Tama Shimabukuro arrived at the Panas Kuala Lumpur Open 2026 days after reaching the Men's Singles final at the Atlanta Slam as the 22nd seed, where he beat Federico Staksrud and the top seed Hunter Johnson. He was 15.
In Malaysia he was the top seed in Men's Doubles with Armaan Bhatia, the top seed in Mixed Doubles with Alix Truong, and third seed in Men's Singles, which put a triple crown in range. Only Connor Garnett had done it in Asia, at the Sansan Fukuoka Open 2025.
Dates | May 13 to 17, 2026 |
Venue | 9Pickle, Setia Alam, Selangor |
City | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Pro prize money | US$50,000 |
Ranking tier | PPA Asia 500 |
Ranking points | 500 to each champion |
Official results | pickleballtournaments.com |
Truong takes a top seeding for the first time
Hien Truong led the Men's Singles draw for the first time on the tour, with two silvers and a bronze in the event and no gold. The draw projected him to meet Shimabukuro in the semifinals. Giang Trinh, the reigning Panas Malaysia Open champion, was seeded fifth, and Hong Kit Wong second.
Three Malaysian players were in the main draw at 9Pickle: Colin Wong, Jimmy Liong and Syed Uzair Sufi. Liong had finished fourth at the Panas Malaysia Open on the same courts.
A new pairing against a settled one
Bhatia and Shimabukuro topped the Men's Doubles as a new partnership, with Collin Johns and Len Yang seeded second after a long run of matches together in the United States. Eunggwon Kim and Hong Kit Wong were seeded third with three medals together and no gold.
Wang's missing singles title
Chao Yi Wang led the Women's Singles draw having won three Women's Doubles golds in 2025 without a singles title. Ting Chieh Wei, seeded fourth, held three Women's Doubles golds from 2025, level with Wang as the most on the tour.
More from the Panas Kuala Lumpur Open
Results verified against the official bracket on pickleballtournaments.com and the PPA Tour Asia tournament page. Photographs: PPA Tour Asia.