Quang Duong secured his first singles title on the PPA Tour with an 11-8, 11-9 victory over No. 3 seed Connor Garnett to kick off Championship Sunday action in Las Vegas.

The match showcased peak pickleball athleticism, with both players darting around the court and covering the entirety of the 20x44 with ease.

One of the keys to success for Duong was dialing in his putaway volleys from the transition zone; if Garnett didn’t cleanly stick the fourth ball volley off of Duong’s third shot drives, then the 18-year-old would come up and take his fifth shot out of the air to score points on serve.

That aggressive style of play helped Duong take Game 1, but Garnett looked poised to take the second when he jumped out to a 5-1 lead.

The No. 6 seed would not be denied, though, and used an 8-1 run to put himself in position to close out the match, which he did at the third time of asking.

Earning his first singles title at Darling Tennis Center is extra special for Duong.

“I’ve been coming here since I was ten years old for tennis tournaments,” he explained. “My dad would be driving at like 4 in the morning just to get here for my matches, so capturing my first title here in Vegas means a lot.”

This is Duong’s second title of his breakout 2024 season after coming away with men’s doubles gold with Christian Alshon in Bristol back in August.

The former junior tennis star is thrilled to be all-in on pickleball.

“My dad told me that if you leave something, then never look back, and so that’s what we did,” he said of leaving tennis behind. “I have no regrets whatsoever, and I’m having a blast on tour.”

In the bronze medal match, top-seeded Federico Staksrud beat No. 30 seed Michael Loyd by an 11-8, 11-9 score line.