名刺管理サービスのSansanが2026年7月1日、プロピックルボール選手へのスポンサードを3名体制へ拡大すると発表した。2025年から契約していた畠山成冴・佐脇京の2選手との契約を更新し、新たに元プロテニス選手の藤原里華を、当時は7月開業予定だった「Sansanピックルボールコート池袋」のアンバサダーに迎える。IT企業が選手を抱えるだけでなく、自社名を冠したコートまで運営し、テニスの元日本代表クラスを起用する——この動きは、日本の企業スポーツ支援が「広告としての協賛」から「事業としての関与」へ移りつつあることを示している。国内でコートを増やしたいプレーヤーにとっても、誰がどんな狙いで施設に投資しているかは見逃せない話だ。
Starting point: from 2 to 3 sponsored players, with a new court ambassador too
This announcement has three key points. The first is renewing contracts with Seiga Hatakeyama and Kei Sawaki, under contract since July 2025. The second is the new signing of Rika Fujiwara. The third is positioning Fujiwara not as a mere contracted player but as "ambassador" of its own court about to open.
Seiga Hatakeyama, a Hokkaido-born player, recorded the first Japanese runner-up finish in the PPA Tour Asia in men's singles at the "PPA Asia 500 Panas Kuala Lumpur Open 2026" held in 2026. Kei Sawaki, a Tokyo-born teenage player, is coming to the fore as a top young talent, with a U-16 title at a world event held in the US and a bronze in women's doubles at the "PPA Asia 500 Macao Open 2026." Building on these two players' achievements, Sansan added an even more well-known name.
Background: why a former French Open doubles semifinalist turned to pickleball
Rika Fujiwara is a player who traveled and competed worldwide in tennis for nearly 20 years. In doubles, she paired with Ai Sugiyama at the 2002 French Open and reached the semifinals. After retiring, she encountered pickleball and, just a few years after switching, won the "PPA Asia 500 Macao Open 2026" singles. It was the first time a Japanese player won singles on the PPA Asia stage.
It's not rare worldwide for racket-sport veterans to produce results in pickleball in a short time, but former pros who can take an international singles title like Fujiwara are limited. Sansan placed a talent combining competitive results and recognition that resonates even with tennis fans as the face of its facility just before opening. Rather than simply enclosing a strong player, the intent of this appointment shows through in designing the story that "go to this facility and you can see the real thing," pairing the court and the player as a set.
Data: Ikebukuro's 7 courts, and a market up 7x in a year
当時開業予定だった「Sansanピックルボールコート池袋」は、東池袋のビル1棟を使う大型施設だ。フロア構成は下表のとおりで、全天候で使える屋内3面・屋外4面の合計7面を備える。
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo (Sansogo Ikebukuro Building) |
| Number of courts | 3 indoor courts and 4 outdoor courts, 7 in total |
| On-site facilities | Lounge, changing rooms, showers |
| Hours | Indoor 6:00–23:00 / Outdoor 9:00–21:00 (open year-round) |
| Scheduled opening | 当初2026年7月予定 |
Behind a company setting up a facility of this scale in the city center is the growth of the market. In Pickleball One's estimate as of March 2026, Japan's player base is about 330,000. That's a roughly 7x swell in a year from about 45,000 the prior year. In the US, where the sport has taken root, some 50 million people are said to enjoy it, and Japan is an early-growth market that has only just reached the entrance. The size of the headroom is moving a company from a seemingly unrelated field like business-card management.
Reaction: a reception split within the industry
The field's reaction to this announcement organizes broadly into three. The first is a welcoming voice. "If a permanent court where pros gather is built in the city center, a spectating culture will grow," says the player crowd that has struggled with a shortage of facilities, taking it positively. The second is the facility-operator viewpoint, with the view that "a major making a serious equipment investment raises the bar for court quality." The third includes caution. There's concern that "if the sponsorship ends as a passing boom, players' careers are left hanging," watching how far the company commits over the long term. All positions share the recognition that corporate involvement has entered a stage that shapes the sport's foundation.
Implications: what players in Japan should read
Seen from a player's viewpoint, there's practical benefit in this move. First, as company-run permanent courts increase, places to practice unaffected by weather are secured in the city center. The scale of 7 indoor and outdoor courts is designed to handle everything from lessons to tournament operation in one place, and creates chances for beginners to see pro play up close.
Another is that players' career paths become concrete. In an emerging sport where making a living on competition alone is hard, corporate sponsorship and ambassador roles become valuable catch basins. For those switching over from tennis, soft tennis, or badminton, a role like Fujiwara's—"competitive achievement + face of a facility"—is a realistic option that will grow from here. Determining in advance whether your strength is competitive ability, adoption and coaching, or communication reach is the shortcut to drawing support.
Ripple effect: sponsorship shifts from "advertising" to "business"
What makes Sansan's move symbolic is that the form of sponsorship is changing. Conventional corporate sports support centered on "advertising"—putting the company name on uniforms and courts. But this time, in addition to player contracts, it embraces the business of operating its own court. Holding an asset like a facility creates revenue opportunities like lesson income, tournament operation, and corporate usage, changing sponsorship's character from expense to investment.
The same flow is visible at other companies. Like the example of a streaming company fielding pros and stepping into tournaments, companies are emerging that view pickleball not as a "support target" but as a "revenue-generating business area."The case of streaming company 17LIVE holding three pros and moving into tournamentsLined up alongside it, the picture of companies from different industries beginning to push the sport's commercialization comes clearly into view. Players and facility operators can read ahead to practice environments and sponsor-acquisition chances by determining which companies are entering with what revenue models.
Practical info: if you're hunting for a practice environment in the city center
都心で常設コートを探すプレーヤーにとって、企業主導の大型施設の登場は選択肢を広げる。当初開業予定だった池袋のSansan施設に加え、外資系ブランドの日本進出や、20面超のフラッグシップ構想も動いている。施設ごとに屋内外の別、営業時間、レッスンの有無が異なるため、自分の利用スタイルに合う拠点を早めに押さえておきたい。
As related moves,US Picklr's first landing in Japan (Makuhari launch, 7 courts in Toyosu in autumn)andPickleball One's flagship vision of over 20 courts in the metropolitan areaare also worth checking alongside, making it easier to follow the changing facility map of the metropolitan area.
Summary: the next move
Sansanのスポンサード3名体制とコート運営は、日本のピックルボールが「企業が事業として関わる段階」に入った証だ。プレーヤーが取るべき次のアクションは3つある。1つ目は、開業予定だった池袋の施設を含め、企業運営の常設コートを実際に訪れて練習環境を比較すること。2つ目は、自分の競技力・指導力・発信力のどれを武器にするかを整理し、スポンサードやアンバサダー職の受け皿を意識すること。3つ目は、参入企業の収益モデルを観察し、次にどの地域・どんな施設が生まれるかを先読みすることだ。市場が7倍で伸びる今こそ、環境の変化を味方につけたい。
