Vietnam Pickleball has a female player climb to 7th place in Asia

Having only come to pickleball since 2023, Ho Thi Truc Tam quickly became one of the first Vietnamese female players to join the top ranks in Asia.

Ho Thi Truc Tam used to be a tennis player - Photo: KT

Learn Pickleball Yourself Through YouTube

Pickleball has only exploded in Vietnam in the last 2 years. However, more and more Vietnamese players are starting to make their mark on the international stage.

Ho Thi Truc Tam (commonly known as Ken Tam) is one of them. Her recent achievements in tournaments in the US helped her climb to 7th place in Asia, as well as 79th place in the world .

Like many stars of Vietnam’s current professional pickleball scene, Ho Thi Truc Tam started out as a tennis player. The 21-year-old tennis player is a member of the Military Zone 7 Club.

The advantage of speed, physical foundation and technical ability helped Tam quickly adapt to the new sport . However, when he started playing in mid-2023, pickleball in Vietnam was still very new, there were not many professional players and even more so, there was a lack of a systematic training system.

“At first, I just played for fun with my friends. But because I kept losing, I wanted to understand more about this sport. With no one to guide me, I had to learn the techniques myself through videos on YouTube,” Truc Tam said.

With the knowledge of a professional tennis player, Truc Tam was able to learn the techniques of pickleball on her own. After a year of spontaneous practice, Tam began to compete in domestic and international tournaments.

At the PPA tournament held in Ho Tram, she won medals in all three categories. Not long after, she continued to win three gold medals at the PPA Australia tournament in Melbourne in the 5.0+ category. From then on, Tam decided to seriously pursue a professional career.

Professional Journey in America

The year 2025 marked a major turning point when Truc Tam was selected for the UPA Asia Trailblazers training program - an intensive training initiative for 12 elite Asian tennis players.

From Ho Chi Minh City, she traveled to Arizona (USA) to practice 5-7 hours a day in a harsh, hot environment.

Truc Tam (3rd from left, sitting row) and elite athletes of the UPA training course - Photo: KT

At first, the 21-year-old girl hesitated because of the time away from home and financial pressure. But in the end, she decided to "go all in" to seize this rare opportunity.

And that decision quickly paid off. At the Atlanta Slam - one of the events on the PPA Tour - she surprisingly won the women's singles 5.0+.

“My opponent was over 2m tall and played very hard. I lost 4-11 in the first set. But the more I played, the more I understood my opponent, changed my tactics, moved more flexibly and finally came back in the next 2 sets with the same score of 11-2,” Tam recalled the sweet victory.

This victory not only brought her the title, but also helped Truc Tam make a strong breakthrough in the world rankings. From a brand new player, she went straight to 7th place in Asia and reached the top 79 in the world. This is something that few people can believe if they know that she only learned to play online.

However, Truc Tam is not satisfied with her current achievements. She is aiming to enter the world top 50, continue to participate in tournaments under the PPA Asia Tour system and expand her opportunities to compete internationally.

“Pickleball in Vietnam still faces many difficulties from the field, equipment to training. However, if each person is willing to explore and dare to step out into the world, we can absolutely rise up. I believe the future of Vietnamese pickleball will be very bright,” Tam affirmed.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/pickleball-viet-nam-co-tay-vot-nu-leo-len-hang-7-chau-a-20250625104616234.htm