South African Women Eye Global Pickleball Stage After Vietnam Gold

PICKLEBALL GOLD PROPELS SOUTH AFRICAN-BORN DUO TOWARD WORLD CUP CHALLENGE

Tanya Silverman arranges pilgrim visits to Israel as a senior tour operator in Tel Aviv. Janine Berzen files patents across Israel and the United States as a paralegal. Both women train for pickleball around full-time jobs and home responsibilities. They stood on an international podium in Vietnam with gold medals, having won the over-60 women’s doubles 3.5 division while representing Team Israel.

“We were so excited that we actually won the finals,” Silverman said. “We have to pinch ourselves that we won gold.”

The victory came at a tournament held ahead of the 2026 Pickleball World Cup, which begins Friday in Vietnam. Silverman and Berzen are set to compete there as well, facing a markedly different field. The World Cup’s over-60 category is not restricted to the 3.5 rating level that defined their recent win. They could encounter players rated 5.2 or 5.5, including highly experienced and professional-level competitors.

Their partnership rests on deep mutual understanding built through consistent play and training. Berzen plays the right side of the court while Silverman plays the left. Berzen sets up Silverman to play the ball; Silverman creates pressure and capitalizes on opportunities. “We just know,” Silverman said. “She knows when to leave a ball for me, I know when to leave balls for her.”

The pair also emphasized the role of encouragement when mistakes occur. “There’s no apologies or anything like that,” Silverman said. “We all make mistakes. We pump each other up.” She described their dynamic as rooted in honesty. “We have the most amazing chemistry. We can be totally honest with each other.”

Both women are former tennis players whose South African upbringing shaped their relationship with sport. Silverman has played tennis since childhood and also played squash. Her family background included top tennis players, one cousin playing mixed doubles at Wimbledon in the 1950s. “I was brought up on the tennis courts,” she said. Berzen continued playing squash after moving to Israel before a fellow squash player introduced her to pickleball.

Silverman discovered the sport differently. After a tennis calf injury, she scrolled Facebook and found pickleball, then took lessons. Played on a smaller court with a paddle and perforated plastic ball, it offered both women a new competitive outlet in Israel.

Meanwhile, their preparation for the Vietnam tournament began several weeks prior. The Israeli team trained together twice weekly for three to four weeks, working with two coaches who introduced specific shots and exercises. Silverman added her own fitness program, exercising almost daily with weight training, high-intensity work, and squats. Berzen plays pickleball two or three times weekly and does additional workouts. Both continued playing regular social games and practiced with their tournament partners.

The pair believe their South African upbringing influenced their competitive approach. “We grew up tough in South Africa,” Silverman said. That toughness appears evident in their confidence heading into the World Cup. “We’re ready,” Berzen said. “We’re ready for action.”

They are not the only South African-born players competing for Israel. Martin Stein, another South African-Israeli player, won bronze in his division at the Vietnam tournament.

The Israeli pickleball community remains relatively small, though the sport is growing. Israel entered the Pickleball World Cup for only the second time this year, making the Vietnam international tournament significant for the team. “It’s not the World Cup per se, but it’s an international tournament and it’s still a big deal,” Silverman said. During their time in Vietnam, Silverman and Berzen also supported South African players they encountered at the competition, a connection Berzen sees as part of representing Israel.

The gold medal marks a stage in a journey that has taken both women from South African courts to a podium in Vietnam. They now face a considerably stronger field. Their first international tournament title has given them confidence, but the World Cup will test them differently. “We deserved it,” Silverman said of their gold medal. “We worked hard. It wasn’t easy.” Whether that same toughness carries them through a field of 5.5-rated competitors is the question Vietnam will answer.