Team USA sweep Latin America 3-0 to win inaugural MLP Nations Cup as pickleball Worlds begin in Texas

Team USA have won the first Major League Pickleball (MLP) Nations Cup. They beat Latin America 3-0 in the final on Sunday, 1 November, at Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, Texas. Ben Johns, Anna Bright and their teammates finished the three-day event unbeaten. The tournament opens two weeks of pickleball in the Dallas area, and the Opendoor Pickleball World Championships began at the same venue on Monday.

How the final was won

The United States went through the tournament with a 5-0 record and lost only four of their 18 doubles games, according to The Dink. In the final against Latin America, all three games went the Americans' way:

• Women's doubles: Anna Bright and Kate Fahey beat Mari Humberg and Alexa Schull 11-9.
• Men's doubles: Ben Johns and CJ Klinger beat Eric Oncins and Nico Acevedo 11-1.
• Mixed doubles: Bright and Johns beat Schull and Oncins 11-6.

Johnny Goldberg captained the team. Tyra Black and Will Howells completed the six-player roster.

In the semi-finals, the USA beat Europe East 3-1. Europe East were without Slovenia's Tina Pisnik, who had food poisoning, according to Forbes. Latin America beat Asia Domestic 3-1 in the other semi-final.

Eight regional teams, 48 players

The event brought together eight regional teams with six players each, split into two groups of four. Each team played three round-robin matches across Friday and Saturday. The top two in each group then went into Sunday's knockout rounds.

• Group A: USA, Asia Domestic, Europe West and Canada
• Group B: Latin America, Europe East, Australia and Asia International

Group B was much closer. Latin America, Europe East and Australia all finished 2-1, and tiebreakers decided the two places. Australia went out despite wins over Asia International and Europe East. Their 3-0 defeat to Latin America proved costly.

Asian teams: one semi-finalist, one Malaysian

Asia Domestic, the team with the strongest Asian challenge, went 2-1 in Group A to reach the last four. The Dink reports that they took the eventual champions to the tournament's only DreamBreaker tie-break, which they lost 21-18. They also won a men's doubles game 11-9 in their semi-final defeat.

Their roster was:

• Augie Ge and Len Yang (China)
• Milan Rane (India)
• Jonathan Truong (Vietnam)
• Zoey Wang and Jamie Wei (Chinese Taipei)

Malaysia had one player in the event. Jimmy Liong was part of the Asia International team captained by Madeleine Lim. His teammates were Rika Fujiwara and Tama Shimabukuro of Japan, Lingwei Kong of China, Jack Wong of Hong Kong and Macy Ybañez of the Philippines. Asia International lost all three group matches and did not advance.

Worlds now under way, with finals early Monday Malaysia time

The Nations Cup was the curtain-raiser for the Opendoor Pickleball World Championships, a PPA Tour Major worth 3,000 ranking points. It runs from 2 to 8 November, with total payouts of US$1,648,641 including appearance fees, according to the PPA. Champions will be crowned in five divisions: men's and women's singles, and men's, women's and mixed doubles.

The schedule:

• Tuesday, 3 November: round of 64
• Friday, 6 November: quarter-finals
• Saturday, 7 November: semi-finals
• Sunday, 8 November: finals, from 10am in Texas, which is midnight on Monday, 9 November in Malaysia

PickleballTV is streaming the event. Anna Leigh Waters defends the women's singles title. She also partnered Bright to the women's doubles crown and Johns to the mixed doubles crown last year. Federico Staksrud holds the men's singles title.

Closer to home, the PPA calendar lists the PPA Asia 125 Malaysia Johor Championships in Masai from 17 to 20 December.

Key takeaways

• Team USA beat Latin America 3-0 to win the first MLP Nations Cup on 1 November in Farmers Branch, Texas.
• The USA went 5-0, and their only close match was a 21-18 DreamBreaker win over Asia Domestic.
• Asia Domestic reached the semi-finals, while Malaysia's Jimmy Liong played for Asia International, which went 0-3.
• The PPA World Championships run from 2 to 8 November, with finals from midnight on Monday, 9 November, Malaysia time.
• The PPA Asia 125 Malaysia Johor Championships are scheduled for 17 to 20 December.

FAQ

Who won the first MLP Nations Cup? Team USA won it, beating Latin America 3-0 in the final on 1 November 2026. The team was Ben Johns, Anna Bright, Kate Fahey, CJ Klinger, Tyra Black and Will Howells, captained by Johnny Goldberg.

Did any Malaysian play in the Nations Cup? Yes. Jimmy Liong represented Malaysia in the Asia International team, which lost all three group matches.

When are the Pickleball World Championship finals in Malaysia time? Championship Sunday starts at 10am in Texas on 8 November, which is midnight on Monday, 9 November in Malaysia.

Sources: The Dink Pickleball, Forbes, The Kitchen, PPA Tour, Pickleball.com