They grew up in Hawaii. They are heading to Japan. And they are sitting at the top of the draw.
The brackets for the Sansan Tokyo Open 2026 have dropped, and the headline names belong to two of pickleball’s most exciting young talents—18-year-old Kiora Kunimoto and 15-year-old Tama Shimabukuro, both Hawaiian, both ascending at a pace the sport has rarely seen from players their age. Qualifying begins 1 July from 8 a.m. (GMT+9), with the main draw running 2 to 4 July at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi in Tokyo. Admission is free.
Kiora Kunimoto Makes Her Asia Debut at the Top
Kiora Kunimoto only turned professional in mid-2025. Within months she was collecting medals on the PPA Challenger circuit, upsetting top-10 players, and earning her place on the main tour. She arrives in Tokyo for her Asia debut as the No. 1 seed in Women’s Singles—a remarkable statement for a player still finding her footing on the professional circuit.
The timing is unusual. Kunimoto is in the middle of an MLP season as a California Black Bears player, arriving on an off-week and stepping straight into the top billing in a major PPA Tour Asia event. Her No. 2 seed is Sahra Dennehy—her Black Bears teammate. Same team, opposite sides of the draw, kept apart until the business end of the tournament.
If the bracket holds, the Women’s Singles final is a California Black Bears internal affair. That is one way to make a debut.
Tama Shimabukuro Is Back—And Everyone Knows It
A year ago, Tama Shimabukuro was a 14-year-old qualifier at the Sansan Fukuoka Open, working through early rounds and upsetting seeds in Japan. He has spent the intervening twelve months rewriting expectations at every turn.
The most dramatic chapter came at the Atlanta Slam in April, where Shimabukuro tore through the draw as a 22nd seed—beating Federico Staksrud and Hunter Johnson before falling to Chris Haworth in the Men’s Singles final. Tama Time arrived, and it has not stopped since.
He returns to Japan as one of the most talked-about players in the sport, three events deep into his 2026 Asia campaign and with a target firmly on his back. He tops the Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles draws and sits at No. 2 in Men’s Singles.
Zane Ford Has a Score to Settle in Men’s Singles
Zane Ford enters Tokyo as the No. 1 Men’s Singles seed—and he is carrying unfinished business from Beijing. Ford made the final of his PPA Tour Asia debut at the Capital Securities Beijing Open only to fall to Hong Kit Wong 11-5, 11-8. He is currently ranked No. 9 on the PPA Tour and knows exactly what he left behind in the Chinese capital.
Wong comes in at No. 3 as the reigning Beijing champion and one of the most decorated players on the circuit. Grayson Goldin slots in at No. 4. Below the seeds, Zane Navratil, Kenta Miyoshi, and Mitchell Hargreaves all carry the capability to go deep if the draw opens up.
Sahra Dennehy Goes for Triple Crown—Again
In Beijing, Sahra Dennehy won Women’s Singles and Women’s Doubles. Chao Yi Wang denied her the Triple Crown in Mixed Doubles, claiming the title and spoiling what would have been a perfect weekend. Wang is not in the Tokyo draw. The triple crown is very much back on the table.
Dennehy arrives carrying that unfinished business alongside genuine title credentials across all three events. Yufei Long at No. 3 and Lingwei Kong at No. 4 in Women’s Singles are positioned to challenge, and Kunimoto at the top of the bracket is seeded there for good reason. But Dennehy’s form across 2026 makes her the one to beat in every discipline she enters.
She partners Funemizu in Mixed Doubles and teammates with Townsend in Women’s Doubles as the top seeds—Townsend and Dennehy having won the PPA Tour Finals 500 title together in May. Townsend also arrives as the No. 2 seed in Mixed Doubles alongside Joseph Wild, a partnership with Asia gold already on its résumé from the MB Vietnam Open 2025.
In Men’s Doubles, Funemizu and Shimabukuro lead the draw as the No. 1 seeds, building on the chemistry they have been developing together on the PPA Tour in the United States.
Tokyo awaits. Two teenagers from Hawaii are leading the charge.
