The UPA, which oversees the U.S. Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), announced on Saturday that it has “terminated the contract of Quang Duong for multiple and repeated violations of the exclusivity terms of the agreement,” according to its statement shared on X.

Duong, who ranked sixth in men’s singles, failed to attend the MLP Mid-Season event held July 9–13 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while appearing at a pickleball event in Nha Trang, central Vietnam, on July 12, according to Pickleball.com.

According to the UPA, Duong did not notify representatives in advance of his absence.

“Despite numerous attempts to work with Duong and his team – including conversations, warnings and fines – there have been continued and consistent misinterpretations of facts and contract breaches,” the organization said.

This is the second disciplinary action the UPA has taken against Duong. In May, he was fined US$50,000, a penalty he has contested and not yet paid. The fine was imposed as Duong returned to Vietnam to participate in a charity tournament, breaching his contract with the UPA for the first time as he was prohibited from playing in unsanctioned tournaments outside the PPA system.

The 19-year-old athlete is in Nha Trang and he participated in a community pickleball event to promote the sport locally. Unlike his May trip to Vietnam, which included a tournament in Lao Cai, Duong is not expected to compete during this visit.

Duong Thien Quang, known professionally as Quang Duong, was born in 2006 in Manhattan Beach, California, to Vietnamese parents. His father, a former table tennis player, introduced him early to racket sports such as tennis, table tennis and padel. Duong began playing pickleball in 2020 after watching a professional match on television and quickly rose through the ranks thanks to his strong athletic foundation.

In 2024, Duong won the PPA Tour Rate Championships in men’s singles and currently tops the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) junior men’s singles rankings. He gained international attention after defeating world number one duo Ben and Collin Johns at the 2024 Lapiplasty and went on to win the world championship IHG Bristol Open.