船水雄太が立川で元世界1位を破り優勝、日本人男子初のPPA ASIAタイトル

On July 4, the final day of the "PPA ASIA 500 Sansan TOKYO OPEN 2026 Produced by TBS" at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Yuta Funamizu (32) won the men's doubles final paired with Tama Shimabukuro (15, US). It is the first time a Japanese man has won a PPA ASIA event. At the end of June this site publisheda preview piece on the "July homecoming" that followed his first US tour title in May, and Funamizu delivered on that script in the best possible way. The pair he beat in the final, moreover, included Collin Johns, who has held the world No. 1 men's doubles ranking with his brother Ben Johns. Here is a look, from the results up, at four days that moved Japanese pickleball forward by a page.

Down 8-11, then two games in a row: what happened in the final

The final was against the American pair of Collin Johns and Len Yan. After dropping the first game 8-11, Funamizu and Shimabukuro took the second 11-2 in one-sided fashion and closed out the decider 11-7 for a comeback win. Afterwards, Funamizu said: "The crowd is why I could turn it around. I had been putting pressure on myself, so this win is big." A player whose name had been floated as a title favorite from the opening day of a home event won it all only after admitting to thatpressurein his own words. That is what gives this title its weight.

Collin Johns has been at the front line since the PPA Tour began. According to his official PPA Tour profile, he finished 2022 through 2024 as the world No. 1 men's doubles team with his brother Ben Johns, and he has won 35 PPA men's doubles titles. A pair 17 years apart in age, 32 and 15, wrestled down a methodical doubles craftsman nicknamed "the Professor" with the crowd behind them. That was the shape of this final.

Two months on from San Clemente in May, every promise was delivered

This title was not a one-off. In May, Funamizu and Shimabukuro won men's doubles at the PPA 500 San Clemente in California, the first PPA Tour title ever won by a Japanese player. Tokyo is the pair's second tour title. A release from Visional, which supports him, adds that as of June 29 Funamizu had reached No. 25 in the DUPR world men's doubles ranking, another first for a Japanese man.

Looking back over his career: born in Aomori Prefecture. In soft tennis he helped win the team event at the 2015 World Championships and was part of NTT West's 10 straight Japan League titles. He moved to the US in January 2024 to switch to pickleball full time, and in March 2025 he was drafted by the Miami Pickleball Club in MLP (Major League Pickleball). Roughly two and a half years after switching, he has stood on top of the podium on the world's leading tour twice.

The run in numbers: only two games dropped

Lining up all four match results listed in Visional's release shows just how steady the wins were.

He did not drop a game through the quarterfinals, and the semifinal against the mixed Korea-Hong Kong pair was a 12-10 scrap that he came through to take control of the tournament. Across four matches, the only games dropped were one in the semifinal and one in the final. It was a run that kept wear and tear to a minimum. How the tournament itself came together, and its business side, we covered inThe world's premier tour opens in Tachikawa — reading the event design of the Tokyo Open, published when it opened.

The words left at the venue and in the releases

Pick out what the people involved said around this tournament and it is clear the winners are already looking ahead.

• Funamizu (straight after the match) — "The crowd is why I could turn it around. I had been putting pressure on myself, so this win is big."
• Funamizu (Visional release) — he said he would not settle for this result, and pledged to help his club reach the playoffs and win the league. The goal he has set himself is the world No. 1 ranking.
• Rika Fujiwara (women's singles winner the same day) — "I want to open the way as a pioneer. I am aiming to be the best in the world."

最終日は女子シングルスでも44歳の藤原里華が優勝しており、日本勢が男女で頂点に立つ一日になりました。国内初開催のPPAツアーで、ホスト国の選手が結果でも主役になった意味は小さくありません。

Two and a half years after switching, "best in the world" is a goal he can say out loud

For players and facility operators in Japan, this title means three things.

First,the model of switching from another racket sporthas been shown to work at world level. Funamizu reached the top domestic level in soft tennis, but in pickleball he started from zero. Two PPA Tour titles two and a half years after moving to the US is a number that concretely changes the career options for anyone with a background in tennis, soft tennis or badminton. Japan has a large pool of former players with nowhere to put their competitive experience. For each of them, Funamizu's timeline is now a measured value for how far you can go and in how long.

Second,a new way of thinking about choosing a partner. Funamizu did not pair up with someone his own age in Japan; he chose an international partnership with 15-year-old Tama Shimabukuro from Hawaii. In an era of DUPR, a rating shared worldwide, it makes sense to look for a partner by fit and ability rather than nationality or age, and that choice was borne out by two titles. For players in Japan aiming at international events, it sets a precedent for widening the partner search beyond the country.

Third,a connection to corporate money. This event had Sansan, the business-card management company, as title sponsor, TBS producing it, and Funamizu himself backed by Visional. With the sport still only partway to broad adoption in Japan, the best possible outcome — a Japanese winner — arrived with companies attached to the player, the event and the broadcast alike. From a sponsor's point of view, that is a worked example of return on investment, which gives the players who come next one more bargaining chip when they go looking for support.

To Miami after three days off, joining the MLP playoff race

According to Visional's release, Funamizu plays for the Miami Pickleball Club in MLP from July 8. That is just four days after winning in Tokyo, about as punishing a turnaround as there is once the time difference is counted. MLP is entering the sharp end of its season ahead of the summer playoffs, and what each club is angling for is set out inWhy MLP powerhouses don't win too much in June, with an eye on the midsummer playoffs, our earlier analysis. Can he carry the momentum of a homecoming title, or will the travel catch up with him? In MLP's team format, an individual in form does not automatically translate into wins, and the next few weeks will test Funamizu's all-round quality as a pro.

Tournament and player basics

Wrap-up — three things to check next

In sport, a promised homecoming rarely ends the way it was promised. Yuta Funamizu pulled it off, leaving Japanese pickleball a reference point: a Japanese man who won on the world stage. Three things to follow from here. First, how he is used and how he performs for MLP Miami from July 8. Second, how his DUPR ranking moves once the Tokyo title is reflected, and how far above No. 25 he climbs. Third, what converts and juniors in Japan do next. Now that a route to the top of the world has been shown by example, the first signs of the next Funamizu will show up in domestic tournament results, whatever sport he comes from. Start with this week's MLP scores.

Sources

• Yuta Funamizu wins men's doubles (Nikkan Sports / Yahoo! News)
• Yuta Funamizu and Tama Shimabukuro win! A comeback over an American pair for a second PPA Tour title (TBS NEWS DIG)
• Professional pickleball player Yuta Funamizu wins men's doubles at the PPA Tour's first Tokyo event (Visional / PR TIMES)
• Collin Johns player profile (PPA Tour official)