Police in Pattaya are investigating the unexplained death of a former Thai national tennis player and respected coach who was found dead inside his home on Sunday afternoon.

Officers from Nong Prue Police Station were called to a single-storey house in Moo 14, Huai Chak Nok area, Nong Prue, Bang Lamung district, Chonburi, at around 3pm on 26 July after relatives became concerned when they were unable to contact the 64-year-old man.

The deceased, identified by authorities, only as Nattawee, was a senior tennis player, a member of Thailand’s national beach tennis team, an executive at a well-known Pattaya tennis club and a coach credited with developing a number of prominent players in Thailand. Thailandcultural experiences

Body discovered inside locked house

According to police, relatives in Bangkok had lost contact with Natthawee and asked a caretaker from the tennis club to check on him. The front door was reportedly locked and the caretaker used a spare key to enter the property.

Inside a bedroom, officers found Natthawee lying on a bed wearing a pink T-shirt. Blood was found over the bedding and around his body. Police observed signs of strangulation, scratch marks on his neck and stab wounds on the arms. A kitchen knife, was discovered on the bed near the headboard, while a blanket had been placed partially over the body.

Police secured the scene while forensic officers from Chonburi’s Crime Scene Investigation unit carried out a detailed examination.

Family mentions concerns before death

The victim’s older brother travelled to the house after learning of the death and told police that Natthawee had contacted him two days earlier to say he was distressed.

According to the brother, the former tennis player had been troubled by problems involving a former student from Laos who had since left his coaching. He said the student had recently become aggressive and disobedient despite having been cared for and supported by Natthawee over the years.

The brother said he did not know whether those concerns were connected to the death.

Police stressed that the cause of death has not yet been established. Investigators are awaiting the results of the forensic examination while also attempting to locate and question the former Laotian student as part of the inquiry.

Picture courtesy of Amarin

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27 July 2026

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That's why I stick to pickleball. Violent pickleball players will slice at you with a manila envolope, extremely violent ones have been known to throw paper pellets.

UPDATE

Police hunt murderer of Thai tennis player in Pattaya

Picture courtesy of Amarin

Police in Pattaya are searching for the killer of a former Thai national beach tennis player after investigators found evidence suggesting he was strangled and fatally attacked with a knife inside his home.

The victim, identified as 64-year-old Nattawee, was discovered dead in his bedroom. Officers from Nong Prue Police Station, forensic specialists from Chonburi’s Police Forensic Science Division, a duty doctor and rescue workers carried out a detailed examination of the scene.

Signs of a violent struggle

Police said the victim was lying on his back on the bed wearing a T-shirt and white underwear, partially covered by a blanket. The bed was heavily stained with blood and showed clear signs of a struggle.

Investigators found deep knife wounds to the back of both upper arms above the elbows, with police saying the injuries had severed major blood vessels. Bruising around the neck was also consistent with strangulation.

A kitchen knife, was recovered beside the bed and seized for forensic examination. The body has been sent to the Police General Hospital’s Institute of Forensic Medicine for a full post-mortem examination.

A 22-year-old Lao national, who has known the victim for the past three years, was questioned by police and underwent fingerprint checks. He told investigators he had travelled to Thailand to work and train in tennis and pickleball under the victim, eventually becoming qualified to coach others.

He said that on the evening before the killing he had returned from a tennis competition and gone to rest. Later that night, the victim called asking him to open the gate to the tennis courts so he could charge his electric vehicle, but later decided to park at his own house instead.

Police focus on personal conflict

The Lao man also told police that four compatriots had originally travelled to Thailand with him. One later left after disagreements with the victim, who frequently criticised him, although he said all four remain in Thailand.

A 46-year-old woman who regularly used the victim’s tennis courts said they had become close friends. She revealed the victim had recently sent her messages complaining about the behaviour of a former Lao employee whom he had supported extensively, including plans to take him on a trip to Europe.

According to her, the relationship deteriorated after the employee left to work for someone close to the victim. She said she did not believe the death was self-inflicted and was convinced he had been deliberately targeted.

Nong Prue Police chief Pol Col Nattaphon Phongsuksakul said investigators are treating the case as a homicide linked to a personal dispute. Police are gathering evidence and questioning people close to the victim, expressing confidence that the suspect will be identified soon.

CCTV footage has become a key part of the investigation. Cameras recorded the victim’s white electric car entering the village at 11.11pm, passing the tennis courts before returning to his house. At 12.38am, footage captured an unidentified man standing opposite the victim’s home while two motorcycles entered the village, before the man walked past the property.

The investigation remains ongoing, with police confident that an arrest will be made soon.

27 July 2026