Professional Pickleball Player Yuta Funamizu Achieves Historic 4th Place at PPA Tour Grand Slam Event as First Japanese Player
Professional pickleball player Yuta Funamizu made history by securing 4th place in the men's doubles at a PPA Tour Grand Slam event in the US, marking the first time for a Japanese player. After transitioning from soft tennis, he is excelling at a world-class level and is scheduled to compete in the upcoming PPA Asia Tokyo tournament.
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- 📰 Published: May 4, 2026 at 21:30
- 🔍 Collected: May 4, 2026 at 13:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 4, 2026 at 13:03 (1 min after Collected)
Professional pickleball player Yuta Funamizu (affiliated with Miami Pickleball Club), currently competing in the US professional pickleball tour "PPA Tour," secured 4th place in the men's doubles with his partner Tama Shimabukuro at the "2026 Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships" held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, on May 3, 2026 local time (May 4, Japan time).
This marks the first time a Japanese player has achieved a 4th place finish in a PPA Tour event. Furthermore, this tournament is one of the "Grand Slam" events, considered the pinnacle of the PPA Tour, equivalent to Wimbledon or the US Open in tennis, and is one of the four most important annual tournaments.
The Funamizu/Tama pair, seeded 19th, defeated the favored 2nd seed in the third round (Round of 16) of the main draw and then overcame the 9th seed, featuring 2024 World Doubles Champion Newman, in the quarterfinals. This made them the first Japanese players to reach the semifinals in men's doubles at a PPA Tour event.
Although they narrowly lost in the subsequent semifinals to the 13th seed, they advanced to the 3rd place playoff. They faced the 4th seed pair Federico Staksrud/Roscoe Daescu for a podium finish and were defeated 4-11, 4-11. Although they just missed the podium, this 4th place finish in a PPA Tour event is Funamizu's personal best and a historic step for Japanese players.
Funamizu transitioned from soft tennis to professional pickleball in 2024 and moved to the US alone to challenge himself in this new sport. His remarkable performance in this Grand Slam event is a significant achievement, bringing him closer to his goal of "being the first Japanese player to become world number one in pickleball."
■ Comment from Yuta Funamizu
"It's truly frustrating that I couldn't win the 3rd place playoff and reach the podium. Precisely because I've come this far, I strongly feel the weight of that final step.
But at the same time, I also feel that my challenge, after switching from soft tennis to pickleball two years ago and moving to America alone, is slowly starting to resonate globally. Achieving 4th place as the first Japanese player in a PPA Tour Grand Slam event is a huge step for me.
I am deeply grateful to Tama, who supported me this far, to everyone in Japan and the US who provided support, to my sponsors, and to everyone worldwide who cheered me on. It's thanks to all your support that I was able to fight through this tournament to the end.
However, my dream is not to finish in 4th place. It is always to stand on the highest step of the podium and to become the world number one. I want to prove through my play that even Japanese players can reach the top of the world.
And to the children and young players in Japan who are about to start pickleball: I want to tell you that although it may be a new sport in Japan right now, it is precisely because of that, a sport where you can dream big, of the world stage. By continuing to challenge myself, I want to pave a way for the next generation to think, 'I can aim for the world too.'
I will definitely channel this frustration into future successes. From here, I will continue to get stronger and challenge myself to be the first Japanese player to reach the PPA Tour podium, and ultimately, win."
■ Tournament Progress and Match Results
・Round of 64 (Main Draw Round 1): Won 2-1
vs Jagtiani/Serra
11-9, 1-11, 11-7
・Round of 32 (Main Draw Round 2): Won 2-0
vs Ayotte/Ayon
11-4, 11-2
・Round of 16 (Main Draw Round 3): Won 2-1
vs Alshon/Patriquin
4-11, 11-5, 11-8
・Quarterfinals: Won 2-1
vs Newman/Bhatia
13-11, 6-11, 11-8
・Semifinals: Lost
vs Garnett/Bellamy
8-11, 11-00, 6-11
・3rd Place Playoff: Lost 0-2
vs Staksrud/Daescu
4-11, 4-11
■ Upcoming Schedule
Funamizu is scheduled to compete with his partner Tama Shimabukuro in the "PPA Asia 500 Sansan Tokyo Open," the first PPA Tour event to be held in Tokyo (at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi and Dome Tachikawa Tachihi) from July 1 to 4, 2026.
Funamizu, the first Japanese player to achieve 4th place in a PPA Tour Grand Slam event, will participate in the PPA Tour held in Japan...
This marks the first time a Japanese player has achieved a 4th place finish in a PPA Tour event. Furthermore, this tournament is one of the "Grand Slam" events, considered the pinnacle of the PPA Tour, equivalent to Wimbledon or the US Open in tennis, and is one of the four most important annual tournaments.
The Funamizu/Tama pair, seeded 19th, defeated the favored 2nd seed in the third round (Round of 16) of the main draw and then overcame the 9th seed, featuring 2024 World Doubles Champion Newman, in the quarterfinals. This made them the first Japanese players to reach the semifinals in men's doubles at a PPA Tour event.
Although they narrowly lost in the subsequent semifinals to the 13th seed, they advanced to the 3rd place playoff. They faced the 4th seed pair Federico Staksrud/Roscoe Daescu for a podium finish and were defeated 4-11, 4-11. Although they just missed the podium, this 4th place finish in a PPA Tour event is Funamizu's personal best and a historic step for Japanese players.
Funamizu transitioned from soft tennis to professional pickleball in 2024 and moved to the US alone to challenge himself in this new sport. His remarkable performance in this Grand Slam event is a significant achievement, bringing him closer to his goal of "being the first Japanese player to become world number one in pickleball."
■ Comment from Yuta Funamizu
"It's truly frustrating that I couldn't win the 3rd place playoff and reach the podium. Precisely because I've come this far, I strongly feel the weight of that final step.
But at the same time, I also feel that my challenge, after switching from soft tennis to pickleball two years ago and moving to America alone, is slowly starting to resonate globally. Achieving 4th place as the first Japanese player in a PPA Tour Grand Slam event is a huge step for me.
I am deeply grateful to Tama, who supported me this far, to everyone in Japan and the US who provided support, to my sponsors, and to everyone worldwide who cheered me on. It's thanks to all your support that I was able to fight through this tournament to the end.
However, my dream is not to finish in 4th place. It is always to stand on the highest step of the podium and to become the world number one. I want to prove through my play that even Japanese players can reach the top of the world.
And to the children and young players in Japan who are about to start pickleball: I want to tell you that although it may be a new sport in Japan right now, it is precisely because of that, a sport where you can dream big, of the world stage. By continuing to challenge myself, I want to pave a way for the next generation to think, 'I can aim for the world too.'
I will definitely channel this frustration into future successes. From here, I will continue to get stronger and challenge myself to be the first Japanese player to reach the PPA Tour podium, and ultimately, win."
■ Tournament Progress and Match Results
・Round of 64 (Main Draw Round 1): Won 2-1
vs Jagtiani/Serra
11-9, 1-11, 11-7
・Round of 32 (Main Draw Round 2): Won 2-0
vs Ayotte/Ayon
11-4, 11-2
・Round of 16 (Main Draw Round 3): Won 2-1
vs Alshon/Patriquin
4-11, 11-5, 11-8
・Quarterfinals: Won 2-1
vs Newman/Bhatia
13-11, 6-11, 11-8
・Semifinals: Lost
vs Garnett/Bellamy
8-11, 11-00, 6-11
・3rd Place Playoff: Lost 0-2
vs Staksrud/Daescu
4-11, 4-11
■ Upcoming Schedule
Funamizu is scheduled to compete with his partner Tama Shimabukuro in the "PPA Asia 500 Sansan Tokyo Open," the first PPA Tour event to be held in Tokyo (at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi and Dome Tachikawa Tachihi) from July 1 to 4, 2026.
Funamizu, the first Japanese player to achieve 4th place in a PPA Tour Grand Slam event, will participate in the PPA Tour held in Japan...