The Pickleball Pop Wars: How a Sport Craze Sparked a Noise Crisis in Vietnam

Vietnam is experiencing a massive cultural clash as its explosive embrace of pickleball, now the country’s second-fastest-growing sport in Asia, collides with the realities of densely packed urban living.
The constant, sharp “pop-pop” of paddles from hundreds of new courts built in residential alleyways and beneath high-rises in cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City has sparked a wave of noise complaints and health concerns, with residents reporting disrupted sleep, an inability to concentrate, and even tenants moving out.
State media has dubbed the sport an “acoustic hazard,” and doctors warn the relentless sound can trigger stress and increase cardiovascular risks, while authorities struggle to enforce national noise ordinances against the around-the-clock play.
This “pickleball war” highlights the growing pains of a rapidly developing nation where a popular, accessible import is testing the limits of community tolerance and urban planning.