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, 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.

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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