[September 2026] World Pickleball News Roundup | The New PPA Season Opens, the MLP Asia Draft and the Hong Kong Slam Field

In September 2026, the PPA Tour's 2026-27 season got underway. The new world rankings announced in August went into actual use, and at the season opener, Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters, unbeaten since February, lost in the mixed doubles semifinals. In Asia, the draft was held for "MLP Asia," a team competition starting in November, and Yuta Funemizu was among the players who joined the Tokyo team. It has also been announced that the top players in the world rankings will all be in the field at October's Hong Kong Slam.

I'm Coach Yoshi. Including the World Cup results I previewed in [August 2026] World Pickleball News Roundup, I'll look back on world pickleball news from September 2026 through six topics. I've only included dates, scores and figures that I confirmed in official announcements or specialist media. Japanese players' runs and Team Japan's results are covered in the September Japan edition.

1. The PPA Tour Season Opens | The Top Pair Falls at Nationals, and Funemizu's Team Finishes Runner-Up in Arizona

The season opener was the Veolia Pickleball National Championships (Nationals), held August 31–September 6 in Cary, North Carolina. It's a "Slam," with 2,000 world ranking points going to the winners.

The biggest upset came in the mixed doubles semifinals. Siblings JW Johnson and Jorja Johnson beat top seeds Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters 4-11, 11-9, 11-6. In the final, Hayden Patriquin and Anna Bright won 11-9, 11-3, 11-7 to take their second title as a pair.

In the other events, Johns and Gabe Tardio won men's doubles, Waters and Bright won women's doubles, and Waters won women's singles. In men's singles, Hunter Johnson dropped the first game to Federico Staksrud, then came back to win 11-3, 11-0.

At the Veolia Arizona Open (Mesa, Arizona; 1,000 points for a title) on September 14–20, the men's doubles final turned into a 91-minute thriller. No. 15 seeds Nico Acevedo and Yuta Funemizu held championship point again and again, but No. 2 seeds Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu held on to win 11-7, 7-11, 15-13. In mixed doubles, Johns and Waters, who had lost at Nationals, took the title, and Waters also won women's singles. Chris Haworth won men's singles, and Parris Todd and Rachel Rohrabacher won women's doubles.

(Sources: dates, venues and tiers from the PPA Tour schedule page and The Kitchen (August 31, 2026); Nationals from Pickleball.com, "Upset alert" (September 5, 2026), The Kitchen (September 6, 2026) and Pickleball.com (September 7, 2026); Arizona from The Kitchen (September 15, 2026), Pickleball.com (September 21, 2026) and The Dink Pickleball (September 21, 2026))

2. The New World Rankings Kick In | Events in Asia and Europe Measured by the Same Yardstick

The PPA Tour's World Pickleball Rankings, announced August 5, were used for the first time at Nationals. They're calculated from the past 52 weeks of results, weighted by event (see our August roundup for details). In Arizona, the rankings were used to decide who got byes. The Dink wrote that using world rankings that count results across events "created some very unusual seeds and byes." In men's singles, No. 45 seed Daescu got byes through the first two rounds and started in the round of 16, while No. 1 seed Haworth had to start in the round of 64.

The points for a title depend on the tournament's tier. Among September's events, Nationals was worth 2,000 points, the Arizona Open and Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Cup (PPA Asia 1000) 1,000 points, and Europe's Barcelona Open (P250) 250 points. The Hong Kong Slam on October 19–25 has "Slam" in its name, but it's rated "PPA Asia 1500," with 1,500 points for a title.

(Sources: PPA Tour rankings page (accessed October 19, 2026); first event from The Kitchen (August 31, 2026); seeds and byes from The Dink Pickleball (September 21, 2026); points from The Kitchen (September 15, 2026), the PPA Tour Asia event page, PPA Tour Asia (September 25, 2026) and the PPA Tour Europe official site)

3. The MLP Offseason | A Record-Setting Season in Review, and the Commissioner Steps Down

On September 14, MLP released its review of the 2026 season. For the August 30 final, CBS drew an average of 773,000 viewers (covered in our August roundup), and the Tennis Channel broadcast drew 89,000, both MLP viewership records. Attendance at venues rose 69% and ticket revenue 87% over the previous year (both comparing 13 events with 13 events).

On September 18, The Kitchen reported that Samin Odhwani, who served two seasons as MLP commissioner (the head of the league), is leaving. He's moving to Apollo Sports Capital, which led this year's US$225 million investment in Pickleball Inc. (the parent company of the PPA Tour and MLP). He'll stay on as commissioner until a successor is named.

The regional team competition we covered in our July roundup, the MLP Nations Cup (October 30–November 1, Texas), announced its eight team rosters on September 24. Team USA includes Johns and Bright, Asia International includes Rika Fujiwara, and Latin America includes Eric Oncins. At Nationals in September, Oncins used the X2 from Engage, for which we are Japan's exclusive authorized distributor.

(Sources: MLP, "MLP Produces Record-Setting 2026 Season" (September 14, 2026); The Kitchen, "Samin Odhwani moving on after 2 seasons as Major League Pickleball commissioner" (September 18, 2026); MLP, "Groups, Rosters, and Captains Announced for Inaugural MLP Nations Cup" (September 24, 2026); Oncins's paddle from The Kitchen (updated September 11, 2026))

4. Asia | 15-Year-Old Shimabukuro Wins in Kuala Lumpur, and "MLP Asia" Launches in November

The Leapmotor Kuala Lumpur Cup (Malaysia, PPA Asia 1000) on September 9–13 belonged to Jessie Irvine and Tardio. Playing together in mixed doubles, they fell well behind in the final game before coming back to win 5-11, 11-3, 12-10. Irvine also won women's doubles, and Tardio won men's doubles with Noe Khlif, giving each of them two gold medals. In men's singles, 15-year-old American Tama Shimabukuro beat Khlif 11-8, 11-5. Following Macau in May, it's his second PPA Tour Asia singles title. Kaitlyn Christian won women's singles.

Also in mid-September came the international draft for MLP Asia, a new team competition starting in November. There are six teams, from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan and Vietnam. Of each team's six players, three are chosen from local players, and the other three are added through this international draft. According to The Dink, each team has a budget of US$250,000, and draft order is also decided by bidding money. What a team pays a player is set by world ranking, and players ranked in the top 20 cost US$25,000. The No. 1 overall pick was Shimabukuro, who won men's singles in Kuala Lumpur (Vietnam's Viet Panthers).

Japan will be represented by a team from Tokyo. In September's reports it was called "Team Tokyo," and on Pickleball.com's roster, Yuta Funemizu is captain, with Rika Fujiwara, Aiko Yoshitomi and Nasa Hatakeyama also listed. On October 5, TBS and Dentsu Group announced that a team with the same six players will compete as "THE DOTS TOKYO." The first matches are scheduled for November 13 in Japan (Pickleball.com).

The lineup for the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam on October 19–25 also took shape in September. According to a September 21 announcement, registration closed with more than 1,000 players from over 25 countries and regions. On September 25, it was announced that every player ranked in the top six of the men's and women's World Pickleball Rankings, including Johns and Waters, will play.

(Sources: Kuala Lumpur from PPA Tour Asia (September 13, 2026) and Pickleball.com (September 14, 2026), with placings and Shimabukuro's nationality confirmed in the podium records on the event page; MLP Asia from Pickleball.com (September 14, 2026) and The Dink Pickleball (September 17, 2026), and the Tokyo team announcement from Kyodo News PR Wire (October 5, 2026); Hong Kong Slam from PPA Tour Asia (September 21, 2026) and the same source (September 25, 2026))

5. The World Cup and Europe | The U.S. Repeats as Team Champion in Da Nang, and a Local Player Wins Three Titles in Barcelona

The Pickleball World Cup, held August 30–September 6 in Da Nang, Vietnam, wrapped up on the night of September 6, when the U.S. beat host Vietnam 4-0 in the final of the team competition between countries and regions (Open division). According to Forbes, it was the second straight title for the U.S., following 2025. PPA Tour players won't be able to represent their home countries until the 2027 edition (covered in our July roundup), so this year's U.S. team was built mainly around APP Tour players such as Jack Munro. We cover Team Japan's results in the September Japan edition.

In Europe, the P250 Barcelona Open was held in Spain on September 23–27. Pickleball.com described it as PPA Tour Europe's "first event as a unified European tour" (the past events listed on the European tour's official site also include a P125 in Portoroz in July). Spain's own Judit Castillo won all three of women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.

(Sources: World Cup from Forbes (via Yahoo Sports, September 9, 2026), Báo Văn Hóa (September 6, 2026) and the City of Da Nang's tourism site (September 7, 2026); Barcelona from Pickleball.com (September 22, 2026), the same source (October 2, 2026) and the PPA Tour Europe official site)

6. Gear and Data | JOOLA's First Foam Paddle, and Japan at 170% in DUPR Growth

On September 30, JOOLA released the POWER FX, the company's first full-foam paddle. I explain the idea behind paddles with a foam core in What Is a Foam Core? Note that as of October 19, we don't carry the POWER FX. You can see the JOOLA products we do carry on our JOOLA page.

There's news on paddle surfaces, too. Among the fall releases The Kitchen highlighted on September 21, three brands, RPM, Holbrook and Enhance, use new surfaces said to keep their grit longer (in The Kitchen's words, a "durable grit surface").

On September 4, USA Pickleball explained how the ball used in its spin testing works and how it was developed. The test applies to paddles submitted for approval on or after October 1 (covered in our July roundup). A marked ball is fired from a launcher at a fixed paddle, and software from Sweden's Image Systems calculates the spin rate. The ball is made by Franklin, and USA Pickleball, Franklin and Image Systems reportedly spent more than a year developing it. For how paddle approval works, see What Is a USAP-Approved Paddle?

On the data side, country-by-country figures have now come out for DUPR's top 10 in new-user growth, which we covered in our August roundup. On September 10, The Kitchen published a ranking of the same 10 countries, in the same order, with numbers attached. Japan ranked fifth with 170% growth (the increase from the previous year), and sixth-place Thailand also posted 170%. No. 1 Philippines was at 1,213%, and No. 2 Indonesia at 405%. For how to use it in Japan, see Using DUPR in Japan.

(Sources: The Kitchen, "JOOLA is releasing a new paddle later this month" (September 3, 2026); release from Pickleball.com, "Everything you missed in pickleball in September" (October 1, 2026); new surfaces from The Kitchen (September 21, 2026); spin test from USA Pickleball, "Behind the Spin Test" (September 4, 2026); DUPR from The Kitchen, "The 10 countries where pickleball is growing the fastest" (September 10, 2026))

Summary | September 2026 in World Pickleball, Seen From Japan

The PPA Tour got underway alongside its new world rankings. September was the month that yardstick was used to decide byes and MLP Asia player pay, and the Hong Kong Slam's announcement made "the world's top six" its headline attraction.

Seen from Japan, the biggest change is how quickly the Asian stage has deepened. Following Kuala Lumpur in September, the Hong Kong Slam on October 19–25, Asia's first 1,500-point event, drew the top players in the world rankings. We'll cover the results in our October roundup. On November 13, the first matches of MLP Asia, which includes a team from Tokyo, are scheduled to be held in Japan. There are more and more chances to follow top U.S. players' matches in Asia, where the time difference is small.

If you have questions about reading the world rankings, following matches overseas, the paddles the pros use or anything else, ask me on LINE. I (Coach Yoshi) will answer. You can add us as a friend through Pickleball Lab's official LINE account.

Related articles

• [September 2026] Japan Pickleball News Roundup — The Japan edition for the same month (results of Japanese players)
• [August 2026] World Pickleball News Roundup | The MLP Final, the PPA World Rankings and the Birth of a European Tour — The announcement of the world rankings
• [July 2026] World Pickleball News Roundup | MLP Midseason, a New Spin Standard and a Competition Between Nations — The Nations Cup and the spin limit
• What Are MLP and the PPA Tour? How Pro Pickleball Works Overseas, in 5 Minutes — How team competition and the tour differ
• DUPR vs. UTR-P, UTPR and WPR — Ratings with confusingly similar names
• Using DUPR in Japan — How to use it in Japan
• What Is a Foam Core? — Paddles with a foam core
• Paddle Lifespan and Care — What to go by when the grit wears down
• What Is a USAP-Approved Paddle? — An overview of the approval system
• Comprehensive Guide to All Engage Paddle Models — Including the X2 that Oncins used in September

References

1. PPA Tour: Schedule (event dates, venues and tiers)
2. The Kitchen: PPA Tour Pickleball National Championships: Draws, schedule, TV information (2026-08-31)
3. Pickleball.com: Upset alert: Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns lose first semi of the PPA season to JW and Jorja Johnson (2026-09-05)
4. The Kitchen: PPA Tour Pickleball National Championships recap (2026-09-06)
5. Pickleball.com: Bright, Waters each claim two titles at Veolia Pickleball National Championships (2026-09-07)
6. The Kitchen: PPA Tour 2026 Arizona Open: Draws, schedule and TV information (2026-09-15)
7. Pickleball.com: Mesa Championship Sunday Recap: Alshon, Daescu win thriller as Waters takes two golds (2026-09-21)
8. The Dink Pickleball: PPA Arizona Open Recap (2026-09-21)
9. PPA Tour: World Pickleball Rankings (rankings page, accessed 2026-10-19)
10. PPA Tour Europe: Official site (event tiers and past events)
11. Major League Pickleball: MLP Produces Record-Setting 2026 Season (2026-09-14)
12. The Kitchen: Samin Odhwani moving on after 2 seasons as Major League Pickleball commissioner (2026-09-18)
13. Major League Pickleball: Groups, Rosters, and Captains Announced for Inaugural MLP Nations Cup (2026-09-24)
14. The Kitchen: Paddle tracker: What the top pickleball pros are using right now (September 2026) (published 2026-09-08, updated 09-11)
15. PPA Tour Asia: Partners in Gold: Irvine and Tardio Clean Up in KL (2026-09-13)
16. PPA Tour Asia: Leapmotor Kuala Lumpur Cup 2026 (event page)
17. Pickleball.com: Kuala Lumpur Cup Recap: Irvine, Tardio earn double gold as Khlif captures first PPA Asia title (2026-09-14)
18. Pickleball.com: Shimabukuro, Wang headline inaugural MLP Asia draft class (2026-09-14)
19. The Dink Pickleball: MLP Goes Global: A Look at MLP Australia and the Debut of MLP Asia (2026-09-17)
20. Kyodo News PR Wire (Dentsu Group): TBS and Dentsu Group Jointly Establish the Pro Pickleball Team "THE DOTS TOKYO" to Compete in "MLP Asia 2026" (2026-10-05) (Japanese)
21. PPA Tour Asia: World Wants In as Hong Kong Registration Closes (2026-09-21)
22. PPA Tour Asia: Six for Six: Stars Stack Up at Kai Tak (2026-09-25)
23. Forbes (via Yahoo Sports): Team USA Repeats As Team Champions in Vietnam At 2026 Pickleball World Cup (2026-09-09)
24. Báo Văn Hóa: Đội tuyển Mỹ vô địch Heineken Pickleball World Cup 2026 (2026-09-06)
25. Da Nang Fantasticity: Việt Nam giành ngôi Á quân Heineken Pickleball World Cup 2026 tại Đà Nẵng (2026-09-07)
26. Pickleball.com: PPA Tour Europe visits Barcelona with Navratil, Goldin, Blatt and Castillo among the field (2026-09-22)
27. Pickleball.com: Judit Castillo earns Triple Crown on home soil at P250 Barcelona Open (2026-10-02)
28. The Kitchen: JOOLA is releasing a new paddle later this month (2026-09-03)
29. The Kitchen: 7 upcoming pickleball paddle releases we're excited about (2026-09-21)
30. Pickleball.com: Everything you missed in pickleball in September (2026-10-01)
31. USA Pickleball: Behind the Spin Test: The Innovation Behind the Ball That Makes RPM Testing Possible (2026-09-04)
32. The Kitchen: The 10 countries where pickleball is growing the fastest (2026-09-10)