PPA and Quang Duong Reunion? Pickleball Voice Zane Navratil Speculates on QD’s Possible Return to Big Leagues – Pickleball News Asia
Aside from being a fantastic pro on the PPA Tour and in MLP, pickleball star Zane Navratil is also s
On New Year’s Day, Navratil posted a video on social media speculating about a potential reunion between Quang Duong and the PPA Tour, which previously terminated the former’s contract for what it alleges were repeated violations. But now, thanks to Navratil’s keen eye and pickleball insider knowledge, it appears there might be a thawing of relations that could ultimately pave the way for the Vietnamese sensation’s return to the PPA Tour.
To be clear, nothing is concrete yet at this moment, and Navratil never said that a reunion is happening. He does speculate, though, after seeing Quang Duong practising with Lifetime balls, which are, incidentally, the official ball of the PPA Tour.
“So, I’m creeping on his Instagram profile when I notice a very, very interesting post… QD is playing with the Lifetime ball,” Navratil pointed out in his short video. “In the caption, he writes, ‘Cold dark with LT ball is like a rock, but I like it. It shoots off like a bullet.’ This kind of sounds to me like somebody who’s using it for the first time, and the Lifetime ball is, of course, the official ball of the PPA Tour.”
Navratil then explained why this could be a clue, noting that, based on his own experience, pros “don’t just randomly use other balls” that they will not be competing with. He also noted that “none of the events that he’s [Quang Duong] played internationally have used the Lifetime ball, and none of the internationals are going to be using the Lifetime ball”.
Additionally, Navratil pointed out that Duong and Sypik have officially parted ways as well. The Sypik endorsement, according to Navratil, “has got to be one of the main reasons why QD went over to Vietnam several times to run the events and promote his paddle”, and that eventually led to his termination.
Navratil actually began his video with this news, and while he doesn’t explicitly say it, the one-time PPA Tour Asia participant might be implying that, with Duong’s Sypik days now over, he would be able to focus more on staying in the US to play pro pickleball there.
Again, this is all speculation, and Navratil never said Quang Duong and the PPA Tour are getting back together. That being said, he is right on two things: both the PPA Tour and Duong lost out on their break-up back in July, and it only makes sense that they get back together.
“When the whole termination occurred, I thought it was a huge loss for both parties,” Navratil shared. “In order to be the best, you’ve got to play on the PPA Tour, and QD wants to be the best. Shohei Ohtani wasn’t Shohei Ohtani until he dominated Major League Baseball, and now he’s one of the most famous athletes on the entire planet. And then from the PPA side, having Asia’s biggest star by a mile playing on your tour is enormous for both PPA US and PPA Asia.”
And that’s why a reunion makes so much sense, in the keen eyes of Navratil.
“As we’ve seen over the last bit of time, the PPA is cutthroat but practical,” he said. “I’d imagine they would love to have QD back, and I’d also imagine that QD would love even more to be back…”
So, will that ever happen? It’s best to just stay tuned.
(Watch Zane Navratil’s video below.)
