Few young players have had a wilder couple of years than Quang Duong. The teenager nicknamed “Avatar” beat Ben Johns, won a PPA singles title, and climbed into the top 10 in men’s singles in 2024. By the middle of 2025 his United Pickleball Association contract had been terminated, and in 2026 he is building a career largely outside the PPA, with a Vietnamese paddle sponsor and events across Asia.
Below is what we could verify about his background, his results, his paddle, the contract fight, and a transparent (and necessarily wide) estimate of what he has earned.
Early Life and Background
Duong is a Vietnamese American player. His Selkirk team profile listed his hometown as Torrance, California, and a later home base in Las Vegas (Selkirk). Before pickleball he was a serious tennis junior, a “Blue Chip” recruit on Tennis Recruiting and a boys’ 16s Orange Bowl champion, with a background in paddle tennis and swimming as well. Vietnamese press reports that a hand injury disrupted his tennis path and pushed him toward pickleball (Tien Phong).
He came up through Selkirk’s Emerging Pros program, turned pro in 2023 and signed with the PPA late that year. His father, Duc Duong, manages his career.
Age: reports put him at 19 in spring 2025 and 19 or 20 in July 2025 (Pickleball.com, Pickleball.com), which makes him about 20 or 21 today.
Breakout Season in 2024
Duong’s rise was fast and loud, built on court coverage and an aggressive style:
- Houston, April 2024. Seeded 10th, he beat Ben Johns 11-5, 11-9 in the men’s singles quarterfinals and reached the final, where he lost to Federico Staksrud for his first PPA medal, a silver (Pickleball.com).
- Las Vegas, October 2024. He won his first PPA gold in men’s singles at the Las Vegas Rate Championships, beating Michael Loyd 11-2, 11-2 in the semifinal and taking the final 11-9, 11-8 (The Dink).
- Rankings. Selkirk’s profile credits him with two wins over Ben Johns in 2024 and lists him at No. 7 in PPA singles; Vietnamese press reports he peaked at No. 4 in men’s singles late that year.
For a player who had only signed with the PPA months earlier, it was one of the quickest climbs on tour.
The UPA Contract Dispute
Duong’s popularity in Vietnam, one of pickleball’s fastest-growing markets, kept pulling him toward events there, and that ran into the exclusivity terms of his UPA contract (the UPA runs both the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball).
- May 2025: after playing a non-sanctioned event in Vietnam, he was fined $50,000 and suspended from one PPA event and part of an MLP weekend (The Dink).
- July 12, 2025: the UPA terminated his contract after he missed the MLP Mid-Season Tournament in Grand Rapids without approval and instead appeared at a camp and exhibition in Vietnam. The termination letter called it a willful and material breach (Pickleball.com).
Since then he has played wherever he can. He has competed in the India Pickleball League, and in March 2026 he signed a non-exclusive deal with the APP Tour that commits him to four events this season while leaving him free to play other tours, including four events on Malaysia’s D-Joy Tour (The Dink, Pickleball.com).
What Paddle Does Quang Duong Use
Duong now plays Wika, a Vietnam-based paddle brand. He joined Wika at the start of 2026 (The Dink) and has two signature collections with it: “The First Flame” in February 2026, and “Forged in Fire” in late summer 2026, which includes the Wika QD Fire 2 (pitched for control and stability) and the Wika QD Air 2 (an all-court paddle balancing control and attack) (Tien Phong). We have not found a reliable source saying which of the two he uses in competition, or at what thickness.
His paddle history explains why older articles disagree. He spent two years with Selkirk, then signed with Vietnamese brand Sypik on April 30, 2025 (Pickleball.com), and Sypik announced it was moving on from him in early 2026, less than a year later.
Pickleland doesn’t carry Wika, so we can’t sell you his paddle. If you want to see what we do stock, it’s on our paddles page, for pickup at the club in Pflugerville or local delivery within 10 miles.
Quang Duong Net Worth: Our Estimate
Our estimate: roughly $100,000 to $800,000, and we have low confidence in it. Duong’s income sources are mostly private and the figures that have been reported conflict, so this range is deliberately very wide. Here are the inputs.
- Tour contract (low reading). DinkBank, an independent earnings tracker, models his US tour earnings at about $198,000 from 2023 to 2026, built on a contract retainer it estimates at $60,000 a year (DinkBank).
- Tour contract (high reading). The Kitchen reported that his PPA and MLP contract was worth about $300,000 a year (The Kitchen). That is five times DinkBank’s figure, and we can’t say which is right.
- Sponsorships. The same report cited his father as saying the Sypik deal was worth more than $500,000 a year. That is a claim from his camp, not a disclosed contract, and the deal lasted less than a year. His Selkirk and Wika terms are private.
- Costs. The $50,000 fine comes off the top.
- From earnings to net worth. We assume a touring pro keeps 40 to 60 percent of gross after taxes, travel and coaching. Applied to the low reading, that’s well under $150,000; applied to the reported figures for 2024 and 2025, it’s several hundred thousand dollars. His 2026 APP, India Pickleball League and Wika income is unknown.
The honest summary: he has likely earned six figures from the sport, possibly high six figures if the reported contract and sponsorship numbers are accurate, but no one outside his camp knows. For how the top of the sport compares, see the net worth of the top pickleball pros.
What’s Next for Quang Duong
Duong is still very young and still one of the most talented singles players of his generation. Whether he returns to the PPA, stays independent, or becomes the face of the sport’s growth in Southeast Asia is the open question. For the players at the top of the PPA rankings right now, see our guide to the top pickleball players in the world.
Also read:
FAQs
What is Quang Duong’s net worth?
There is no official figure. Our low-confidence estimate is roughly $100,000 to $800,000. Reported numbers for his old tour contract range from about $60,000 to $300,000 a year, and his father has said his former Sypik paddle deal was worth more than $500,000 a year, but none of it has been confirmed.
What paddle does Quang Duong use?
He plays Wika, a Vietnamese brand he joined in early 2026. His signature models include the Wika QD Fire 2 and QD Air 2. Before Wika he was sponsored by Sypik and, before that, Selkirk.
Why was Quang Duong’s contract terminated?
The UPA terminated his contract on July 12, 2025, after he missed a mandatory MLP event to appear at events in Vietnam. It followed a $50,000 fine and suspension in May 2025 for playing an unsanctioned event there.
Does Quang Duong still play on the PPA Tour?
Not since his contract was terminated in July 2025. In 2026 he has a non-exclusive four-event deal with the APP Tour and plays events in Asia, including the India Pickleball League.
Why is Quang Duong called Avatar?
“Avatar” is the nickname listed on his Pickleball.com player profile, and his social media handles use it too.