Sietske van Hoef wins gold for Bonaire at Pickleball World Cup in Vietnam
KRALENDIJK – Sietske van Hoef has won gold for Bonaire at the Pickleball World Cup 2026 in Da Nang, Vietnam. Van Hoef claimed the women’s singles title in the 3.5 All Ages category. Sandra Villamizar also brought home a medal for Bonaire, winning bronze.
The Pickleball World Cup is being held in Da Nang from August 30 to September 6. The international tournament is being organised in Asia for the first time this year, drawing thousands of participants from dozens of countries and territories.
Van Hoef began her individual tournament with matches against players from Australia and Vietnam. The knockout rounds followed. In the semi-final she defeated a player from Aruba, before facing a Vietnamese opponent again in the final. She won that match too, claiming gold in the 3.5 All Ages category.
Van Hoef did not see the success coming. “It was quite a surprise that it went so well right away,” she says from Vietnam. She credits her earlier experience with tennis as helpful. “Singles in pickleball is most similar to tennis.”
How her mother led her to pickleball
Van Hoef currently lives in the Netherlands, where she is studying psychology, but has a strong connection to Bonaire. Her mother and stepfather live on the island, and she herself visits almost every holiday. For the World Cup, she received dispensation to compete on behalf of Bonaire.
It was through her mother that she was first introduced to pickleball. What started with games on a private court in a backyard on Bonaire grew into an ever-larger group of players. Van Hoef joined in more and more during her visits to the island and eventually began training more seriously.
“Every time I’m on holiday there, I feel completely at home,” says Van Hoef about Bonaire. “I really look forward to going, to relax and enjoy the great people and the wonderful surroundings.”
Bronze for Sandra Villamizar too
Bonaire has two medals to show after the individual events. Alongside Van Hoef’s gold, Sandra Villamizar won bronze in the singles. That brings the Bonairean team’s tally to one gold and one bronze medal.
The Bonaire delegation consists of around twenty people, according to Van Hoef. For many participants, the journey to Vietnam alone was quite an undertaking, some team members were travelling for around 48 hours.
The tournament is not yet over. After the individual events, the team competition follows. Van Hoef tempers expectations, as Bonaire is up against much larger pickleball nations. “We mainly just love being here and experiencing it all. And hopefully getting better and better.”
For Van Hoef, her gold medal has left her hungry for more. She only started training seriously for pickleball about a month ago and wants to keep developing. “It motivates me to keep improving. And hopefully to keep improving with Bonaire too, so that we can ultimately achieve great things.”
