Between the tropical heat off the courts at The Hood and the intensity on them, the Leapmotor Kuala Lumpur Cup 2026 turned into one of the hottest weeks on the PPA Tour Asia calendar in every sense. Five days, with prize money on the line, and a JOOLA roster that turned up ready to sweat for it.

By the time Championship Sunday wrapped, JOOLA athletes had claimed a gold, a silver in men's doubles, two more silvers in singles, and reached the semifinals or quarterfinals in six further events. Here is how it all went down.

GOLD: Noe Khlif (JOOLA) & Gabe Tardio — Men's Doubles

Noe Khlif's first trip to Asia will be one to remember. The newly crowned MLP champion arrived in Malaysia fresh off that title and left with a Men's Doubles gold medal to match.

It was not a straightforward run. Early in the draw, Khlif and partner Gabe Tardio found themselves staring down the barrel against Pengsu Yong and hometown favorite Syed Uzair Sufi, trailing 10-0 in the opening game before scraping enough points to avoid the pickle and still dropping it 3-11. From there, everything clicked. Khlif and Tardio found another gear, storming back 11-5, 11-1 to complete the turnaround and keep their run alive.

They kept building through the draw, eventually getting past Clayton Powell and Aryaan Bhatia in the semifinals to set up a title match against Augie Ge and JOOLA's own Len Yang. Tardio and Khlif closed it out 11-9, 11-4 to complete the double for Tardio and hand Khlif gold in his very first Men's Doubles final in Asia.

SILVER: Len Yang (JOOLA) & Augie Ge — Men's Doubles

Len Yang and Augie Ge were part of a stacked Men's Doubles draw, one that PPA Tour Asia previewed as four heavyweight contenders fighting for a single trophy. Yang and Ge lived up to the billing, fighting through a bracket that included a heavyweight quarterfinal test against AJ Koller and Quan Do, a match pitting three Asia Men's Doubles gold medalists on one court, before beating Tama Shimabukuro and Yuta Funemizu in the semifinals to book their spot in the final.

Yang and Ge fought hard in the final against a red-hot Tardio and Khlif, who closed it out 11-9, 11-4. Silver is a great result for a partnership still building its resume in Asia, and knocking off Shimabukuro and Funemizu along the way is a real highlight from the week.

SILVER: Brooke Buckner (JOOLA) — Women's Singles

Brooke Buckner put together another excellent week, going all the way to the Women's Singles final for the second straight meeting with Kaitlyn Christian, a direct rematch of their MB Hanoi Cup final earlier this year. Christian came back from a game down to win it 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, but Buckner pushed her to three games in a final that is quickly becoming one of the best rivalries on tour.

Buckner reached the final working through a bottom half of the draw that also included Chao Yi "Zoey" Wang, Yufei Long, and Rika Fujiwara, a testament to how consistently she is performing at the top of the field. Two finals against the same opponent this year says everything about where Buckner sits in the Women's Singles picture right now, and there is clearly more to come from this rivalry.

SILVER: Noe Khlif (JOOLA) — Men's Singles

A remarkable week for Noe Khlif did not stop at doubles gold. In singles, he powered to the final with a commanding 11-7, 11-0 win over Harrison Brown in the semifinals, capping off a run that saw him reach the last four in both singles and doubles in his Asia debut.

Waiting for him in the final was 15-year-old Tama Shimabukuro, chasing his second Asia singles title of the year. The teenager proved too sharp on the day, closing it out 11-8, 11-5. Silver in singles and gold in doubles from a first-ever Asia trip is about as good a debut as it gets.

SEMIFINALISTS

Len Yang (JOOLA) & Sahra Dennehy — Mixed Doubles. Yang and Dennehy beat Alix Truong and Tama Shimabukuro on their way to the semifinals, a great win over a strong pairing. Once there, Dennehy faced a curious twist of fate, playing against her own Women's Doubles partner Danni-Elle Townsend on the other side of the net, who went on to reach the final alongside Joey Wild. A semifinal finish and a notable win along the way made for a strong week for Yang across two events.

Chao Yi "Zoey" Wang (JOOLA) & Armaan Bhatia — Mixed Doubles. This pairing reached the semifinals in a stacked Mixed Doubles field, a strong showing for a partnership still finding its rhythm together.

Brooke Buckner (JOOLA) & Lacy Schneemann (JOOLA) — Women's Doubles. This all-JOOLA pairing went in as one of the teams to beat and backed it up, reaching the semifinals before an in-form Sahra Dennehy and Danni-Elle Townsend edged them out. A great showing all around from Buckner and Schneemann.

Chao Yi "Zoey" Wang (JOOLA) & Ting Chieh "Jamie" Wei — Women's Doubles. Zoey and Wei reached the semifinals in a Women's Doubles field that turned out to be one of the most competitive of the week, capping off a standout tournament for Zoey across three separate events.

Other notable results

Kenta Miyoshi (JOOLA) & Tom Protzek: Men's Doubles Quarterfinalists

Aiko Yoshitomi (JOOLA) & Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall: Women's Doubles Quarterfinalists

Chao Yi "Zoey" Wang (JOOLA): Women's Singles Quarterfinalist

Lacy Schneemann (JOOLA): Women's Singles Quarterfinalist

Next Up

The tour turns the page from Malaysia's heat to Hong Kong's bigger stage. JOOLA APAC's athletes head into the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam, a PPA Asia 1500 event running October 19-25, carrying gold, three silvers, and a full week of momentum with them. Kuala Lumpur was hot. Hong Kong is next.

Photos Courtesy of PPA Tour Asia