The PPA Tour’s latest international stop is the Panas Malaysia Cup. While some of the pros are trying their hand with wood paddles at the Pickleball Central Sacramento Vintage Open, others are halfway around the world, testing their game against the best the Far East has to offer. Ben Johns, Kaitlyn Christian, Christian Alshon, and others will give players from countries such as Australia, China, and Vietnam an opportunity to see how they stack up.

 

 

America invented pickleball and American players have dominated the sport. But, we have seen foreign players make a name for themselves on the PPA Tour in the US, with players such as Federico Staksrud, Catherine Parenteau, Gabe Tardio, Tina Pisnik, and many others becoming top 10 players and household names on the circuit. This year, the PPA Tour has been holding international events, with a number of the stars from the US traveling overseas, giving the foreign players a chance to test themselves against the best on their turf. So far, the events have been dominated by players from the US tour. Will that change in Malaysia? Can any of the players who are not regulars on the US tour grab a medal? It is going to happen one day, so will the stop in Malaysia be the one?

 

 

 

Just as we see on the PPA Tour in the US, the best chance for a breakthrough upset in Malaysia will come in one of the two singles events.

On the men’s side, the top seeds are Christian Alshon and Tyson McGuffin. Strong US player Grayson Goldin is also in the draw and those three will be favored to take home the medals. One non-American player to watch for is Wong Hong Kit (also known as Jack Wong). A former professional tennis player, he has shown talent at pickleball and is likely to be a threat in singles.

 

On the women’s side, Kaitlyn Christian, Hannah Blatt, Liz Truluck, and Zoey Wang are all in the draw from the US tour. The biggest threats to break into a US sweep of the medals will likely come from a trio of Australian women. The Aussies have already shown their progress earlier this year at the Proton Australia Pickleball Open. Watch for Andie Dikosavljevic, Nicola Schoeman, and Sahra Dennehy to try to make their mark. Another challenger will be Roos Van Reek of the Netherlands. Van Reek took home the women’s singles gold at the Hong Kong Open in August.

 

 

While the singles events may be ripe for some upsets, it is hard to see anyone likely to challenge the top seed in men’s doubles, the combination of Ben Johns and Christian Alshon. That is a tough team for anyone in the world to beat, and they are likely to cruise to the finals in Malaysia. On the other side of the draw, the #2 seed goes to Tyson McGuffin and Eric Oncins. But, they have a tougher draw, as they are likely to play Grayson Goldin and Jonathan Truong in their first match after a bye. The #4 seed is an interesting pairing of American Zane Navratil and Indonesian Armaan Bhatia. Bhatia has had some success in lower level tournaments in the US, so it will be interesting to see how he plays with a PPA star such as Navratil.

 

For an Asian pair to watch, I will be looking at Kim Eunggwon (South Korea) and Wong Hong Kit (Hong Kong). They have a good draw, and look likely to at least make the semifinals. They finished second in men’s doubles at the Hong Kong Open, losing 12-10 in the last game. Their opponents in that Hong Kong final were Thomas Yu and Len Yang, who are also in the event, but have a somewhat tougher draw.

 

 

 

Unlike the men’s doubles draw, in women’s doubles a number of the US tour players chose international partners. It starts at the top seed, with Anna Bright pairing with Roos Van Reek of the Netherlands. Van Reek is a proven talent and she should be able to complement Bright well. The second seed goes to the US-based team of Zoey Wang and Kaitlyn Christian. After that, we see American Liz Truluck playing with Hsieh Yu-Chieh of Taipei, American Alix Truong playing with Ting Chien Wei also of Taipei, and Canadian Hannah Blatt of PPA USA playing with Pei Chuan Kao, also from Taipei.

 

We should see some upsets in the women’s doubles draw. It certainly looks to be an unpredictable event.

 

 

The mixed draw appears to be a bit more predictable, starting at the top with #1 seed Anna Bright and Ben Johns. It would be a surprise if they do not take the gold medal.

 

The next three seeds go to US-based players, with Christian Alshon/Kaitlyn Christian, Tyson McGuffin/Zoey Wang, and Jonathan Truong/Alix Truong all looking to make a run. For a non-US tour team, keep an eye on Max Wild and Danni-Elle Townsend of Australia. They played pretty well at the Proton Australia tournament, and have a reasonable draw.

 

 

 

I have to go with a sweep of the medals by the US-based players. So far, we have not yet seen the foreign-based players be able to defeat the US-based players. To date, whenever foreign players show top talent, they have come to the US and played on the PPA Tour in the US. But, the day will come when things will change. I am most looking forward to seeing China players emerge. We certainly see a number of Taipei players in the draw. China has long dominated table tennis and I do predict the day will come, soon, when China players show their talent in pickleball. But, that day is not here yet, so look for Johns, Bright, Alshon, Wang, McGuffin and other US-based players to dominate in Malaysia. Either way, let’s follow the action and root for some upsets!

 

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