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.
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.
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.
The East Coast Regional in Fort Lauderdale awarded 200 players free entry to the Pickle Money Ball National Championship. Each division’s Top 4 qualified for the Las Vegas tournament, scheduled for July 26-31, 2027, with more than $1 million in amateur prize money.
Held at The Fort, the regional drew more than 550 competitors and offered a $625,000 prize pool. Division winners received $2,000 per player, with payouts extending through the Top 16. It was the final regional of 2026 and the tour’s biggest event to date.
Coachino Insight
For amateur players, the qualification pathway offers both prize money and waived entry fees: Luke Schmidt turned a $100 local qualifier entry into $1,625 and a national berth.
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 first MLP Nations Cup starts on October 30 at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas, with eight teams representing regions of the world sharing a $50,000 prize pool, Pickleball.com reports. The event also opens the 2026 Opendoor Pickleball World Championships.
Asked what sets it apart from a normal MLP weekend, captains pointed to national pride. Jeff Tsao of Team Asia Domestic stressed how it brings the sport's cultures together, Team Canada's Steve Deakin the meaning of a national jersey, and Chris Cantino of Team Europe – West the pull of heritage.
Coachino Insight
National-team formats give players a new reason to train and fans a reason to watch. Clubs abroad can use the event to promote their own regional squads and pathways.
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.
Dinkeando reports that Andorra will host the season finale jointly organized by Top Pickleball Tour and Mundo Pickleball. The organizer confirms November 20–22 at Pavelló Prat Gran in Escaldes-Engordany, with €5,000 in prizes. Its venue plan specifies four indoor competition courts and a separate outdoor court for exhibitions and warm-ups. Both professional and amateur categories are listed; this is a tournament announcement.
Coachino Insight
Coaches considering a team trip can use the confirmed dates and divisions for planning, while checking final category schedules directly with the organizer.
Pickle Pro Tour kept every Barcelona Open category in play despite a late move from the planned outdoor venue as heavy rain threatened the event. Matches were redistributed between Vila Pickleball in Sabadell and Club Shooters in Manresa, allowing the last Open before the Master Final to go ahead.
Organizers also pledged to refund all players’ entry fees. Participants were asked to supply missing bank details through the player area, with refunds planned over the following fortnight. The switch created extra travel complications for some competitors.
Coachino Insight
For clubs and organizers, Barcelona highlighted the importance of indoor backup venues, coordination across sites and player support when weather forces a late change of plans.
