On the evening of July 6, in the final match of the PPA Asia Tour system, Trinh Linh Giang defeated Vanshik Kapadia with a score of 12-10 and 11-7 to win a professional Asian pickleball tournament for the first time.
Kapadia reached the final after 4 consecutive matches on the day, including the semi-finals and finals in the men's doubles and mixed doubles - where he won both championships. However, the tight schedule caused the Indian tennis player to face a physical disadvantage when facing Linh Giang - who was given a day off.
Despite having difficulty with the opponent's technical and tactical handling, Linh Giang still calmly saved two set-points in the opening game and came back to win 12 10.
In set 2, the Vietnamese tennis player continued to maintain the strategy of pressing on the left hand and actively coming into the net, taking advantage of Kapadia's efforts to win 11-7, ending the match extremely dramatically.
After the match, Kapadia was exhausted and lay in the middle of the field, forced to seek medical support and could not get on the podium to receive the award. Linh Giang also comforted their opponent.
On the podium to receive the trophy, the 28-year-old tennis player expressed his emotion and affirmed that he would continue to pursue a professional path with pickleball.
Trinh Linh Giang was a prominent player in Vietnamese tennis, participating in the Davis Cup for many years. He switched to playing pickleball when the sport began to develop strongly in the area and often competed with Ly Hoang Nam in international tournaments.
At the Panas Malaysia Open 2025, Vietnam has 4 representatives attending. In addition to Linh Giang's championship, the team also has 3 youth titles: Tong Nhat Minh and Le Xuan Duc won the U18 men's doubles championship; Tong Nhat Minh won the U18 men's singles championship; Le Xuan Duc won the men's and women's doubles medal when playing with Yufei Long (China).
Panas Malaysia Open 2025 takes place from July 4 to July 6, gathering many strong tennis players in the area such as Jack Wong, Kenta Miyoshi, Lazaro or Jimmy Liong...
