Limited supply, scarcity of gold
It does not require physical exercise as strong as tennis or badminton, nor many complicated techniques such as table tennis, pickleball is a newcomer-friendly sport, suitable for all ages and genders right from the first training session. Few people thought that this seemingly gentle sport would effectively support weight loss and improve physical fitness. Therefore, pickleball is attracting more and more players.
Starting playing pickleball around July 2025, Nhu Quynh (Cau Giay ward, Hanoi) quickly fell in love with this sport. Every week, she and her friends rent a court for 1-2 sessions, about 2 hours a session to play. However, the demand for pickleball is increasing, so it is very difficult for Nhu Quynh and her friends to set a court.
Sharing with PV, Quynh said: "This week, I have found all the courts around the area where I live in Alobo - a sports court management application, including a pickleball court, but after a while of searching, I still could not find an empty court. After that, I continued to ask for the courts outside the app, asking for 4-5 courts, but all had the same answer: no more courts. Because we could not find a playing field, my teammates and I had to take this week off. Pickleball is increasingly attracting players, especially during the 18-20 golden hours, so the number of vacant courts is even scarce."
Blatant deposit fraud, gains the trust of customers
The sport of pickleball is getting hotter and hotter, so many scammers have taken advantage of the opportunity to appropriate the assets of people who want to play sports.
Last week, while looking for a court, Nhu Quynh was tricked by a subject into transferring a deposit of 150,000 VND to keep the court. "Seeing any suspicious signs, I checked the stadium owner information on the Alobo application. The result was that the deposit recipient was not the stadium owner, the information was completely inconsistent.
Unlucky like Quynh, on August 9, Mr. Nguyen The Duc (Hanoi, character name changed) was also scammed out of a deposit of 200,000 VND. Mr. Duc said: "I posted on Facebook to find a court in the old Ba Dinh district, then the scammer proactively texted me. Initially, they texted me via Facebook and then instructed me to contact the course owner via Zalo. That day, I booked urgently so I did not check the information carefully, after transferring the deposit of 200,000 VND, they blocked both Facebook and Zalo. That was when I realized I had been scammed.
Based on the address provided by the subject, Mr. Duc searched on Google Maps and social networks but could not find the information. "I was skeptical, but when I heard them say this was a new stadium, I had not updated the information yet and because it was urgent, I immediately believed it," Mr. Duc shared.
On August 8, Facebook account N.V.T was also scammed out of a deposit of 200,000 VND to keep the pickleball court. Mr. T shared: "After transferring the deposit, I was blocked from contacting. When asked directly at the stadium, the stadium owner told him that the person receiving the deposit was not the stadium owner. Before, I still set up a soccer field but have not encountered this situation. That day, I was also skeptical, but when I checked on Google Map and saw that there was a real cluster of courts and that Facebook account posted many posts related to the courts, I trusted them.
The common point of the cases is that scammers often request a small transfer, only a few hundred thousand dong, to reduce the vigilance of the tenants.
