On July 10, an official partnership with ASICS was announced at Sansan Pickleball Court Ikebukuro, the large pickleball facility Sansan opened in Higashi-Ikebukuro. The substance is not flashy sponsor signage but an equipment supply arrangement: visitors can rent ASICS court shoes for 500 yen a pair, and a sales corner goes inside the facility. A major sporting goods maker is entering a sport still in its start-up phase not through player support or tournament sponsorship but from the footwear up. This way in stands apart from ASICS'April investment in the same pickleball operating company, alongside Dentsu and others, to build the industry's foundations— a more grounded move on a different axis. Here is what actually changes for players and facility operators in Japan.
The deal comes down to three things: lend shoes, sell shoes, promote together
The announced partnership has three main parts. First, paid rental of ASICS court shoes to every player who comes to the facility. Second, a display and sales corner for shoes and apparel inside the facility. Third, promotion at lessons and corporate taster sessions, plus joint content featuring ambassador players.
The rental shoes are two models, the SOLUTION SPEED FF 4 and the GEL-CHALLENGER 15. Both are court shoes ASICS has sold for tennis, not designs created specifically for pickleball. That is the telling part: ASICS is not yet pushing a pickleball-specific shoe for Japan, and is instead putting existing tennis court shoes, with their lateral support and shock absorption, straight into the new sport.
Involvement that came down from venture investment to the facility floor
This is not the first time ASICS has become involved in the sport. In April 2026, ASICS Ventures invested in Pickleball One, which operates the facility, joining a five-company lineup alongside Sansan, TBS Innovation Partners, Dentsu Group and Mitsui Fudosan. That investment was about capital for building the foundations of the whole industry; three months later, this equipment supply makes it concrete one layer down, at the shoes players actually wear.
受け皿となる池袋の施設は、6月10日の予約受付開始から1カ月で予約数が1800件を超えています。同じビルの3階にインドア2面と練習用ミニコート2面の増設が予定されており、屋内3面・屋外4面の計7面に、増設分を足せば都内でも最大級の規模になる見込みです。大手メーカーが用具供給で乗ってくる態勢が整いつつあります。
A 500-yen rental that completes the empty-handed visit
Equipment supply pays off at the beginner's entrance. The Ikebukuro facility rents paddles, shoes and apparel for 500 yen each, and offers an 80-minute first-timer session for 4,000 yen. Until now paddles and apparel could be borrowed but court shoes had to be your own; ASICS shoes fill that gap, so players can now literally arrive empty-handed and step onto the court.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Rental shoes | SOLUTION SPEED FF 4 / GEL-CHALLENGER 15 (500 yen each) |
| Paddles and apparel | Available to rent at 500 yen each |
| First-timer session | 80 minutes, 4,000 yen |
| Facility size | 3 indoor courts + 4 outdoor courts (2 indoor courts + 2 mini practice courts planned on the third floor) |
| Bookings | More than 1,800 in the month after reservations opened on June 10 |
Court shoes are the piece of equipment beginners tend to leave until last, but in pickleball, with its constant sharp changes of direction, whether a shoe stops lateral slipping bears directly on the risk of a rolled ankle. Beginners who made do with running shoes and paid for it are common enough in Japan and abroad. Having the facility supply that first pair carries real weight for both the quality of the experience and safety.
Major sporting goods makers are each coming in through a different door
How major brands get involved in an emerging sport differs from company to company.
- ASICS— Putting existing tennis court shoes in through facility supply and rentals. A practical approach that creates chances for people to wear them on site before developing a dedicated shoe.
- Mizuno— Cutting into the market with the equipment itself, launching five paddle models in the US. A product-led approach.and Mizuno's full-scale entryattacks from the paddle, the core piece of equipment in this sport, in sharp contrast to ASICS coming in at the feet.
- Skechers, HEAD, Dunlop and other racket and shoe brands— Rolling out new paddles and shoes one after another, carrying tennis-derived brand assets straight across into the sport.
Among these, the choice ASICS made is the most cautious and the most practical. Rather than gambling on a dedicated shoe up front, it places existing models where people reliably gather and collects wear records and feedback first. In a Japanese market where the playing population has yet to take off, that low-inventory-risk approach has its logic.
Three things facility operators and domestic makers should take from this
There are three lessons the industry in Japan can draw from this equipment supply deal.
First,Facilities shift from renting courts to being a real sales channel for equipment. A dedicated facility is not just a box that charges for time; because everyone who comes has to put shoes on, it can work as a showroom. For ASICS, the Ikebukuro facility is a channel reaching new customers it would never meet in a tennis department. Japanese facility operators have room to redesign equipment supply tie-ups with makers as a negotiating lever that earns both rental income and a cut of product sales.
Second,Developing a dedicated shoe later is not too late. ASICS coming in with repurposed tennis shoes is at least one sign that the company currently values creating chances to be worn over rushing a pickleball-specific design for Japan. Overseas there are alsomoves by emerging brands entering the market with a pickleball signature shoe, but in Japan what is needed first is places and numbers where shoes actually get worn. Even for a domestic maker that wants to compete with a dedicated shoe, supplying facilities and gathering wear data comes first.
Third,Equipment supply has clearer returns than sponsoring players. A 500-yen rental is small revenue on its own, but the value of a brand owning a touchpoint that every single visitor passes through is another matter. At a facility with more than 1,800 bookings in a month, ASICS can build awareness through inventory turnover rather than ad spend. For makers that follow, there is now a concrete entry model that is easy to justify on cost against return.
Room for growth, and where Japan stands
海外の市場調査会社の推計では、ピックルボールシューズの世界市場は2026年時点でおよそ6億ドル規模とされ、2030年代前半にかけて年10%前後で拡大していくと見られています。数字の精度には幅があるものの、シューズという用具単独で成長市場が立ち上がっていること自体は、複数の調査が共通して指摘する方向です。
Within that global market, Japan is still at an early stage, before dedicated shoes have taken root. ASICS entering with repurposed tennis shoes and facility supply is a life-size answer to that stage. Rather than launching a flashy dedicated model, increase the people wearing shoes and the places to wear them first. How serious an equipment maker is shows up in the accumulation of unglamorous supply deals like this before it shows up in the release date of a dedicated shoe.
次に見るべきは「専用靴の発売」と「他施設への波及」
The ASICS-Sansan partnership shows one solid template for how a major sporting goods company enters an emerging sport. Not banners for players or tournaments, but rental shoes at the feet of everyone who walks in. During the start-up phase of a sport, this grounded form of equipment supply pays off for the brand and the facility alike. Two things for the industry in Japan to follow from here. First, when ASICS puts a pickleball-specific shoe on the Japanese market. When repurposed tennis shoes give way to a dedicated design will serve as a barometer of market maturity. Second, whether this equipment supply model spreads to facilities beyond Ikebukuro. Start by checking the rental rack at the facility you play at to see how Japan's growing number of dedicated venues fold supply tie-ups with makers into their operations.
Sources
- Sansan signs an official partnership with ASICS at Sansan Pickleball Court Ikebukuro (Sansan / PR TIMES)
- ASICS shoes offered as rentals, making the empty-handed experience more complete (Sansan corporate news)
- Tokyo's first large pickleball venue opens in Ikebukuro with an Asics partnership (FASHIONSNAP)
- Pickleball One raises funding, partnering with five major Japanese companies (Pickleball One / PR TIMES)
