By Fabrizio Lavezzari, Japan correspondent
Sansan did not set out to become one of the most influential forces in Japanese pickleball. At least, not at first.
The starting point was simple. In December 2023, CEO Chika Terada visited the United States and saw something he had not expected. Courts were full. Waiting lists were normal. The sport had moved beyond curiosity and into routine.
Back in Japan, the question was obvious. What is this, and why is it working?
Key Takeaways
- Japanese tech company Sansan ran 137 pickleball events in 2024 alone, building infrastructure and demand from a single CEO visit to US courts.
- Their Pickleball X programme has created a 24-player national development squad with structured coaching — a rare elite pathway in Asian pickleball.
- Japan’s player base has surged from 5,000 to 70,000 in two years, but the biggest bottleneck is now court infrastructure, not interest.
What followed has been anything but casual.
From Curiosity to Commitment
By early 2024, Sansan had decided to take pickleball seriously. Not as a sponsorship, but as something to build around.
In April, before its new Shibuya headquarters was even complete, the company ran its first events. Temporary courts, limited space, and still 400 to 500 people turned up.
That was enough to confirm one thing. The demand existed. It just needed somewhere to go.
If you’re following how the global game is shifting week by week, the World Pickleball Report breaks this down every Wednesday.
Building at Speed
Across 2024, the company was involved in 137 pickleball events. That is not a marketing campaign. That is infrastructure in motion.
They partnered with major corporations. They backed facilities. They ran their own competitions. More importantly, they stayed close to it. Not just funding it, but understanding it.
That led to a second, more uncomfortable realisation. Japanese players were behind. Not in effort. Not in enthusiasm. But in experience.
From Participation to Development
In early 2025, the company launched Pickleball X. A national selection process. Twelve players. Structured training. Real coaching.
Weekly sessions formed the base. Monthly camps pushed it further. Long days. High repetition. Clear intent.
The results came quickly. Players improved. Standards rose. Competition increased. Just as importantly, players outside the programme responded. Training harder. Pushing for selection.
By the end of the year, the squad had doubled to 24. Younger players were brought in. Selection became stricter. Performance became the only currency.
This was no longer a project. It was a pathway.
More Than a Team
What Sansan is building goes beyond elite players. Inside the company, more than 280 employees are already playing regularly. Events are being used for networking, not just competition. Municipal conversations are underway.
Pickleball is being used as: a workplace connector, a community tool, a development system. All at the same time. It is not accidental. It is layered.
The Real Limit
For all the momentum, one issue remains. Courts. Japan does not have enough indoor space. Weather, regulation, and cost all slow development.
Demand is rising faster than infrastructure can support it. From around 5,000 players in 2023 to as many as 70,000 in early 2025. With 100,000 in sight.
That growth does not hold without places to play.
A Different Kind of Investment
What makes Sansan’s role unusual is not just the scale, but the approach. It is not trying to control the sport. It is trying to build around it.
Because in many emerging sports, growth is fragmented. Events here. Players there. No clear link between them.
Sansan is attempting to connect those pieces. If it works, Japan will not just have more players. It will have structure. And that is what turns growth into something sustainable.
This article appeared in the April 2026 issue of World Pickleball Magazine.
If you want the full breakdown, including deeper analysis, additional insights, and exclusive content, you can download the full April issue of World Pickleball Magazine here:
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Chris Beaumont
Founder and Editor-in-ChiefChris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine. Chris follows the global game closely, reporting on the latest news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball Podcast, interviewing people at…
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