Yuta Funamizu, who came up through soft tennis, closed out a match against Ben Johns, the man at the top of the US pro tour, without ever letting him find a foothold. The stage was the Veolia Arizona Open, a PPA Tour event held in Mesa, Arizona, in the week of September 18, 2026. In the round of 16 in men's doubles, the 15th-seeded pair of Nico Acevedo and Funamizu put out Johns and Federico Staksrud, the world's top-ranked team, 11-4, 11-5 in just 34 minutes. The scoreline said plainly that a Japanese player can go toe to toe with the best in the world, and better.
Inside a match that ended 11-4, 11-5
会場はメサの大型施設。ジョンズはふだん組むゲイブ・タルディオが国外にいたため、この大会ではスタクスルドと初めてのペアを組んでいた。得点差は第1ゲームが11-4、第2ゲームが11-5。競り合いにすらならず、試合時間は34分にとどまった。相手が即席ペアだった事情は大きいものの、スコアだけ見れば完勝であり、実力上位を明確に上回った価値ある勝利だ。
What decided it was the work at the net. Acevedo kept Johns moving with cross-court dinks, the soft exchanges just in front of the net, while Funamizu absorbed the heavy hitting with the soft counters he built in soft tennis. For a Johns pair wanting to speed the game up, this let-them-hit-then-break-them style was an awkward match-up. Having had no time to build any chemistry as a new pairing looks like part of why nothing clicked.
What makes the Acevedo-Funamizu pair strong
This win was no accident. The two took the title at the Wilson PPA Challenger this spring, and as members of the Miami Pickleball Club they have beaten strong teams such as Desk/Klinger and Martinez Vich/Devilliers. Seeded 15th, they look, if anything, rated modestly against what they have built. This match showed that the ability behind it carries against the very top of the world.
Funamizu built a career at national-team level in soft tennis and has shifted his focus to pickleball over the past few years. Japanese players who get results on the North American tour are still few, and beating the world's best head-on gives players in Japan who have only just picked up the sport something concrete to aim at.
The match in numbers
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Tournaments | Veolia Arizona Open (PPA Tour, Mesa, Arizona) |
| Event and round | Men's doubles, round of 16 |
| Winner | Nico Acevedo / Yuta Funamizu (15th seed) |
| Loser | Ben Johns / Federico Staksrud |
| Score | 11-4, 11-5 (first to two games) |
| Match time | 34 minutes |
| Next event | 準々決勝でケイシー・ダイヤモンド／タイソン・マガフィン組（第9シード）と対戦予定 |
How fans and the local scene took it
英語圏のピックル系メディアやファンの間では、スコアの一方性に注目が集まった。ジョンズ側の要因として、常時ペアのタルディオ不在で連係が整わなかった点を指摘する見方が多い。一方で、アセベド・船水の勝ち方を評価し、この2人を今季のダブルスで警戒すべき組として挙げる論調も出ている。船水個人については、ソフトテニス由来のタッチを武器と見る受け止めが日本のファンからも上がっている。
The route to winning that pickleball opens for soft tennis players
What this match shows is that pickleball is not a sport decided by physicality. Even giving up power, a player with control in front of the net and the technique to neutralize heavy hitting has a route to beating the very best. For anyone who came up in soft tennis, rubber-ball tennis or table tennis, the touch sports with deep participation in Japan, the result backs up the idea that pickleball leaves plenty of room to grow after switching over.
From a coaching or school-operating standpoint, too, a design that brings in adults who already have a feel for the court, rather than only juniors who improve quickly early on, tends to work better for producing players who win. With courts and schools increasing across Japan, how to take in players from existing racket sports is becoming the theme for local clubs looking to get stronger.
What it means for the tour and for the Japanese market
The PPA Tour has seen a run of reshuffles among its top pairs going into the new season, and a period when settled chemistry comes apart is an opening for outsiders. If more Japanese players make their names at international events the way Funamizu has, interest in domestic tournament sponsorship, gear demand and broadcast or streaming tends to rise along with it. A player's win helps widen pickleball in Japan as something to watch.
Related moves and what to watch next
Funamizu has been building his presence at home and abroad, named captain of a Japan-based team in the first MLP Asia draft (Yuta Funamizu named captain as Japan's national players move in MLP Asia's first draft). The new PPA season has seen the faces among the top pairs change substantially (Shimabukuro pairs with JW Johnson as the PPA's new season reshuffles the top duos), and momentum at each event now feeds straight into the standings (Bright takes two titles at the opener as a women's pair go the distance giving up 28 points）。
Wrap-up: how to follow the quarterfinal
アセベド・船水ペアは準々決勝で第9シードのダイヤモンド／マガフィン組に挑む当時の予定だった。ここを勝ち抜けば、この大会でのベスト4以上が現実味を帯びる。日本のファンは配信で船水のネットプレーを追いつつ、ソフトテニスなどタッチ系競技の経験者は、実際にコートで自分の感覚が通用するかを一度試してみる価値がある。世界最上位を倒した試合は、遠い世界の出来事ではなく、身近な競技転向の後押しとして受け取れる。
Sources
pickleball.com「Johns, Staksrud stunned by upset in first match together」
