Pickleball World Cup 2026: Vietnam Leads Runner-Up by Tenfold with 244 Medals After Five Days

Vietnam has opened a huge gap at the Heineken Pickleball World Cup 2026 in Da Nang, winning 106 gold medals after five days of competition. The total stands at 244 medals, while South Korea has 10 golds and the United States has nine.

Vietnam’s gold-medal count is exactly ten times that of the runner-up and equals the combined total of all the other teams. The host delegation had already appeared dominant before the tournament officially opened on Sept. 2, with 64 other delegations taking part.

The scale of the event helps explain the lopsided table. More than 5,000 athletes registered, competing in numerous events beyond the professional category. The national section includes 156 teams across Open, Senior, Master, Junior and Kids groups. The individual section includes recreational competitions based on ability, professional events, junior categories, and events for businesspeople and celebrities.

“

Even in our country, which is considered one of the fastest-growing pickleball markets in Asia, the Vietnam Pickleball Federation was established only a few months ago.

That broad participation has prompted caution about treating the medal table as a direct measure of national strength in pickleball. A member of the Da Nang Badminton Federation told Tuổi Trẻ that the sport has expanded rapidly only in the past few years, so countries have different levels of organization and competitive development.

Even Vietnam’s pickleball federation was established only a few months ago, the federation member said. The tournament should therefore be viewed as a major effort by Da Nang to create a festival, bring international visitors to the city and combine sport with tourism, rather than as a straightforward ranking of competitive power.

“

The event should be seen as a major effort by Da Nang to create a festival, bring international visitors to the city and create a World Cup atmosphere in the sense of sports tourism, rather than placing too much weight on the overwhelming medal ranking.