Tongan pickleball players miss US tournament as visa crackdown hits Pacific athletes

What was meant to be a celebration of Pacific sport, culture and community in Salt Lake City has highlighted the growing barriers facing Tongan travellers under tighter US immigration rules.

Several Tongan pickleball players were unable to compete in an international tournament in Utah after their US visa applications were denied.

The tournament, held at Glendale Park on Saturday, brought together players from across the United States and the Pacific for a match-up between two predominantly Polynesian teams: Salt Lake City's Die Hard Pickleballerz and Team Kalia, an international club made up of players from Tonga, New Zealand and Australia.

For those who made it, the tournament was about far more than pickleball.

But for several players from Tonga, the opportunity to compete never got off the ground.

Fewer Tongan players able to make the trip

Team Kalia president Johnny Hafoka brought eight players from Tonga to this year's tournament, alongside 10 players from Australia and 10 from New Zealand, as well as several players from other US states.

But that was significantly fewer Tongan players than last year.

Hafoka said he brought 20 players from Tonga when he first hosted the tournament last year and had expected the number to grow.

This year, however, the Tongan players who were able to travel were largely those who already held valid multiple-entry US visas and had previously travelled to the country.

The difference has been linked to the Trump administration's tighter restrictions affecting Tongan nationals.

In January, the US began partially restricting entry and visa issuance for Tongans, citing high rates of visa overstays.

Tonga was the only Pacific island country included in those restrictions.

The country was also added to the US State Department's visa-bond programme on January 21.

Under the programme, some Tongan visitors applying for US visas can be required to pay a US$5,000, US$10,000 or US$15,000 bond before receiving a visa, with the amount determined during their visa interview.

For players travelling from Tonga, that additional cost can be prohibitive.

“These people in the island can’t even afford to barely get airfare,” Hafoka said, explaining why some players could not make the trip.

The visa restrictions are therefore being felt not only by people travelling for work, study or family reasons, but also by Pacific athletes hoping to compete on an international stage.

Four hours of questioning at the border

Even for those who successfully secured a visa and made the journey, the experience was not necessarily straightforward.

Team Kalia coach Tosilani Sanft, who is from Tonga, said he was questioned by US officials for about four hours after arriving at the airport.

Officials questioned his identity and his reason for travelling and took his cellphone for inspection, he said.

Sanft said that when he explained he had travelled to the US to play pickleball, the questioning continued.

He was left feeling that officials were trying to get him to say he had travelled to the US to work instead.

The experience came as Tongan players were already dealing with uncertainty around whether they would be allowed to enter the country in the first place.

A Pacific community built around sport

Despite the difficulties, the tournament itself was a powerful display of Pacific connection.

The Die Hard Pickleballerz are based in Salt Lake City's west side, an area with one of the largest and most concentrated Tongan communities in the United States.

For local players, pickleball has become much more than a game.

Hola Mafua, who has played with the club for three years, said the sport has become a way for Salt Lake City's Pacific Islander community to stay active and connected.

The club began around five years ago with players ranging in age from 11 to almost 80.

Since then, it has grown from a small group to around 150 members.

In 2023, half of the formerly empty tennis courts at Glendale Park were converted into pickleball courts following efforts by community organiser Ifa Motuliki and others.

And the club recently secured another major win, with the Glendale Neighborhood Council saying the city had agreed to fund nearly US$1 million in lighting for the park's pickleball and tennis courts.

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Source: Salt Lake Tribune

Thumbnail: (Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Soni Laumape plays in open play during an international pickleball tournament for Pacific Islanders hosted by the Glendale club The Die Hard Pickleballerz in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026.