Stupa Sports has signed a partnership with D-Joy Pickleball, a club, training academy, and tournament organiser based in Ho Chi Minh City. The deal brings Stupa's AI-powered officiating and analytics technology to two of Vietnam's biggest pickleball events this year.
The deal covers the D-Joy Pickleball Tour Leg 3, held from September 9 to 13, and the D-Joy Vietnam Masters, running November 24 to 29. Stupa and D-Joy have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding that extends the partnership into 2027, covering D-Joy's full event calendar for the year.
The technology package includes AI-powered VAR to help officials rule on line and match decisions. It also brings Stupa's Match Analytics platform, which breaks down serving, rally patterns, shot performance, and errors in real time and after each match. A third piece feeds live data into 3D broadcast graphics.
According to Megha Gambhir, Co-Founder and CEO of Stupa Sports:
"Pickleball is evolving rapidly as a global sport, and technology will play an important role in shaping how the game is officiated, analysed and experienced."
Hoang Hai Thuy, Tournament Director at D-Joy Pickleball, called it a milestone for the organisation. He said it will raise the standard of officiating and player insight across D-Joy's tournaments.
D-Joy Isn't Starting From Zero
This isn't D-Joy's first run with Stupa's systems. At Leg 2 of the D-Joy Tour in June, the tournament already used Stupa's 2D and 3D statistics and broadcast graphics. It also ran an automatic video review setup built around nine to 11 ultra-slow-motion cameras positioned around the court.
The system was designed to rule on disputed ball trajectories without pulling in a separate video referee. That event also ran DUPR integration and drew more than 1,500 registrations, with APP international referee Byron Freso serving as chief referee.
D-Joy's scale gives the partnership real weight. The organisation runs 76 courts across three locations in Ho Chi Minh City, including a 52-court cluster, alongside its club, academy and tournament operation.
Stupa's pickleball footprint now spans three very different environments in one year. Its systems have also been used at the World Pickleball League in Mumbai.
In August, Stupa began a three-year run as Pickleball England's data and technology partner for the 2026 English Open in Birmingham. At that event, a Decision Review System challenge overturned a call at 14-14 on match point. That's exactly the kind of moment that decides whether a review system earns trust or gets treated as a gimmick.
Why This is Important for the Pickleball Scene in SEA
Southeast Asia's pickleball growth is usually measured in courts built and players registered. D-Joy alone runs 76 courts across three Ho Chi Minh City locations, including a 52-court cluster. Leg 3 of its tour carries a reported VND3 billion prize pool.
Those numbers explain why officiating and data now matter as much as the count of new courts. A tournament that size can't run on line calls and a scoreboard app.
Vietnam has an unusual advantage here. Three Vietnamese men reached the professional singles semi-finals at last week's World Cup in Da Nang, and Lý Hoàng Nam played in four finals on the closing Sunday.
That kind of depth is arriving at the same time as the courts, the tournaments and the broadcast systems, not decades after them the way it did in North America. Vietnam gets to build video review, live analytics and broadcast graphics into its tournaments from the start, instead of retrofitting them onto an existing recreational base.
That's a pattern worth watching across the region, not just in Vietnam. Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines are all adding courts and tournament calendars of their own.
The operators who invest in officiating and data early are the ones likely to attract the sponsors and broadcasters that matter. That's what turns a good weekend of pickleball into a sustainable event business.
Where This Leaves the Region
The real test isn't whether the technology sounds impressive on paper. It's whether officials trust the calls, whether players actually use the analytics, and whether organisers can afford to run it beyond a single showcase court. D-Joy Leg 3 and the Vietnam Masters will be the next places that gets answered.
Looking to see what a well-run court setup looks like closer to home? Check out our directory of pickleball courts in major regions in Southeast Asia. Follow @thepicklebase on Instagram for more on how Southeast Asia's pickleball scene keeps building.