The live-streaming app "17LIVE" has concluded 2026 sponsorship contracts with three pro pickleball players:Yuta Funamizu, Aoi Nakata, and Yuta Yoshida. Funamizu is the pioneer who became the first Japanese to compete in America's Major League Pickleball (MLP). It's a contract where you can see the picture of a streaming app investing not in the sport itself but in the players' "daily lives" and "community."
Sponsorship contracts with three players
The three contracted players will open personal accounts on "17LIVE" and share matches, practice scenes, and off-court sides not usually seen through irregular live streams. What's distinctive is that it designed the sponsorship not as an "ad slot for logo exposure" but as "streaming content the players themselves deliver."
Who is Yuta Funamizu?
Yuta Funamizu (32, from Aomori Prefecture) was originally a top soft tennis player. He became world No. 1 in his university days and achieved a 10-year run of consecutive Japan League titles at the corporate powerhouse NTT West. From that pinnacle, he made a full-fledged switch to pickleball in 2024 and moved to the U.S. alone. In the March 2025 MLP draft, he was selected 39th overall by the Miami Pickleball Club, becoming the first Japanese major leaguer. He established himself as a regular from the second half of his first year and contributed to reaching the playoffs, which the top 10 clubs advance to.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Previous sport | Soft tennis (university world No. 1, 10 straight Japan League titles at NTT West) |
| Switch | Moved to the U.S. in 2024 and took on pickleball in earnest |
| MLP | March 2025, selected 39th overall by Miami, the first Japanese |
| 2026 | Re-signed with Miami in March, 4th in PPA Atlanta men's doubles in May (a Japanese first) |
Why is a streaming app choosing pickleball?
世界規模で競技人口が急増するピックルボールは、選手とファンの距離が近く、コミュニティ性が強い。試合中継だけでなく、練習やオフの素顔まで含めて「人」を追える構造は、ライブ配信と相性がいい。日本の競技人口がまだ33万人という初期段階で、選手のファンコミュニティを丸ごと取り込めるのは、配信プラットフォームにとって戦略的な投資だ。
The lineup of three players
In addition to Funamizu, two players—Aoi Nakata and Yuta Yoshida—are also on the roster. By bundling a pioneer fighting overseas with players carving out the sport domestically, 17LIVE has assembled a lineup that can multidimensionally communicate "the now of Japanese pickleball." For the players, they can gain an off-court income source and a platform for output at the same time.
読者にとって何が変わるか
選手が自ら配信する流れは、ファンが練習やオフを日常的に「追える」時代の到来を意味する。競技の裾野が広がる初期段階で、選手個人がメディアを持つことは、スクールや用具、大会への関心にもつながる。プレイヤーにとっては、日本人トップ選手の練習や思考をのぞける学習機会が増える。
Ripple Effects on the Industry
スポンサー市場の立ち上がりは、競技のプロ化を測る指標だ。配信・通信・用具など競技外の企業が選手に投資し始めたことは、ピックルボールが「やるスポーツ」から「観る・応援するスポーツ」へ広がる段階にあることを示唆している。7月にはPPAツアー初の東京大会も控え、応援対象としての選手の価値はさらに高まることが予想される。
今後の注目点
17LIVEの契約は、競技投資ではなくコミュニティ投資として機能する。ソフトテニス世界一からMLPへ——船水の物語そのものが配信コンテンツになり得る。3選手の発信が、日本のピックルボールのファン層をどこまで厚くするかが、次の競技人口と市場成長の指標になる。
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Source:17LIVE official / Mynavi News / Jiji.com
