Singapore’s Charles Yong Earns PPA Asia Spot — While Serving His Country by Day

Charles Yong has a day job. It is not pickleball.

The 19-year-old Singaporean serves full-time in the national service—and on the weekends, he is quietly becoming one of the most promising young players in the region. On 12 April 2026, those two lives converged in the most satisfying way possible.

Yong won the pro men’s singles title at the PickleSlam at Jurong Play Grounds, coming from behind to beat Malaysia’s Timothy Foo 15–13 in a gritty, dramatic final. In doing so, he earned a spot in the PPA Asia 500 Singapore Open—a USD $70,000 event scheduled for 23–26 July 2026 at the Sports Arena @ Expo, and the first PPA Tour Asia tournament ever to be held in Singapore.

Not bad for a full-time national serviceman who only picked up a paddle three years ago.

The path to that title was anything but smooth. Yong surged to a 5–2 lead early, but Foo—a rising Malaysian star on a one-year professional contract under the United Pickleball Association Rising Stars programme—responded with seven straight points to lead 9–5. Yong clawed back to level at 10–10, only for Foo to pull ahead again at 13–10, looking every bit like a champion-in-waiting on Yong’s home ground.

Then Charles Yong won five straight to take the title.

What got him through it was not a tactical adjustment. It was self-talk.

“The match was very intense, and I knew that going into this match I had to play my best, because he’s a rising star from Malaysia,” Yong said. “He is also a very intense guy and aggressive. So, I just calmed myself down and focused on the next point.”