustainable progress.
Tama Shimabukuro will play for Team Asia International at the MLP Nations Cup in place of Vietnam's Hien Truong, the league announced on Tuesday, according to Pickleball.com. The report does not say why the change was made.
The 15-year-old joins Jack Wong, Rika Fujiwara, Macy Ybañez, Lingwei Kong and Jimmy Liong in Group B alongside Team Australia, Team Europe – East and Team Latin America. The new team event runs from October 30 to November 1 at Brookhaven Country Club, just before the Opendoor Pickleball World Championships.
Coachino Insight
A 15-year-old earning a place on a regional all-star side shows how young the international game is getting. Junior programmes can point to his path through Asian tour events.
