17LIVE Becomes Gold Partner for the International Pickleball Tournament 'PPA Asia 500 Sansan Tokyo Open 2026 Produced by TBS', a Sport Seeing Rapid Global Growth!

17LIVE Inc. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Jean Honghui; URL: https://jp.17.live/), which operates Japan's largest live streaming app "17LIVE (Iichina)", is pleased to announce its decision to become a "Gold Partner" for the international tournament of the popular sport "Pickleball," which continues to see a surge in players worldwide. The tournament, "PPA Asia 500 Sansan Tokyo Open 2026 Produced by TBS," will be held from Wednesday, July 1, 2026, to Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Tachikawa City, Tokyo.

On "17LIVE," numerous streamers (live streamers) conduct live streams daily across a wide variety of genres, fostering communities among streamers and listeners (live stream viewers), and among streamers themselves, and among listeners themselves. Communities are often formed around shared hobbies and interests. "17LIVE" has been planning and implementing initiatives to promote community formation centered on popular sports that many people are involved in, such as "baseball," "golf," and "pickleball," and to contribute to their promotion.

Pickleball, a racket sport combining elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis, is enjoyed by people of all ages and genders. In its home country, the United States, approximately 48.6 million people played in 2023, and it is estimated to reach 330,000 people in Japan by 2026 (※1), showing rapid global popularization in recent years. "17LIVE" has launched "Pickle-tte 17 (Ii na)" as a community to contribute to the promotion of pickleball through live streaming, and has signed sponsorship agreements for the 2026 fiscal year with three players: Yuta Funabushi, who is based in the U.S. and is the first Japanese MLP (Major League Pickleball) player, Aoi Nakata, and Yuta Yoshida, who are active as professional pickleball players.

The "PPA Asia 500 Sansan Tokyo Open 2026 Produced by TBS," for which "17LIVE" has decided to become a Gold Partner, is scheduled to feature Yuta Funabushi, who achieved the first U.S. professional tour victory by a Japanese player and with whom our company has a sponsorship agreement, as well as Aoi Nakata and Yuta Yoshida. To promote pickleball, "17LIVE" will undertake various initiatives in the future, including live streams by the players and pickleball-themed programs by Iichina streamers.

Please pay attention to the international pickleball tournament being held in Tokyo.

Tournament Overview

- Tournament Name: PPA Asia 500 Sansan Tokyo Open 2026 Produced by TBS

- Dates: July 1 (Wed) - July 4 (Sat), 2026

- Venue: Arena Tachikawa立飛 / Dome Tachikawa立飛 (500-4 Izumi-cho, Tachikawa-shi, Tokyo 190-0015)

- Organizer: TBS Holdings, Inc.

- Special Sponsorship: Sansan Inc.

- Number of Participants: 750 (planned)

- Official Website: https://www.tbs.co.jp/pickleball-tokyo/index.html

※1 Source: Pickleball One Inc.

https://pickle-one.com/research/2026-competitor-population/

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About "17LIVE (Iichina)"

With the mission "To enrich connections between people," "17LIVE (Iichina)" is one of Japan's largest live streaming platforms with over 50 million users worldwide (as of February 2023). We aim for a world where streamers and listeners can share "this very moment" under one sky, across seven continents, and share joy and excitement in real-time.

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