HCMC Pickleball Kabayan Group: Filipino Picklers Find Home in Ho Chi Minh City’s Courts

What started as four Filipinos knocking a ball around has blossomed into a thriving community of more than 120 members in Ho Chi Minh City. The HCMC Pickleball Kabayan Group, now a fixture in the city’s sporting landscape, has become much more than a club—it’s a gathering place where culture, friendship, and belonging take centre stage.

On court, the rhythm is unmistakable: paddles cracking against the ball, voices mixing in English, Tagalog, and Bisaya, with the occasional Vietnamese call of “Out rồi!” cutting through the air. Off court, the atmosphere is just as lively. Someone passes around hopiang ube, another jokes about staging a fiesta during open play, and conversations spill into laughter long after the games end.

For Filipinos living thousands of kilometres away from home, Kabayan has become a sanctuary. Gretchen Kilvington, a teacher at an international school who now leads the group, admits she never expected such rapid growth. “We started with just a few people, but little by little, members started inviting their friends,” she said.

For John Raymond Pondoc, who works at Vinschool in District 9, the club fills a void that many overseas workers know too well. “For me, it means home,” he explained. “You miss the simple things—the language, the jokes, the conversations. Playing with fellow Filipinos gives me that sense of belonging.”

The group’s appeal extends beyond the Filipino community. Vietnamese entrepreneur Nguyen Thi Nhat Linh joined as a beginner and quickly found herself embraced. “I gained much more than just pickleball skills,” she said. “I met new people, made new friends, became more active, and enjoyed being part of a social community. I never felt judged for being a beginner, which made it much easier to learn.”

HCMC Pickleball Kabayan Group’s rise coincides with pickleball’s surge in Vietnam. A recent study revealed that more than 37 percent of Vietnamese respondents had tried the sport—the highest participation rate among 12 Asian markets. The boom was on full display in July, when Ho Chi Minh City hosted the Asia Open Pickleball Championships, drawing over 1,000 players from across the region.

For Filipinos, though, the sport’s popularity has unlocked something deeper. “When you’re living abroad, having people around you who share the same culture, beliefs, background, interests, hobbies, and dialect makes a big difference,” said Chito Durban, president of Samahang Pinoy Vietnam. “It gives you that feeling that you’re not completely alone in a foreign land.”

At Kabayan, those connections linger long after the paddles are packed away. Players chat about work, food, and memories of the Philippines, moving seamlessly between languages. As Pondoc put it: “You come because you want to play, but you stay because of the people, the friendships, the laughter, and the sense of belonging.”