Ever since the PPA Tour went international and launched pro tours in Asia, Europe, Australia, and Canada, the pro pickleball athletes in the states have taken advantage of the opportunity to travel abroad and compete on the global stage.

Currently, a few of the best in the game are competing at PPA Tour Asia 1500 Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam. And boy oh boy it looks like they’re having fun in Asia.

Ahead of the tournament, Anna Leigh Waters flew out early to visit Malaysia and the Philippines with Franklin Pickleball to grow the game. On the court, Waters taught clinics, did meet and greet with fans, and shared lots of pickleball tips for amateurs to practice like the G.O.A.T.

But off the court, Waters took full advantage of all the delicious local cuisine and got to ride around in a car with her iconic ALW logo on the hood. That’s celebrity status right there.

Anna Bright went on one of the best side quests of all the pros. Previously, Bright shared that “The number one thing I want to do in Hong Kong is villain hitting. I have a few victims.”

Bright visited a local market in Hong Kong to participate in a traditional Chinese folk ritual that’s meant to curse enemies, drive away bad luck, and eliminate negative energy.

“It’s to expel the devil, make you calm, and comfort mentally and physically. Just costs you $50,” Bright said.

After writing down her name, birth date, and the names of her enemies, she then had to hit the piece of paper repeatedly. Bright was laughing, grunting, and really seemed to be exerting some energy to get the full experience.  

“I feel so good, I feel relaxed, I feel good energy. I got the bad energy out and may my career turn up. I’ll be back tomorrow,” she said.

If Bright goes on to win two golds at this next tournament, I think we can credit it to the villain hitting ritual.

Another pro, Federico Staksrud, went on a hilarious side quest as well. After he had visa issues and couldn’t make it to PPA Australia, Staksrud went straight to Hong Kong with his fiancé for a spontaneous week off to explore.

While there, a few of the pros went to get hot pot for dinner. One thing led to another and somehow, they ended up celebrating Staksrud’s birthday. The only problem is, it’s not his birthday.

Staksrud got serenaded by the waitstaff. With everyone singing happy birthday to him, complete with a LED sign, and a tambourine.

If you’re Federico Staksrud, every day can be your birthday.

And in another surprising off-court moment from the pros in Hong Kong, Sarah Dennehy and Dani-elle Townsend discovered that there was a misprint in a pickleball magazine where they used a photo of Alix Truong, and identified her as Parris Todd.

Even the PPA Asia media team got in on the joke, and asked Jonathan Truong how he liked being Parris Todd’s little brother.

The pros always get up to some fun shenanigans off the court and the moments from Asia have to be some of my favorite to date.

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