Vietnam’s Trần Đức Lâm Wins Three U14 Golds in One Night at Junior Pickleball World Championships
Three finals, three victories, and not much time to rest in between. Fourteen-year-old Trần Đức Lâm, a ninth-grade tennis player from Vietnam, swept all three U14 events he entered at the 2026 Junior Pickleball World Championships, taking the Boys’ Singles, Boys’ Doubles, and Mixed doubles gold medals at Brookhaven Country Club in the Dallas area of Texas.
A Day to Remember for Trần Đức Lâm
The schedule was punishing, at least from Vietnam’s side of the clock. Trần Đức Lâm’s three finals fell on the night of 8 November and the early hours of 9 November, Vietnam time: Singles at 10:00 p.m., Boys’ Doubles at 1:00 a.m., and Mixed doubles at 4:00 a.m. That works out to a full day of championship play in Texas, with three different matches and three different partners (or none) to adapt to.
Singles: A Narrow First Game, Then a Pull-Away
Trần Đức Lâm began with the Boys’ Singles final against American Bennett Miller. He won the first game 12-10 in a tense opener, then took the second 11-5 to win 2-0 and claim his first gold medal.
He had worked his way through the draw convincingly. In the round of 16, he beat Jacob Garcia 11-5, 11-4. In the quarterfinals, he got past Jaden Hsu 11-4, 11-3. And in the semifinals, he came from behind to defeat Pierce Behr and reach the final.
Doubles: A Familiar Partnership Delivers
In the Boys’ Doubles, Lâm teamed up with Nguyễn Gia Hưng to win the title. The pair isn’t new to this: they’ve played together in many domestic and international tournaments, and they previously won the U15 boys’ doubles gold at the 2025 National Youth Championship.
Mixed Doubles: Completing the Sweep
The last test came in the Mixed Doubles, with Đan Linh Hương as Trần Đức Lâm’s partner. The two Vietnamese players beat their American opponents in the final to complete the set of three golds. They arrived in the final in dominant form, having won all six games across three earlier rounds, including an 11-0, 11-1 victory in the round of 16.
What It Means
The 2026 Junior Pickleball World Championships were held from 5 to 8 November, with age groups from U12 to U18. For Lâm, who comes from a tennis background, a triple gold at the U14 level is a big statement on the world junior stage.
Winning three finals in one day tests more than technique. It takes stamina, focus and the ability to reset between very different formats, and Lâm did all of it, with the world title on the line each time.
