Laos Pickleball Major 2026 Crowns Champs as Sport Quietly Takes Root in Another Southeast Asian Nation
Ask someone to name Asia’s pickleball hotspots, and Laos probably won’t make the list. Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines tend to get the headlines. Yet the sport is making inroads in the landlocked Southeast Asian nation, and the Laos Pickleball Major 2026 is the latest evidence.
The tournament brought together 60 players from Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam at Rio Sport Club in Vientiane on 10 October, with LAK 65 million in prizes on the line. It’s another sign, if one were needed, that pickleball’s reach now extends further than anyone expected.
Phongeun “Tik” Thammavongsa claimed the women’s title in a thrilling 17-15 final, while Sam Balazo took the men’s championship.
Men’s Open Singles
- Champion: Sam Balazo
- Second: Navarith Ratsombath
- Third: Chamnien Syhavong
Women’s Open Singles
- Champion: Phongeun Thammavongsa
- Second: Pan Saen
- Third: Nang Linda
The Laotian Times served as a media partner of the event, organised under the PDL Laos banner.
A Young Scene with Big Ambitions
Pickleball is a recent arrival in Laos. According to Pickleball.com, American Matt Nola, founder of Lunar Pickleball, took his first step in Laos in July 2022 and later met the country’s Minister of Sports and Education. His team travelled to Vientiane to host the country’s first official open play event in May, taping lines to make two courts, and Nola also spoke to the Laotian Olympic Committee about including pickleball in future Southeast Asian Games. Elsewhere, Pickleball Planter founder Aaron Trost has introduced the sport to countries including Thailand and Laos by creating places to play and opportunities to learn.
Today, Vientiane has a growing number of places to play. Listings include Le Society Sports Lounge & Café, with four outdoor hard courts, and KIS Pickleball, which offers two indoor courts, reservations, lessons, and a pro shop. Alley 8 Tennis & Pickleball has two indoor concrete courts.
The sport is also catching on beyond the clubs. In August, the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos hosted a pickleball exchange in Vientiane that, according to Vietnamese state media, drew 13 teams and 86 athletes from embassy offices, banks, and community groups. The event, held on 21 August 2026, was organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos alongside Vietnamese representative agencies and the wider community, timed to honour the 81st anniversary of the August Revolution and the approaching National Day on 2 September. It’s the kind of occasion that could easily have stayed formal and solemn. Instead, it turned into something that looked a great deal more like a community reunion than a state commemoration.
Why It Matters
Of course, a 60-player tournament doesn’t make Laos a pickleball powerhouse. The player pool is small, and the infrastructure is still being built. But that’s precisely the point. When a sport can travel from a taped-off pair of courts to an international, cash-prize tournament in just a few years, it says something about its appeal.
Indeed, if pickleball can find players in Vientiane, it can find them anywhere. Keep an eye on Laos. The scene may be small, but it is clearly growing.
