I only came across Pickleball last year, watching four Americans in South London swat a hamster-like ball and scream like Johnny Mac after a four-shot rally.
Honestly, it looked crap.
Fast forward a year to our visit to Vietnam. To my disbelief, I’ve seen more Pickleball courts than any other sport, aside from football.
In short, Pickleball was originally introduced to get people into Tennis. Take away the difficult overhead serve, larger court, and fast-moving ball, and you get the game of Pickleball.
Nam has gone crazy for it, so Georgina and I decided to give it a go.
The rules of Pickleball
Rules of the game are very easy to pick up. The main law is to remember not to volley if you enter the front box under the net. A rule Gina still has not learnt to implement.
Instead of rambling on, here is a video that gives you all the information on how to play: Click here.
Where to play?
In the capital (Hanoi), they’re in plentiful supply. But it’s not just Hanoi where you will find Pickleball.
Hue
Here you can play on Hue’s walking street, alongside the most popular bars and restaurants in the city.
EU Pickleball and Beer: Easy to find in Hue, this place isn’t just a court. It’s a bar, coffee house, and restaurant. We opted to just play ball and paid 250k Vietnamese Dong per hour. More on the expensive side, but you’re paying for the location, I suppose.
Hoi An
The Club House: Situated on the outskirts of Hoi An’s old town. You have three courts to choose from, but you’ll need to book in advance. One of the cheapest courts to book, only 150k Dong per hour.
Accommodation with Pickleball
After catching the Pickleball bug, we sought to find accommodation that included Tennis’s little brother.
If you add the filter “Tennis” in Booking.com, you can find many stays that include Pickleball. As backpackers, most were out of budget.
We naturally gave up.
Until… Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam’s so-called coffee capital.
The Lake Farm – Dak Lak: A new glamping farm stay that also hosts modern bungalows for those wanting extra comfort. We went for the tent, which only cost 650,000 Dong a night.
Courts were not in the best condition, with a few potholes and rubbish scattered around, which was a shame.
Playing surrounded by animals and a giant lake made up for the slightly dirty court.
It was also free! Well, for us it was.
Since the place has newly opened, they jumped at the opportunity to take pictures and do a few videos with westerners. In return, they didn’t charge for Pickleball.
If you do not get asked to do some social work for them, playing Pickleball is only 100k Dong for a day. This includes all the paddles and balls.
