Funemizu and Shimabukuro set up Tokyo men’s doubles final showdown
Tokyo’s first men’s doubles final could show whether a home-Asian pairing can push past tour veterans, or whether Collin Johns and Len Yang still set the standard.
Yuta Funemizu and Tama Shimabukuro reached the Sansan Tokyo Open men’s doubles final with a 12-10, 6-11, 11-5 semifinal win over Eunggwon Kim and Hong Kit Wong, and the result set up more than a title match in Tokyo. At Arena Tachikawa Tachihi, the first PPA Tour Asia event in Japan’s capital has become a benchmark for where Asian pickleball sits against the circuit’s established names.
Funemizu and Shimabukuro have taken the harder road through the draw. They opened with wins over Yoshida-Kurosawa and Shaffer-Navratil before edging Kim and Wong in a three-game semifinal that kept the Japanese-Hawaiian pairing on course for a statement finish. Funemizu, 32, entered Tokyo ranked No. 25 in PPA doubles with 2,800 points. Shimabukuro, 15, has been the breakout name in the field, leading the men’s doubles and mixed doubles brackets and sitting No. 2 in men’s singles. PPA Tour Asia has tracked his rise from a 14-year-old qualifier at the Sansan Fukuoka Open 2025 to one of the most talked-about players on the regional tour.
On the other side, Collin Johns and Len Yang advanced with a 12-10, 11-7 win over Brandon French and Wyatt Stone. Their path had already included victories over Hatakeyama-Leung and Brown-Narayanan, and the pairing brings a different kind of pressure into the final: Johns as the veteran control point, Yang at 22 and ranked No. 32 in doubles. The matchup also carries rematch tension, with Johns and Yang having beaten Shimabukuro and Armaan Bhatia 11-3, 11-6 in the Kuala Lumpur Open men’s doubles final.
That is what makes Sunday’s final more than a trophy chase. The Tokyo draw has been tight from the start, with 11-0, 12-10 and 13-11 scorelines running through early rounds, and the field was large enough to close registration at 804 players. The event is worth US$50,000 in prize money and 500 ranking points, and for PPA Tour Asia, which says it is building the sport’s highest level across the region, a home win for Funemizu and Shimabukuro would be the clearest sign yet that Asian pairs can beat tour regulars on home soil. A loss would leave Johns and Yang as the pair still defining the standard Tokyo has to catch.
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