Panas Malaysia Cup 2025 Offers Plenty of Intrigue as Ben Johns, PPA Tour Pros Bring Star Power to Malaysian Leg
The Panas Malaysia Cup 2025 has the makings of a certified must-see event. For one, it promises high-calibre action through the tournaments four days from 24 to 28 September 2025. Second, it will feature some of pickleball’s global superstars who will compete against Asia’s best players. No less than the GOAT himself, Ben Johns, will spearhead the global contingent that will also include Christian Alshon and Anna Bright.
All eyes will certainly be on Ben, and for good reason. No. 1 in the PPA Tour’s Men’s and Mixed Doubles, the GOAT will claim top seeding in both events in Malaysia as well. But adding intrigue to Ben’s stint at the Panas Malaysia Cup 2025 is his choice of partner in Men’s Doubles.
After 47 battles across PPA and MLP events, Ben and Christian Alshon are calling a truce at least n Malaysia. The longtime rivals will test their chemistry as Men’s Doubles partners in what might be the week’s most intriguing experiment. Fans who’ve watched them trade firepower from opposite ends now get to see what happens when their paddles point the same direction.
The Mixed Doubles brings another rare treat as Ben reunites with Anna Bright. The powerhouse pair have teamed just once before at a PPA Tour event—reaching the LA Open final in April 2024. Now, they’re back for another shot at gold, with Ben and Bright landing in the same quarter as newly signed PPA Tour pro Armaan Bhatia and Liz Truluck.
Star Power Stacks the Draw
Chinese Taipei’s Chao Yi Wang makes her highly anticipated PPA debut on Asian courts. The 23-year-old has nabbed three Women’s Singles medals but that elusive gold remains out of reach. Now she’s chasing it closer to where her pickleball journey started, competing across all three events, with Kaitlyn Christian (Women’s Doubles) and Tyson McGuffin (Mixed Doubles) as her partners.
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Speaking of Christian, the PPA Tour Women’s Singles no. 3 lands in Malaysia riding serious momentum. After her breakthrough gold at last December’s Daytona Beach Open and her unstoppable run of four straight finals that followed, that talent is traveling to Asia. With a recent title at the Las Vegas Walgreens Open, Malaysian fans get their first look at one of pickleball’s hottest players.
Christian’s path could lead to a quarterfinal clash with no. 5 seed Yufei Long. Long has owned Women’s Singles on the tour, taking three of four tournaments since her maiden gold at this very venue in July. The Chinese star now returns to where her dominance began.
Doubles Drama Brewing
The Women’s Doubles delivers instant intrigue. Anna Bright and Roos van Reek hold top seeding—Bright bringing 48 PPA Tour medals with 19 golds to the partnership. But the real fireworks could come from the other half where Ting Chieh Wei teams with Alix Truong.
Wei had won three straight Women’s Doubles titles on PPA Tour Asia when Truong ended that streak in Vietnam. Now, they’re partners, and they could potentially face Long and Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall in the quarters if both pairs handle business. The kicker? Wei won gold with both of them earlier this season.
More revenge potential lurks in Mixed Doubles where the fourth-seeded Truong siblings could meet Australia’s Joseph Wild and Danni-Elle Townsend in the quarters. The eighth-seeded Aussies knocked out the Americans in Vietnam’s semifinals earlier this month, and now Jonathan and Alix get a shot at payback.
Van Reek already struck gold in Hong Kong and will now team up with Zane Navratil in Mixed Doubles. The American-Dutch combo faces a loaded quarter including Alshon and Christian, but Navratil’s US Mixed Doubles medals suggest they’re ready for the challenge.
Qualifying kicks off September 24 at 9Pickle Setia Alam and Setia City Convention Centre. With rivals becoming partners and revenge matches brewing, Malaysia’s courts are set to sizzle.
