On the final day of competition, Quang Duong faced a demanding schedule, competing in three consecutive finals: men's singles, men's doubles, and mixed doubles. He had previously excelled through the quarterfinals and semifinals to reach these championship matches.

Quang Duong (center) won the men's singles title at the APP Penang Open 2026 pickleball tournament, held at Gurney Drive, Penang, Malaysia, on the morning of 26/7. Photo: Screenshot

In the men's singles final, Quang Duong played against Phoenix He from China. To conserve energy for his two subsequent finals, the Vietnamese player adopted a fast-paced offensive strategy, employing powerful finishing shots from the back of the court. His forceful shots proved too much for He to handle, and the 20-year-old quickly won 11-3, 11-5.

Later, in the men's doubles final, Quang Duong partnered with Harsh Mehta from India to face the American duo Jack Munro and Aidan Schenk. Displaying seamless coordination, Quang Duong and Mehta dominated their opponents, winning 11-4, 11-3, to secure their second championship title.

Moving on to the mixed doubles event, the Vietnamese-American player teamed up with Amanda Hendry from the United States against Jack Munro (USA) and Ross Van Reek (Netherlands). While their opponents were a balanced defensive pair, with Ross Van Reek having already won the women's singles and women's doubles titles, Quang Duong's partner was comparatively weaker.

Consequently, after covering much of the court and carrying his teammate to win the first set 11-8, Quang Duong began to tire. Combined with his partner making numerous errors, he became mentally affected, leading to a straight-set loss in the next two sets with scores of 0-11, 0-11. This result cost him a potential hat-trick of championships.

Quang Duong and Harsh Mehta (India) won the men's doubles title at the APP Penang Open 2026 pickleball tournament, held at Gurney Drive, Penang, Malaysia, at noon on 26/7. Photo: Screenshot

The APP Penang Open is part of the APP Asia Tour system, which is affiliated with USA Pickleball, the governing body for pickleball in the United States.

The APP Penang Open 2026 took place from 22/7 to 26/7 at the Pickle By The Sea courts, Gurney Drive, Penang, Malaysia. The tournament featured nearly 1,000 professional and amateur players from countries including the United States, Australia, Netherlands, China, Vietnam, India, Canada, Brazil, Qatar, Syria, Norway, and Ireland, competing in five categories for a total prize fund of approximately 1,3 billion VND.

Quang Duong, whose full name is Duong Thien Quang, was born in 2006 in Manhattan Beach, California, United States, to Vietnamese parents. His father, a former table tennis athlete, encouraged his son to try various racket sports from an early age.

Initially, Quang tried tennis and table tennis before discovering and beginning to play pickleball in 2020. The 20-year-old player has since frequently returned to Vietnam to compete in domestic and international tournaments, achieving many successes and helping to promote Vietnamese pickleball on the international stage.

Duc Dong