BIBD and Baiduri Bank brought 32 participants to a pickleball friendly at PGGMB in Bandar Seri Begawan, with 16 representatives from each bank. The gathering gave staff from competing institutions a chance to build relationships away from work through friendly competition.
Organisers highlighted teamwork and sportsmanship, while the report cited pickleball’s accessibility and social appeal as reasons for choosing it. BIBD described the event as part of its commitment to employee well-being, stakeholder engagement and a positive workplace culture.
Coachino Insight
For clubs and workplace organisers, this gathering illustrates pickleball’s role as a setting for employee activity and relationship-building across competing businesses.
Support for pickleball courts far outweighs opposition among speakers taking a position at U.S. local government meetings, according to Hamlet. The public-meeting analysis firm counted 1,152 supporters and 89 opponents in meetings across 468 cities and towns since Oct. 19, 2024, with support leading in 436.
Fresno, Riverside and Maricopa were among places with many supportive speakers, while Port St. Lucie and Tampa had more opponents. The findings offer a wider view than coverage centered on noise complaints and neighborhood disputes.
Coachino Insight
For clubs pursuing courts, the findings document strong support among meeting speakers, not a survey of residents. Local differences remain important when discussing facilities with councils.
Hunter Johnson beat Tama Shimabukuro in the PPA Tour Asia Hong Kong Slam men’s singles final, after defeating Federico Staksrud in the semifinals. Crowds packed Kai Tak Arena for an event offering $1.1 million in prize money and 1,500 World Pickleball Ranking points.
Staksrud’s quarterfinal comeback against Hong Kit Wong drew controversy: an extended equipment timeout and a 1-point penalty for inappropriate language preceded his 12-10 deciding-game win. Anna Leigh Waters won women’s doubles with Anna Bright and mixed doubles with Ben Johns.
Coachino Insight
For athletes and coaches, the Staksrud-Wong match puts equipment readiness and on-court conduct in focus: both became central issues during a closely contested deciding game.
Our analysis of today's trends: opinion, not reporting, drawn only from the verified stories above.
The U.S. court findings show strong backing among public-meeting speakers, not residents overall. For clubs seeking facilities, that distinction and local differences matter alongside the headline support.
Hong Kong Slam paired packed crowds and major prize money with a contentious quarterfinal. Equipment readiness and on-court conduct became central issues alongside competitive performance.
The Brunei bank friendly and Vientiane community tournament show pickleball serving social purposes beyond competition, connecting workplace peers and Vietnamese expatriates through exercise and shared activity.
Tournament Radar
Upcoming and in-progress events, checked against each organiser's official page.
Hong Kong's five finals are set for October 25, starting at 13:00 local time. Bright and Patriquin edged the Johnson siblings 11-2, 9-11, 11-9 to face Johns and Waters in mixed doubles. Bright also partners Waters against Black and Jorja Johnson in women's doubles. Castillo meets Dikosavljevic in a repeat of Australia's singles final; Shimabukuro faces Hunter Johnson in men's singles. Johns and Tardio meet Staksrud and Patriquin for men's doubles gold at Kai Tak.
Coachino Insight
Bright will partner Waters in one final and oppose her in another, giving spectators a useful comparison of partnership chemistry and opponent adaptation.
Seeds tumbled in Friday's singles quarterfinals at the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam, PPA Tour Asia reports. Noe Khlif beat world No. 1 Christopher Haworth 13-11, 11-3 after losing their two earlier PPA matches, and Judit Castillo again stopped top seed Kaitlyn Christian, this time 12-10 in the third game. Second seed Chao Yi Wang also went out, to Andie Dikosavljevic.
Federico Staksrud edged home favourite Hong Kit Wong in three games, and Ben Johns beat his brother Collin in straight games. Khlif now meets 15-year-old Tama Shimabukuro in the semifinals.
Coachino Insight
Two of the biggest names lost to players who had faced them recently. Scouting a familiar opponent and changing the plan can turn a losing record around.
The Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam draws are out, and PPA Tour Asia says the brackets bite early. Top seeds Ben Johns and Gabriel Tardio could meet eighth seeds Collin Johns and Len Yang in the men's doubles quarterfinals, putting the Johns brothers on opposite sides of the net.
Home favourite Hong Kit Wong is projected to face Federico Staksrud again in the singles quarterfinals after losing to him 7-11, 11-6, 12-10 in Hanoi in April, and Kaitlyn Christian may meet Judit Castillo, who beat her in Brisbane. Play runs October 19 to 25 at Kai Tak Arena.
Coachino Insight
Early meetings between top teams reward squads that start sharp. Players heading to big events should prepare for strong opponents from the first round rather than easing in.
PPA Tour Asia has named the seeds for the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam, its first 1500-level event and the 2026 finale, played at Kai Tak Arena from October 19 to 25. Champions earn 1,500 ranking points from a purse of up to US$1.1 million.
World No. 1 Christopher Haworth leads the men's singles on his Asia debut, ahead of Federico Staksrud, and home favourite Hong Kit Wong is seeded seventh. Kaitlyn Christian heads the women's singles, while Ben Johns and Gabriel Tardio, Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright, and Waters with Johns top the doubles.
Coachino Insight
A Hong Kong crowd will see Hong Kit Wong seeded among the world's best, a useful signal for Asian juniors that a local champion can earn a place at this level.
Thailand and the Philippines will host PPA Tour Asia events for the first time in 2027. The opening schedule features PPA Asia 500 tournaments in Bangkok, Manila, Penang and Ho Chi Minh City.
Bangkok opens proceedings on 27–31 January 2027, followed by Manila on 24–28 February 2027. The circuit then returns to Malaysia and Vietnam in March. Ranking points from these events count toward qualification for the PPA Finals in California, with further calendar announcements still to come.
Coachino Insight
For players planning their Asian schedule, the newly announced stops offer ranking opportunities tied to Finals qualification, alongside access to new host markets.
Ben Johns and Gabriel Tardio have advanced from the Hong Kong Slam men’s doubles semifinals. Official results show that they beat Tama Shimabukuro and JW Johnson, taking the opening game 11–7 and the next 11–6. The defeated pair had won their quarterfinal in straight games. This confirms a final berth, not a title. The displayed date records our verification of official results, not a news article’s publication.
Coachino Insight
For doubles preparation, review the partnership’s full run and the next opponent separately. A clean semifinal result still leaves another match to plan for.
Source: Pickleball.com official results·Published:
Judit Castillo has reached the Hong Kong Slam women’s singles final after defeating Kiora Kunimoto, her partner in the women’s doubles draw. The official semifinal record lists victories of 11–8 and 11–7. The next pairing is against Andie Dikosavljevic, with no completed final score available in the reviewed record. The displayed date records our verification of official results, not a news article’s publication.
Coachino Insight
Facing a familiar doubles partner requires a different competitive plan. Coaches can help players separate shared practice habits from the demands of a singles match.
Source: Pickleball.com official results·Published:
Tama Shimabukuro advanced to the Hong Kong Slam men’s singles final by beating Noe Khlif in straight games. The official completed-match record shows an 11–8 opener followed by an 11–2 second game. His previous round against Grayson Goldin had required three games. Hunter Johnson is listed as his final opponent, without a completed final score. The displayed date records our verification of official results, not a news article’s publication.
Coachino Insight
The shorter semifinal follows a longer quarterfinal. Coaches can discuss how players reset their preparation between opponents while keeping recovery and final-match planning separate.
Source: Pickleball.com official results·Published:
The Johns brothers will be on opposite sides of the net in Friday's men's doubles quarterfinals at the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam, PPA Tour Asia reports. Collin Johns and Len Yang ended local hopes by beating Hong Kit Wong and Eunggwon Kim 11-3, 8-11, 11-5, setting up a meeting with Ben Johns and Gabriel Tardio, only the third such clash in PPA history.
Wong is still alive in singles and faces Federico Staksrud next, while Kaitlyn Christian meets Judit Castillo, who beat her in Brisbane last week.
Coachino Insight
Facing a sibling or regular partner means meeting someone who knows every habit. Players can practise changing patterns mid-match so familiar rivals cannot settle into reading them.
Wednesday at the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam went entirely to form, PPA Tour Asia reports, with every seed in every event reaching the round of 16. The nearest miss came from women's singles second seed Chao Yi Wang, who needed a 14-12 second game to get past Allyce Jones.
Christian Alshon and Noe Khlif, seeded in all three events, won every match they played. Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters began their Hong Kong campaign by beating Hannah Blatt and Grayson Goldin 11-3, 11-3 in mixed doubles.
Coachino Insight
A day without upsets shows the gap between seeded pros and the rest of a deep field. Rising players should study how the favourites close out matches without wasting points.
Federico Staksrud, who missed the Australia Pickleball Cup over visa issues, is back for all three events at the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam, Pickleball.com reports. In mixed doubles he teams up for the first time with Australian Danni-Elle Townsend, who has won seven international PPA mixed titles alongside Joey Wild.
Catherine Parenteau, who claimed her 55th PPA title in Virginia Beach, pairs with Noe Khlif, and Christian Alshon joins Yuta Funemizu in men's doubles a month after the two faced each other in an Arizona final.
Coachino Insight
New partnerships at big events test how fast players can agree on roles and court sides. Club players switching partners can borrow the habit of settling those questions before the first point.
Hong Kong's own players made a strong start at the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam, PPA Tour Asia reports. Nok Yiu Tang beat fellow Hong Konger Kwan Wun Man 11-5, 11-0 in singles and won her mixed match with Eunggwon Kim 11-3, 11-0, while Hong Kit Wong came through all three of his first-round matches.
Brisbane champion Hunter Johnson needed three games to get past qualifier William Hsieh on his Asia debut. Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters were due to play their first matches of the week on Wednesday.
Coachino Insight
Local players winning on home courts give a growing market heroes to follow. Hong Kong clubs can use the momentum to fill beginner and junior sessions while interest is high.
