Yuta Funemizu wins silver at PPA Arizona Open pickleball tournament

Japanese pickleball player Yuta Funemizu and partner Nicolas Acevedo secured a silver medal in the men's doubles at the PPA Veolia Arizona Open held in Mesa, Arizona. Competing as the 15th seed, the duo achieved a significant victory in the third round by defeating the world number one pair, Ben Johns and Federico Staksrud, in straight sets (11-4, 11-5).

Following their upset of the top seeds, Funemizu and Acevedo progressed through the quarterfinals and semifinals to reach the final. In the championship match, they narrowly lost to the second-seeded pair, Andrei Daescu and Christian Alshon, with a final score of 1-2 (7-11, 11-7, 13-15).

This performance follows Funemizu's previous successes on the PPA Tour, including a victory in San Clemente in May and the Tokyo Open in July. Funemizu is scheduled to captain TEAM TOKYO in the upcoming Major League Pickleball Asia in November and will participate in the PPA Asia 125 PJ TOKYO Challenger in December.