Shimabukuro and Dennehy took double gold at the 2026 PPA Sansan Tokyo Open last weekend, the fifth event of the PPA Asian Tour's 2026 season. According to Forbes, the Tokyo event was rated at 500 points - half the value of a standard domestic Open in the United States - meaning that winning it was worth the equivalent of a third-place finish at a full 1,000-point event stateside. That gap between points on offer and perceived competitive depth is now generating serious off-the-record debate among pundits and players alike.
For anyone who follows pickleball even casually, this matters. The PPA is in the middle of building a genuine global circuit, and the question of how you value a result in Tokyo versus a result in Florida goes to the heart of whether the rankings can be trusted as a measure of who the best players actually are.
A points system under pressure#
The core tension here is straightforward: a player can fly to Tokyo, beat a field that - while talent-filled - is thinner than a top domestic draw, and bank points that move the needle on their ranking in a meaningful way. Forbes writer Todd Boss is clear that the Asian and Australian PPA events do feature proven players capable of competing at the highest level, but also that "the depth of the tour is not nearly on that level" of the US domestic circuit. Winning 500 points for a flight across the Pacific is, in Boss's words, "probably not" warranted given the draws currently on offer.
This is not a new problem in professional sport. Tennis has wrestled with it for decades - the ATP and WTA weight their points to tournament category and prize money, which itself reflects field strength over time. Pickleball is younger and moving fast, and the PPA is essentially figuring this out in public.
What it means for the gear market#
You might wonder what a ranking row has to do with buying or selling a pickleball paddle. Quite a bit, actually. When a player wins a high-profile event - even a 500-point one in Tokyo - their name circulates, their sponsors get visibility, and the paddles they play with get searched. Players who travel the Asian circuit tend to be serious competitors, which means they often cycle through equipment quickly: a paddle used for a month of hard practice before a tour event is exactly the kind of near-new gear that ends up on the pre-owned market shortly after.
If the PPA's global tour continues to expand, more players will be making these trips, more gear will be in rotation internationally, and the second-hand pipeline gets broader. That is genuinely good news for buyers.
What to watch for next#
| Factor | Current situation | What could change |
|---|---|---|
| Points value | Tokyo Open = 500 pts (half a domestic Open) | PPA could reweight Asian events as fields deepen |
| Field depth | Strong individual talent, thinner overall draw | More domestic pros travelling as prize pools grow |
| Gear cycling | Tour players rotate paddles frequently | More international events = more pre-owned supply |
| Rankings integrity | Debated informally among players and media | Formal review likely if grumbling goes public |
The PPA has clearly committed to making pickleball a global sport rather than an American one, and that ambition is worth taking seriously. But if the points system does not keep pace with how competitive each market genuinely is, the rankings will start to look like a frequent-flyer leaderboard rather than a skill table. Watch how the PPA responds to this over the rest of the 2026 season.
In the meantime, if you want to pick up a solid paddle without paying new prices, the growing pool of competitive players moving through international events is your friend. Browse what is currently listed on EpicRackets and you might find something a touring player left behind.
