Photos by Emmalynn Hansen
The World Pickleball Championship (WPC) Prague Czech Open took place from Friday, 11 April to Sunday, 13 April at the HAMR – Braník sports complex in Prague. The WPC is part of a prestigious international pickleball circuit that brought top talent from around the world and offered incredible opportunities to compete for both local players and those joining from abroad.
Organized by the Czech Pickleball Association in collaboration with the Prague Pickleball Club, the WPC Prague Czech Open was by far the largest pickleball tournament ever hosted in the Czech Republic. It was attended by over 140 players—half of them local and the other half representing 20 different countries across Europe and beyond. Participants came from Italy, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Spain, Sweden, Ireland, the UK, as well as from more distant countries such as Turkey, Singapore, Australia, Vietnam, India, the UAE, Indonesia, Canada, and the USA.
The tournament featured multiple skill and age divisions in each category, allowing everyone to compete at their appropriate level. Beyond the competition itself, the WPC created a unique chance for players in the Czech Republic to connect with the international pickleball community and provided a fantastic platform to continue growing the sport across the region.
The PPC players delivered some fantastic results, along with our friends from the Vietnamese Lotus Pickleball club based in Prague, medaling in thirteen categories, including several within the highest divisions. A major highlight from the PPC was when our players Radoslav Petrišin and Jan Dvořáček scored a thrilling group-stage win over the Polish duo, Patryk Garwacki & Mateusz Matysik, who ultimately went on to take the men’s doubles 5.0 title. Below are a few highlights of the tournament:
Mixed doubles 35+ 5.0+
🥇 David Palkovský & Ivana Palkovská
🥈 Frida Castillo & Jan Sestak
🥉 Janette Varndell & Ken Lee
Men’s singles 35+ 5.0+
🥇 Márk Szent-Andrássy
🥈 Lukáš Kučer
🥉 Jan Sestak
Men’s singles 19+ 4.5
🥇 Jan Sestak
🥈 Lukáš Kučera
🥉 Khanh Nguyen
Mixed doubles 19+ 4.5
🥇 Jiri Kapralek & Terezie Blanářová
🥈 Benjamin Shuster & Denisa Kulhankova
🥉 Frida Castillo & Matthijs Van Reek
Women’s doubles 19+ 4.5
🥇 Csilla Rétházi & Ramóna Ambrus-Rácz
🥈 Terezie Blanářová & Viktoria Búlik
🥉 Frida Castillo & Prajuna Adhikari
Men’s doubles 19+ 4.5
🥇 Jan Sestak & Lukáš Kučera
🥈 Martin Marušák & Robert Černý
🥉 Hong Huy Nguyen & Van Lap Vu
Men’s singles 50+ 3.5
🥇 Lukáš Špírek
🥈 Vladimír Cienciala
🥉 Miki Čižmár
Men’s doubles 50+ 3.5
🥇 Karel Spirek & Lukáš Špírek
🥈 Josef Kurka & Miki Čižmár
🥉 Alessandro Degrassi & Alessandro Stancanelli
Women’s singles 50+ 3.5
🥇 Lenka Morgan
🥈 Elena Angelica
Women’s doubles 50+ 3.5
🥇 Agnieszka Kologrecka & Joanna Avery
🥈 Lenka Morgan & Sue Sejda
Women’s Doubles 19+3.5
🥇 Iryna Pietsch & Pauline Baldauf
🥈 Linda Luongova & Gabriela Leová
🥉 Vladka Šedá & Viktoria Búlik
Mixed doubles 50+ 3.5
🥇 Cornelia Steinhausen & Hans Joachim Fischer
🥈 Joanna Avery & Tomasz Glit
🥉 Vladka Šedá & Josef Kurka
Men’s singles 19+ 3.5
🥇 Dang Hoang Nguyen
🥈 Thien Long Nguyen
🥉 Roman Kala
Women’s singles 19+ 3.5
🥇 Viktoria Búlik
🥈 Gabriela Leová
🥉 Katarína Malá
Mixed doubles 19+ 3.5
🥇 Roman Kala & Denisa Kulhankova
🥈 Linda Luongova & Hong Huy Nguyen
🥉 Gabriela Leová & Van Lap Vu
Men’s doubles 19+ 3.5
🥇 Hong Huy Nguyen & Van Lap Vu
🥈 László Szeli & Ákos Dobos
🥉 Martin Prusenovsky & Tomáš Vrla
More Results:
Men’s singles 19+ 5.0+
🥇 Bako Balint Gergo
🥈 Krisztian Kaszoni
🥉 Patryk Garwacki
Women’s singles 19+ 5.0+
🥇 Viktória Kanichová
🥈 Silvia Mocciola
🥉 Maria Pintor
Men’s doubles 19+ 5.0+
🥇 Patryk Garwacki & Mateusz Matysik
🥈 Matteo Cugliari & Davide Vendrame
🥉 Krisztian Kaszoni & Bako Balint Gergo
Women’s doubles 19+ 5.0+
🥇 Vittoria De Pasquale & Silvia Mocciola
🥈 Karina Zustakova & Viktória Kanichová
🥉 Fruzsina Szeli & Maria Pintor
Mixed doubles 19+ 5.0+
🥇 Bako Balint Gergo & Viktória Kanichová
🥈 David Palkovský & Ivana Palkovská
🥉 Jiri Kapralek & Karina Zustakova
Men’s doubles 35+ 5.0+
🥇 JS Yeo 3519 & Martin Clark
🥈 David Palkovský & Radim Tesař
🥉 Benjamin Shuster & Vaclav Nuhlicek
Women’s singles 35+ 5.0+
🥇 Ivana Palkovská
🥈 Iryna Pietsch
🥉 Lucie Schulzová
Men’s singles 50+ 5.0+
🥇 Tomasz Glit
🥈 Roger Ho
🥉 Quintin Garrido
Men’s doubles 50+ 5.0+
🥇 Rudolf Kuřítka & Vladimír Cienciala
🥈 Desmond McDonald & Roger Ho
Women’s singles 19+ 4.5
🥇 Denisa Kulhankova
🥈 Diana Nepimachová
🥉 Viktoria Búlik
