Pro Pickleball Player Yuta Funemizu Becomes First Japanese Male to Reach #1 in Asian Rankings

Visional is pleased to announce that professional pickleball player Yuta Funemizu, whom the company supports, has recorded the number one spot in the Asian ranking (men's doubles) in the global pickleball rating system "DUPR" (Dreamland Universal Pickleball Rating) as of May 11, 2026. He is the first Japanese male to achieve this feat. Furthermore, he reached 25th in the world ranking for the same category. This updates the highest rank ever achieved by a Japanese player, as well as his own personal best.

Historic victories over formidable opponents in recent US Pro Tour tournaments

In 2024, Funemizu transitioned from soft tennis to become a professional pickleball player, traveling alone to the United States to challenge himself in this new sport. Working toward his goal of becoming the "first Japanese player to be number one in the world in pickleball," he has steadily built a track record locally. As a result, in his two most recent tournaments, he achieved the remarkable feat of updating his personal best for two consecutive weeks (top 4 and then champion). This consecutive high performance was a major factor in securing his current number one Asian ranking.

◯ PPA 500 San Clemente Result: Men's Doubles Champion (Local time: May 10, 2026) In this tournament, he surpassed his personal record from the previous week and claimed the first PPA Tour title by a Japanese player. Details: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000013.000056377.html

◯ PPA Atlanta (Grand Slam) Result: Top 4 (Local time: May 3, 2026) In the "Grand Slam," positioned at the pinnacle of the PPA Tour, he successively defeated highly ranked pairs in the world, finishing in 4th place—a first for a Japanese player. He garnered significant attention from US media and fans as an "astounding player who has created a new style of pickleball." Details: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000012.000056377.html

Yuta Funemizu's Comments

"Through the battles in Atlanta and San Clemente, I gained the conviction that my play can compete at the world's top level. In particular, I believe the victory in San Clemente is a win achieved together with everyone who supports me daily and the fans cheering for me from Japan. Receiving the evaluation of being number one in Asia on DUPR this time is just one passing point. My goal is to stand shoulder to shoulder with the top US pros and reach the pinnacle of the world rankings. Through pickleball, I want to continue proving that Japanese athletes can compete globally, and deliver the appeal of this sport to as many people as possible. Thank you for your continued support."

With its group mission "New possibilities, one after another," Visional will continue to support the new possibilities of Yuta Funemizu as he continues to challenge the world.

What is DUPR?

DUPR (Dreamland Universal Pickleball Rating) is a global rating system that evaluates all pickleball players on the same scale (2.000 to 8.000) regardless of age or gender, similar to the ITF ranking in tennis or golf handicaps. Using a proprietary algorithm, it objectively quantifies individual ability across gender and age. Therefore, it is adopted by tournaments worldwide for seeding and classification as the most objective indicator of current ability in pickleball, regardless of professional or amateur status. Asian Ranking: https://www.dupr.com/continental-rankings/asia

Future Schedule

He is scheduled to compete in men's doubles paired with Tama Shimabukuro at the "PPA ASIA 500 Sansan TOKYO OPEN 2026" (Official site: https://www.tbs.co.jp/pickleball-tokyo/), the first PPA Tour event held in Tokyo, from July 1 to 4, 2026, at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi and Dome Tachikawa Tachihi in Tokyo.

Profile of Yuta Funemizu

Influenced by his family, he began playing soft tennis at the age of 5. In 2009, he entered Tohoku High School and won two titles in the Inter-High School team and individual events. In 2012, he entered Waseda University. He achieved four consecutive victories at the All Japan Intercollegiate Soft Tennis Championship, capturing all titles in team, doubles, and singles.