Hawaiian-born Wang-Beckvall eyes global rise in pickleball from Malaysia base

SUBANG JAYA: Hawaiian-born Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall will make Malaysia her home base in 2026 as she looks to climb the world pickleball rankings, continuing a professional journey that has taken her from biology labs to international courts.

Malaysia has been kind to the former tennis player-turned-pickleball professional.

A year ago in Kuala Lumpur, Wang-Beckvall teamed up with Jamie We to capture the women’s doubles title at the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour Asia Panas Malaysia Open – a breakthrough result that helped cement her growing reputation on the Asian circuit.

She is in town this week for the Leapmotor APP Kuala Lumpur Open, the first Association of Pickleball Players tournament held in Asia. The tournament is being held at Playa Racquet Club @ PARC Subang.

Wang-Beckvall is seeded sixth in the women’s doubles alongside Nicole Schoeman and fifth in the mixed doubles with Max Manthou.

“I’m feeling really confident,” she said. “I’ve been here for a week training and I love being back in Malaysia.”

The tournament has been recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records as the ‘Largest participation in a pickleball competition’, with 1,760 players competing across multiple categories – a reflection of the sport’s rapid growth in the region.

Wang-Beckvall said the achievement came as no surprise.

“Honestly, pickleball is booming in Asia, especially in Malaysia,” she said. “I played the first PPA Asia event here and won the women’s doubles, so I got to see first-hand just how explosive the sport is right now.”

Born and raised in Honolulu, Wang-Beckvall grew up playing tennis, captaining the Iolani School team before concentrating on studying biology at Hawaii Pacific University. She later worked as a genetic counselling assistant at the Fetal Diagnostic Institute in early 2022.

That same year, she returned to competitive sport – this time in pickleball.

As she collected medal after medal, she decided to turn professional in 2024. There has been no looking back since.

In 2025, she claimed multiple medals on the PPA Asia Tour, including gold at the PPA Panas Malaysia Open and silver at the Hong Kong and Vietnam Opens, establishing herself as one of the region’s most consistent women’s doubles players.

Malaysia’s appeal as a long-term base extends beyond competition.

“There’s no language barrier – English is widely spoken – and I really love the food,” she said. “I’ve also built strong pickleball connections here from competing and winning previously. All of that made Malaysia an easy choice.”

As she continues her rise on the international stage, Wang-Beckvall remains focused on long-term goals, including earning a place in Major League Pickleball in the United States.

For now, however, she is content to let the journey unfold.

“Pickleball has given me my love of competition back,” she said. “I’m excited to see where it takes me next.”