CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY HITS HARD IN HANOI

The comeback, the double crowning and the streak. Championship Sunday at the MB Hanoi Cup 2026 had it all. Five finals. Five gold medals decided. Check out what went down as the curtain closed in Vietnam.

Christian refuses to lose

The Women’s Singles final had Kaitlyn Christian staring down a quick exit from Championship Court. A game down. 2-8 in the second. Brooke Buckner was in full control on her PPA Tour Asia debut and looked headed for the title.

Then Christian found another gear. Eight straight points to claw back to 10-8. Buckner steadied, closed the gap, and set up match points at 11-10 and 12-11. Christian saved both. She then took the game 14-12 and kept the match alive.

Into the third and it looked like the comeback had taken everything out of the #2 seed. Buckner meanwhile had plenty left in the tank and raced to a 9-4 lead. Then came the shot.

Kaitlyn Christian came up with some magic. A stretch forehand, a scoop off the ground, an angle that had no right to exist. Christian roared to the crowd, fist pump in the air, and the comeback train was right back on track. She didn’t drop a point from there. Seven straight to close 11-9 and claim her second PPA Tour Asia singles title after the Panas Malaysia Cup 2025.

The final scoreline: 7-11, 14-12, 11-9. Stick it in the book of comeback classics.

Ly makes it back-to-back

Hoang Nam Ly made sure the home crowd got their moment. Ly defeated Hien Truong 11-5, 11-6 in an all-Vietnamese Men’s Singles final. No drama needed. Ly controlled proceedings from start to finish to claim back-to-back Men’s Singles gold on PPA Tour Asia after the Vibrant Linping Hangzhou Open 2025.

For Truong, the wait for a first singles title continues. He made the MB Vietnam Cup 2025 final and beat #1 seed Staksrud in the semis this week. You can be sure he will be on the hunt for that elusive title as the season progresses.

The streak holds

In Women’s Doubles events, Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright have won 18 gold medals together. The duo have never lost a final. That streak was never in danger tonight in Hanoi. They defeated Tyra Black and Catherine Parenteau 11-7, 11-5 to lift the trophy and show just why they are the No.1 and No.2 in the world.

_{The streak travels as Anna Bright and Anna Leigh Waters struck gold in Vietnam.}

Johns gets his doubles gold

The Men’s Doubels final got off to a rapid start as Ben Johns and Gabriel Tardio pickled Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin 11-0 in the opening game. It looked like a blowout. But Staksrud and Patriquin won their last meeting at the 2025 Jenius Bank Pickleball World Championships and they weren’t about to roll over. Patriquin’s flair and Staksrud’s fight brought the crowd to life as they took the second 11-7. The arena was locked in. Tardio and Johns found their composure in the third though, closing it out 11-6.

Johns came to Asia twice in 2025 and left with a silver and a bronze in Men’s Doubles. Third time’s a charm. His first Men’s Doubles gold on PPA Tour Asia secured in Hanoi.

Mixed Doubles goes to form

Both Waters and Johns locked in a double gold day by taking the Mixed Doubles title, beating Kaitlyn Christian and Christian Alshon 11-5, 11-2. It was the second Mixed Doubles silver in Asia for Christian and Alshon, who also made the final at the Panas Malaysia Cup 2025. Waters picked up two golds on her very first PPA Tour Asia appearance, while Johns got there in his third visit to the tour after picking up a silver and bronze in Men’s Doubles and a Mixed Doubles gold across his 2025 showings. Hanoi was the week it all came together for both of them.

Up next

Next stop for PPA Tour Asia is the Panas Kuala Lumpur Open 2026. The PPA Asia 500 stop is set to go down from May 13-17 at 9Pickle in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.