At 5:29 a.m., Roland Garros 2025 ended with a final match that was likened to an "emotional train" between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. While the two young players deserve to shoulder the expectation of continuing the Big Three era, this match is an affirmation that the world's top tennis team does not feel any threat from the development of pickleball. But in Vietnam, tennis is "threatened".
Vietnam used to have many tennis courts, making this sport once trendy, for everyone to talk about Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic as an expert. However, it seems that tennis is gradually getting turned away. Not because of passion, not because of lack of players, but because of objective and subjective conditions, tennis is gradually "losing land", both literally and meaningfully. While pickleball courts are springing up like mushrooms, bustling from early morning and light until late at night, many tennis courts are now a desolate scene.
The growth rate of pickleball in Vietnam is really strong. Many people say that what comes quickly is quickly, but it seems untrue for pickleball. On the contrary, there is great potential for Vietnamese sports somewhere.
Speaking of investment, pickleball playing equipment is not as expensive as tennis, but the important thing is that it requires less space, more suitable for the physical condition of Vietnamese people. To put it bluntly, Ly Hoang Nam - Vietnam's number 1 male tennis player - after many years of not being able to attack the world's top tennis, has switched to pickleball. A shocking decision, but also reasonable.
To reach the world, we must choose the right path and meet all the conditions. So, we should choose pickleball with more potential and more competitive opportunities, when it is more suitable for the physical condition of Vietnamese people. That is also the reason why we see the futsal football team participating in the World Cup while the 11-a-side team still struggling in the qualifiers.
That's not saying tennis should be stopped. But among the options, it is necessary to look at reality to bravely pave the way for the future, not only pickleball but also other sports that are suitable for the physical condition and skills of Vietnamese people.
