{"id":3452,"date":"2026-04-11T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/?post_type=news&p=3452"},"modified":"2026-04-11T20:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T11:00:00","slug":"jpa-kagoshima-open-2026","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/pickle-times.com\/en\/news\/jpa-kagoshima-open-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The JPA Kagoshima Open 2026 decided for May 22-24\u201412 courts at Sakurajima Arena, three days when enthusiasts of southern Kyushu gather"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Japan Pickleball Association (JPA) will hold the \u201cJPA Kagoshima Open 2026<\/strong>\u201d over three days,from Friday, May 22 to Sunday, May 24, 2026,<\/strong>at theNan-ei Lease Sakurajima Arena (Kagoshima City Sakurajima Gymnasium)<\/strong>in Kagoshima City. As the first large JPA-hosted official tournament held in southern Kyushu, this tournament will feature all five events\u2014men\u2019s and women\u2019s singles, doubles, and mixed doubles\u2014over three days, with12 courts on the arena floor (8 main, 4 sub)<\/strong>planned.<\/p>\n

An unusual venue: an island gymnasium overlooking Sakurajima<\/h2>\n

The Nan-ei Lease Sakurajima Arena, this tournament\u2019s venue, is located at1722-17 Yokoyama-cho, Sakurajima, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture.<\/strong>As you can tell from the address, the tournament venue is withinSakurajima,<\/strong>reached by crossing about 15 minutes by ferry from downtown Kagoshima. A \u201cvenue you cross to by ferry\u201d is extremely rare among JPA-hosted official tournaments in Japan, so it looks set to be a memorable trip for players.<\/p>\n

Tournament schedule and event lineup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Schedule<\/th>\nEvent<\/th>\nNotes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Friday, May 22<\/td>\nMen\u2019s singles and women\u2019s singles<\/td>\nOpening day; a weekday, so paid leave is a must<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Saturday, May 23<\/td>\nMen\u2019s doubles and women\u2019s doubles<\/td>\nThe tournament\u2019s main day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sunday, May 24<\/td>\nMixed doubles<\/td>\nFinal day, awards ceremony scheduled<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Entries are acceptedJPA Tournated<\/strong>on the tournament\u2019s dedicated page, with a deadline ofSunday, May 10, 2026, 23:59.<\/strong>Players considering the trip will want to move early to secure flights, ferry crossings, and accommodation.<\/p>\n

A \u201csouthern hub\u201d is born on the Kyushu pickleball map<\/h2>\n

Until now, pickleball in Kyushu has revolved around Fukuoka. In January 2026,the Zen-noh Energy Fukuoka Open 2026<\/strong>was held, and inThe Picklr\u2019s plan for 20 facilities in Japan,<\/a>the four cities of Fukuoka, Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto are named as hubs. However,southern Kyushu (Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Kagoshima) had been a blank zone for JPA-hosted official tournaments<\/strong>until now.<\/p>\n

This Kagoshima Open 2026 is the first JPA-hosted, large-scale official tournament in southern Kyushu, and for participants from Miyazaki, Kumamoto, and Oita, it is a long-awaited tournament reachable by \u201cone ferry plus the expressway.\u201d It is drawing attention not only from northern Kyushu players but also from Kansai and Shikoku as a \u201cSakurajima trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why the Sakurajima Arena was chosen<\/h3>\n

The Sakurajima Gymnasium (Nan-ei Lease Sakurajima Arena) is alarge 12-court-scale gymnasium<\/strong>that has been used for official B.League basketball games and national table tennis tournaments. In the case of pickleball, one pickleball court fits in one badminton court, so using the entire arena floor allows operating8 main courts plus 4 sub courts.<\/strong>Gymnasiums able to lay out 12 courts at a single venue for JPA-hosted tournaments in Japan are surprisingly few, so the Kagoshima Open looks set to draw attention as a tournament where you can \u201cplay comfortably with little schedule congestion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compared with tournaments in various regions, including this one, it ranks near the top for the number of courts at a single venue.Ehime Open 2026<\/a>Three points traveling players will want to keep in mind<\/p>\n

For players planning to take part in the Kagoshima Open, here are three points to keep in mind before the trip.<\/h2>\n

Access:<\/p>\n