Ly Hoang Nam Beats Phuc Huynh in All-Vietnam Final for World Cup Singles Gold

Down 6-15 after the first set of the Men's Pro Singles final at the Heineken Pickleball World Cup 2026, Ly Hoang Nam needed two more sets to become a champion on home soil. He got both, 16-14 and 15-10, to beat fellow Vietnamese Phuc Huynh at Tien Son Arena in Da Nang on 6 Sept, closing out the tournament's marquee individual title.

It capped a week-long draw held across seven courts in Da Nang. Silver went to Huynh, and bronze to the United States' Ronan Camron, the reigning world No. 1 in men's singles on the APP Tour. Vietnam's national team and doubles results at the World Cup had already drawn heavy coverage from the tournament's own account; the Men's Pro Singles crown, arguably the biggest individual prize on offer, had gone unreported until now.

An All-Vietnam Final, Settled From a Set Down

Nam's route to the final ran through a big draw. Organisers described the men's singles bracket working down from a Round of 128, and by the quarterfinals eight players remained from five different countries. In the semifinal, Nam beat compatriot Duong Thien Quang in straight sets, 15-8, 15-2, to book his spot in Sunday's final.

Huynh reached the final the harder way, coming from behind to beat Bulgaria's Martin Stanchev 15-10, 15-9 on the other side of the draw. That set up an all-Vietnam final between two of the country's highest-ranked pro men, on a Sunday afternoon in front of a home crowd at Tien Son Arena.

Nam dropped the opening set 6-15. He steadied in the second, trading points until closing it out 16-14, then opened a gap in the third to finish 15-10 and take the title 2-1.

A Result He Had Been Chasing Since June

The two have history. Huynh beat Nam in three sets to win the Michelob Ultra Asia Extended title in Ho Chi Minh City back in June. On Sunday, in the tournament that mattered most, Nam turned it around.

Nam's path into pickleball started on a tennis court. He was Vietnam's top-ranked men's tennis player, reaching a career-high ATP singles ranking of 231 and winning the 2015 Wimbledon boys' doubles title, the first Grand Slam trophy won by a Vietnamese player. He moved into pickleball full time in early 2025.

The transition has been fast. In April 2026, Nam won the PPA Asia 1000 Hanoi Cup, upsetting then world No. 4 Christian Alshon along the way, and climbed to No. 14 in the PPA Tour's men's singles world rankings, one spot behind Ben Johns. The World Cup gold in Da Nang is his biggest title yet, and comes on the back of another Open Men's Singles crown this year, the Asia Open Pickleball Championships 2026, the Fitgon Cup, in July.

Three Finals in One Week

Singles gold was not Nam's only final in Da Nang. He also reached the Men's Pro Doubles final alongside Nguyen Anh Gia Huy, finishing runner-up, and the Mixed Pro Doubles final partnered with the Netherlands' Ross Van Reek. Three finals across three events in the same week, at the same tournament, is a rare workload even for a full-time pro.

The Heineken Pickleball World Cup 2026 ran from 30 Aug to 6 Sept and was built as a national-teams event on a global scale, part of pickleball's push toward Olympic inclusion. Organisers put the field at more than 80 nations and territories, and the tournament set two Guinness World Records in the process: most nationalities at a pickleball tournament, and most valuable pickleball trophy. Kamito was the tournament's official paddle sponsor.

Huynh does not have long to sit with the runner-up finish. He returns to the D-Joy Pickleball Tour's Leg 3, the Petrolimex Saigon Cup, running 9 to 13 Sept in Ho Chi Minh City, where he is the defending back-to-back Men's Pro Singles champion.

This article is based on social media posts and historical data tracked by Pickle361.