It was revealed in a Nikkei report (April 2026) that Pickleball One Inc. (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo) carried out a third-party allotment capital increase with Mitsui Fudosan, TBS Innovation Partners, Dentsu Group, and Sansan as the underwriters. The amount raised is undisclosed, but this fundraising, with four major large companies lined up, is a symbolic event showing that Japan's pickleball market has entered an “industrialization phase.”
In 2027, “Japan's largest, over 20 courts” indoor dedicated facility is born
Based on the raised funds, Pickleball One plans to open a large indoor dedicated facility in Japan within 2027. It will have 20 or more courts and be a sports facility with attached dining and rest spaces. It is currently soliciting suitable land and properties nationwide.
For comparison, it's more than triple the scale of the facility currently said to be Japan's largest (Pickleball Base Osaka: 6 courts), meaning a facility comparable to North America's major pickleball clubs will be born in Japan.
Reading the strategic intent of the four investing companies
The characteristic of this fundraising is that four large companies from entirely different industries participated at once. Each one's intent is clear.
Mitsui Fudosan: Real-estate development and commercial-area revitalization with a sports facility at the core. A role in providing land and buildings for large facilities is expected. Unlike tennis or golf, pickleball has the trait of “being installable even in a narrow space,” and it has high affinity with utilizing indoor floors of commercial buildings.
TBS Innovation Partners: Acquiring the IP of sports content. TBS also hosts the July 2026 Tokyo tournament (Sansan TOKYO OPEN), taking a two-pronged strategy of spreading the sport and media content.
Dentsu Group: Securing a head start in the sports-marketing domain. Dentsu handles numerous domestic and international sports IPs, and this is seen as an investment anticipating the expansion of pickleball's advertising and sponsorship market.
Sansan: The brand image of “designing connections” matches pickleball's trait as a community sport. It can also be used as a tool to expand awareness of its corporate services.
The current position of Japan's pickleball market
In the U.S., the playing population exceeds 5 million, and the number of dedicated facilities reaches several hundred. In Japan the number of dedicated facilities is still limited, and many players play by borrowing tennis courts and gyms.
But over the past year or two, the situation is changing rapidly. Western Japan's largest 6-court dedicated facility opened in Sakai, Osaka, and in Tokyo an international tournament is held in July. Furthermore, in 2027 a large facility with over 20 courts appears—. These are all progressing simultaneously in 2026, showing that Japan's pickleball market is reaching a “turning point from a dawning era to a growth era.”
What it means for players
The increase in facilities resolves players' biggest challenge of “where to play.” Pickleball courts, which are currently hard to reserve even in urban areas, are projected to increase significantly in 2-3 years.
Also, with large companies entering, the peripheral ecosystem of coaching, equipment, and tournaments is enriched. The “sports industrialization cycle” that tennis and golf followed is beginning for pickleball too.
For court information across Japan, please also refer to region-specific information such asa complete guide to courts in Kanagawa Prefecture. For Japan's pickleball organizations, please refer tothe JPA (Japan Pickleball Association) explaineras well.
FAQ
- Q. What is Pickleball One?
- A. It's a startup based in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, handling pickleball-related businesses (equipment sales, facility operation, tournament hosting). It aims to open one of Japan's largest dedicated facilities and is growing rapidly through partnerships with major companies.
- Q. Where will the facility with 20-plus courts be built?
- A. It is currently soliciting suitable land and properties nationwide. The Tokyo suburbs are seen as a strong candidate, but as of April 2026 the official location has not been announced.
- Q. What changes when Mitsui Fudosan invests?
- A. Mitsui Fudosan holds numerous large-scale real-estate properties in Japan—commercial facilities, office buildings, condominiums—and the installation of pickleball courts within those facilities could accelerate. With more indoor courts near stations, the access barrier for beginners drops significantly.
Source:Nihon Keizai Shimbun、Pickleball One PRTimes、Sansan official
