Quang Duong hits a backhand.
Quang Duong competing with a Proton paddle during the mixed doubles Round of 64 on Tuesday. PPA Tour

Selkirk releases statement on Duong after paddle controversy

If you thought Tuesday’s biggest drama at the Masters would happen on the pickleball court, you’d be correct. But it wasn’t in the way you might think.

Quang Duong sent shockwaves throughout the picklesphere during he and Parris Todd’s Round of 64 mixed doubles match against Lindsey Newman/Blaine Hovenier. After missing a routine backhand dink early in the contest, the Selkirk-signed star walked over to his bench to switch out his Selkirk paddle for a Proton Series Three paddle.

 

Now, look. I watch a lot of pickleball. A lot of pickleball. I have never seen anything like that, especially from a player who has a contract with one of the most recognizable brands in the sport.

As news of Duong’s actions broke, it was reported that Selkirk would be suing the 19-year-old for breaching his contract and that—more notably—the company had served him the lawsuit while he was on court.

Selkirk released a statement on the matter late Tuesday evening.

In the statement, Selkirk alleges that Duong—who is under contract until April of 2025—has breached said contract on several occasions. Thus, the company sent him a cease-and-desist letter “in the hopes to prevent continuous and additional breaches.”

Selkirk also asserted that the cease-and-desist letter was sent electronically and that nothing was served to Duong in person.

Over the past few weeks, Duong has been posting social media videos that show him training with paddles from other brands, specifically from JOOLA and Proton. Many fans speculated that this was evidence of a growing rift between the gifted teenager and his sponsor.

Now, it seems like those rumors may not be so farfetched.

 

Another thing to keep in mind here is that there are only two Selkirk models available for use this week in Palm Springs: the Epic and Invikta shapes of the Project 008. Each Selkirk-signed player—including Duong, James Ignatowich, Catherine Parenteau, Rachel Rohrabacher, and Jack Sock—are only allowed to use those two models because they are currently the only ones with provisional approval from the UPA-A.

It’ll be interesting to see what paddles Duong uses as he progresses through the draw this week. On Wednesday, he’ll compete in men’s singles, mixed doubles with Parris Todd, and men’s doubles with Matt Wright.