It’s easy to feel like you’re missing out on pickleball if you live in Japan.
You hear about the hype around America’s new favorite pastime and wonder if it’s too late to hop on the pickleball bandwagon.
The good news is that you’re ahead of the curve if you start now.
The population of committed “picklers” in Japan is believed to be a few thousand, compared to the millions who play pickleball — often described as a combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis — regularly in the United States.
Over the past few years, pickleball has emerged as the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., with 48.3 million American adults (19% of the adult population) having played at least once in a yearlong period ending in March 2023, according to the Association of Pickleball Players. Some have even suggested pickleball might end up as an Olympic sport.
Naomi Osaka, Lebron James and Tom Brady have all invested in pro pickleball teams. Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Gates and other famous faces have publicly declared their love for the sport, inspiring others to pick up paddles as the game continues to cross borders and oceans.
So why isn’t pickleball booming in Japan?
“Maybe it’s Japanese culture but people don’t want to be the first one to try something new,” said former professional pickleball player Daniel Moore, a driving force behind the push for pickleball in Japan.
According to Moore, who runs a pickleball travel business from his home in Nagano, games are mostly played indoors in Japan because every gym is already lined for badminton courts, which can be easily repurposed for pickleball. That’s an issue, as a lack of outdoor courts means less visibility and therefore fewer opportunities for the public to encounter pickleball by chance.
Invented 59 years ago as a children’s backyard game in Washington, pickleball is a net sport most often played with two players per side, involving a lot of dinking (hitting a shot that is difficult for your opponents to attack), serving and volleying. It is played on a court roughly a quarter of the size of a standard tennis court. The two most essential pieces of equipment are the paddle and ball.
Pickleball is part sport, part social gathering. A New York Times commentary suggests pickleball is a possible cure for male loneliness, while many other articles have highlighted its potential physical health benefits. It can also be a mood booster. A study tracking Apple Watch users showed that pickleball is associated with lower rates of self-reported depression.
The sport’s affordability, simplicity, smaller court size and slower pace make it accessible to players of all ages and skill levels.
Some say that pickleball got its name from the founder’s family dog, while others say it’s a reference to a pickle boat, a sailing term that refers to the last boat to finish a race. Regardless of how it got its name, the pickleball craze is sweeping America, prompting cities to build courts to meet demand. Last year, the ice skating rink in New York’s iconic Central Park was transformed into a pickleball paradise during the warmer months.
Finding places to play in Japan, however, can be challenging.
A good first step would be to visit the Japan Pickleball Association website for a list of upcoming events, or reach out to leading pickleball advocates Kenton Stehr and Nagao Hosono, who are both helping foreign visitors connect and engage with Japanese picklers through the universal language of sport.
Stehr’s website, Pickle Tokyo, is a go-to source for pickleball information in Japan. Since moving back to Japan six months ago to become a pickleball entrepreneur, Stehr, 27, has been devoting his time and energy to attracting new players and building a brand. He urges people to give pickleball a go, but jokingly warns about the “dark” side of the game.
“It’s like a recipe for addiction. It’s so easy to start but if you're a competitive person you want to get better and better. You keep chasing that next challenge,” he said.
Stehr is a member of the committee organizing the country’s first international pickleball tournament, which will take place from Dec. 12 to 15 at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park in Tokyo. Those ready to test their skills on the court will have a chance to sign up through the Pickleball Japan Federation website when registration opens in May.
Hosono, meanwhile, says he has no interest in turning his passion into profit. The 81-year-old created a Facebook group called Pickleball Tokyo in 2016 simply as a way to stay active and social in retirement. He said he has received about 180 messages from individual and group travelers wanting to play pickleball in Tokyo over the past year.
“The great thing about pickleball is that it transcends differences and brings people together. Your language, your country of origin, your race, your disability — none of that matters,” he said.
As the amateur pickleball scene continues to grow, big money is flowing into the professional ranks. Lower-ranked professional players often rely on other sources of income, but top pros can earn seven-figure incomes through a combination of prize money and sponsorships, according to U.S. outlet CBS.
Pro soft tennis player Yuta Funemizu is one of the many players from other racket sports to try pickleball, although he wants to be a two-sport athlete rather than make a full-time transition. The 30-year-old is seeking to move up the ranks and become the first Japanese to be selected in the Major League Pickleball draft.
“I want to play at the highest level and that’s MLP. Because of my familiarity with volleys, I felt my soft tennis skills would translate to pickleball. I also thought pickleball can improve my soft tennis game,” Funemizu said.
Pickleball is starting to pick up steam outside of the United States, with countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India and China joining in on the fun. Seymour Rifkind, a Chicago-based pickleball ambassador, said that China aims to have 10,000 pickleball courts and 100 million players within five years.
While pickleball’s worldwide growth is undeniable, it remains to be seen whether it will gain a foothold in Japan. Moore is optimistic.
“My goal for Japan is for 1% of the population to play, which is a little over 1 million. I think a lot of people will know about pickleball within the next 5 to 10 years. It will be a household name,” Moore said.
“It will be a major sport in Japan.”
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