Collin Johns has been busy. Fresh off winning the Men’s Doubles title at the PPA Kuala Lumpur Open, the internationally renowned professional stepped off the competitive court and straight into the classroom—serving as Global Technical Director for the RacketPro APAC Pickleball Tour 2026, a sweeping regional coaching initiative that has already cut through Malaysia and has Vietnam, Japan, and Singapore in its sights.
The tour is the brainchild of RPO—RacketPro Organization—a globally recognised coach education body that has built a reputation as the gold standard in international pickleball certification. The APAC edition covers Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, with the goal of elevating coaching standards, competitive development, and community growth across the region. It is, by RPO’s own reckoning, one of its largest regional development initiatives in the Asia-Pacific to date.
Malaysia was the first stop—and it delivered.
The Malaysia leg ran from May 14 to May 24, touching Setia Alam, Penang, Sarawak, Sabah, and culminating in a landmark Kuala Lumpur MEGA RPO Level 1 Workshop—the first of its kind in the region. The tour wove together professional training, coach certification, career advancement, and community building across five cities in under two weeks, and the response exceeded expectations.
RPO APAC managing director Connor Nguyen came away impressed.
“It has been an amazing tour for us,” Nguyen said. “The facilities we saw here were just high-class. And the commitment and dedication that we have seen is simply amazing. I believe, in this region, Vietnam and Malaysia are very far ahead of the others when it comes to the following and development of the game.”
Collin Johns echoed the sentiment—and went further.
“The setup is very good, and they are also pushing for many coaches to guide the players,” he said. “That will definitely elevate their players’ performance in tournaments. Pickleball is growing very fast in the world, and I believe countries like Malaysia and Vietnam will play a very big part in the sport.”
Both men also flagged what they see as pickleball’s ultimate destination: the Olympics. Nguyen said the sport’s top officials are already moving in that direction—and the work being done across Asia is part of building the foundation that makes that case.
The tour is built around RPO’s COEBRA Intensity Program, which centres on an “Alpha Agile” mindset—equipping coaches not just with technical skills but with leadership capability, decisive thinking, and the long-term vision to grow the sport sustainably in their home countries. As part of the initiative, RPO will conduct an intensive four-week COEBRA program in Vietnam, drawing coaches from multiple countries for high-level training.
The Malaysia MEGA Workshop also hosted an Alumni Gathering—a deliberate effort to keep the coaching community connected and growing beyond the initial certification.
“This is not our first alumni gathering in Kuala Lumpur,” the organisers said. “Following the first-ever Mega Workshop, this gathering demonstrates that we not only train and onboard new members, but also continue to support and grow alongside our existing community.”
The tour’s educator lineup was led by Johns and Nguyen, alongside RPO COEBRA coach and clinician Aron Ong, who specialises in competitive player development and high-efficiency coaching methodologies. Nguyen himself brings unusual credentials to the role—he previously founded Vietnam’s first professional basketball team, the Saigon Heat, and launched the Vietnam Basketball Association before turning his focus to pickleball development across APAC.
The road ahead is full. The Vietnam leg—covering Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang—is set for June, followed by Japan in July across Tokyo and Osaka, and Singapore also in July.
Malaysia has set the standard. The rest of Asia is next.
