PJF Pickleball Japan Open 2026 Scheduled June 5 to 7 in Yamaguchi

Three days of competition will make Yamaguchi a Pickleball focal point when the Pickleball Japan Federation stages the PJF Pickleball Japan Open 2026 June 5–7 at the venue listed variously as Ishin Daiko/Ishin Taiko/Ishin Taikou Arena in Yamaguchi City. The event is described by PJF as the second regional tournament hosted by the federation and one of its flagship regional tournaments for 2026, and the venue listing includes the address 4-1-1 Ishin Park, Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi 753-0815 and a facility count of 16 indoor courts.

Competition will feature Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles across skill brackets explicitly listed as 3.5- and below, 3.5+, and Open (4.0 and above, no age limit), and age play begins at 8 years and above. The PJF page states that match start times will be announced later; the published schedule shows the three day headers, Friday June 5, Saturday June 6 and Sunday June 7, but no match-by-match start times or draw sizes are given in current materials.

Tournament rules published on the PJF event page reference the USA Pickleball framework and equipment controls. The rules state: "Unless otherwise specified, the rules outlined in the USA Pickleball (USAP) 2026 Official Rulebook will apply." The page adds: "Players may use only paddles approved by UPA and USAP." It further specifies: "Referees may randomly inspect paddles at the start of a match and whenever a player changes paddles." Finally, the rules note: "All matches will follow USAP scoring rules, and points may only be scored by the serving team."

Beyond court action, the PJF schedule includes a complimentary reception on Saturday June 6 at Yuda Onsen Konkon Park, address 5-2-15 Yuda Onsen, Yamaguchi City, with telephone +81-83-922-8009; the reception is listed as complimentary, includes food and free-flow drinks, and is expected to last approximately two hours. Registration for competitors is listed as "Registration Coming Soon!" on the PJF site; no entry fees, registration links, deadlines, player lists or prize-money details are provided in the material released so far.

PJF frames the event as a regional expansion following the federation’s PJF Pickleball Championships staged in Tokyo Ariake in December 2024 and 2025. "We are pleased to announce the second regional tournament hosted by PJF, which will be held in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Following the great success of the ‘PJF Pickleball Championships’ held in Tokyo Ariake in 2024 and December 2025, we are expanding our initiatives to regional areas by leveraging the experience and expertise gained from those events," the federation wrote on its event page. The site adds, "Through pickleball, PJF aims not only to promote the growth of the sport, but also to contribute to regional economic development and tourism promotion" and states that the tournament will "foster meaningful connections between the local community and players from around the world."

PJF’s event page and contemporaneous coverage highlight tourism and international-exchange goals, while operational gaps remain in public materials: arena romanization varies across notices, start times are pending, and organizer releases have not yet published entry fees, draw sizes, player lists or sanctioning details. The federation’s current materials position the Japan Open as both a competitive platform for 4.0-plus Open play and a public-facing tourism initiative for Yamaguchi in early June 2026.