Itʻs Tama Time!

Photo courtesy Li Linlin

Everyone loves an underdog, and that’s exactly what Hawai‘i’s Tama Shimabukuro is.

At just 15, with only three years of pickleball under his belt and no formal training, Tama, the No. 22 seed, earned the silver medal in men’s singles play at the 2026 Professional Pickleball Association’s Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships — held April 27-May 3 in Atlanta, Georgia. Along the way, he defeated No. 2 seed Federico Staksrud and No. 3 seed Hunter Johnson. Although the youngster lost to top seed Chris Haworth (5-11, 1-11) in the finals, his run — dubbed “Tama Time” — was one of the most memorable long-shot PPA performances.

Tama didn’t only shine in singles play. He and his doubles partner, Yuta Funemizu, also reached the semifinals in men’s doubles play, where they finished fourth overall. Following the Atlanta tournament, the dynamic duo entered the 2026 Toys “R” Us PPA Finals, staged May 4-10 in San Clemente, California, and took home the men’s doubles title after toppling the No. 2-seeded team of Hayden Patriquin and Christian Alshon.

So how did this teenager rise to the occasion and beat several of the world’s top players?

“Honestly, just staying calm and having fun is still the biggest thing and not putting so much pressure,” says Tama, who recently signed to play in his first Major League Pickleball season with the Utah Black Diamonds. “All these players have been playing longer than I have, so I really have nothing to lose out there.”

Those who didn’t know the name Tama Shimabukuro before, definitely know it now. In fact, it’s all the crowd at Atlanta could chant during his matches.

“The crowd was really crazy,” says Tama. “I’ve never played in a crowd like that.”

The crowd’s reaction can be partly attributed to PPA Tour commentator Dave Fleming, according to the teenager’s mother, Tatum Shimabukuro.

“Fleming started calling it ‘Tama Time’ and ‘Tama Town’ during Tama’s match in Atlanta, and the fans really embraced it,” she explains.“I think a big part of that comes from Tama’s style of play. It’s creative, exciting and a little different.”

While the average person might celebrate such major accomplishments, that wasn’t the case with Tama.

He and his mom immediately caught a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the PPA Tour Asia Panas Kuala Lumpur Open, where Tama reached another milestone, capturing his first PPA Tour Asia crown in pro mixed doubles alongside partner Alix Truong. They defeated Zoey Wang and Len Yang. Up next for Tama is the Major League Pickleball Tournament in Dallas, Texas.

It’ll probably be a month and a half before they return to Hawai‘i.

“I think the hardest thing was being gone from home for so long and not seeing family,” he adds. “I’m super close with my brother and my sister, so it’s definitely tough.”

Family means everything to Tama. While he admits to missing brother Tahje and sister Tahiti, he says the sacrifice is necessary to reach his potential as a pickleball player.

“You can’t really think about it because it’s what you have to do for pickleball,” he says. “It’s definitely worth it to be in the mainland and get all the training. If you really want to be the best, you have to be on the mainland.”

It’s what prompted Tatum to take Tama’s pickleball career to the next level.

“We saw that Tama had both the passion and potential to compete at a higher level, so we decided to fully support that journey,” she says after Tama took home the gold in men’s doubles at the 2025 Hawai‘i Pacific Health ESPN Honolulu Open alongside partner Keven Wong.

Tama notes it was at this tournament that he started garnering public recognition. Shortly after, he went on to PPA Japan, where his professional pickleball journey began. There, people began referring to him as a “phenom” and “prodigy.”

“It’s very humbling to hear people describe Tama that way,” says Tatum. “As a mother, I’ve seen the countless hours, sacrifices and passion behind the scenes. We’re incredibly proud of him, not just for his success in pickleball, but for the way he carries himself and shares aloha with others.”

While this sort of attention may be overwhelming for a typical teen, it was nothing new for Tama. He’d heard those same appellations when he was about to go pro in skateboarding. Tama was just 6 years old when he started that sport. Before he even became a teenager, he was traveling the world for his skateboarding competitions, earning sponsorships from Nike and RVCA and harboring dreams of competing in the Olympics.

Skateboarding helped him not only handle his rise to pickleball fame humbly, it also assisted him on the court.

“I think it helped in the competitive aspect — knowing how to compete, knowing how to handle pressure,” he says. “Because skateboarding is kind of like how in pickleball you have to hit shots under pressure. But skateboarding it’s like you have a clock and you have to do a run … and land tricks under pressure. It’s probably a little bit more pressure than pickleball. So, I think that definitely helped, like, staying calm.”

Ironically, it was during a skateboarding trip to San Diego three years ago that Tama discovered pickleball. He found it enjoyable to watch, so when his family returned to the islands, they picked up a cheap net and some wooden paddles, set it up on the driveway of their Hawai‘i Kai home and started playing.

“At first, I didn’t think it was that serious but then it got more serious as it went on,” he recalls.

He began playing at Mother Waldron Neighborhood Park in Kaka‘ako, Diamond Head Tennis Center and Pickles at Forté, and would play for 10 hours a day. His schedule hasn’t changed much, as his typical training consists of two hours of daily drills, with games played in the morning, mid-day and late afternoon. Tama still doesn’t have a coach and just practices with other professional players. Between pickleball training and play, he manages to do homeschooling.

“It’s a lot but it’s not that bad,” he says of the daily grind. “I think just having a schedule is honestly important, just like consistency.”

“Honestly, it’s a balance we’re always working on,” adds Tatum. “Between travel, training, family and everything else, communication and having a strong support system are huge. We just try to stay organized, stay humble and remember why we started in the first place.”

For Tama, traveling to new places — his favorite destination being Japan — and meeting new people are also an enjoyable part of the professional pickleball circuit.

“Traveling has given Tama the platform to compete against some of the best players in the world,” says Tatum. “More than results, it’s been about having fun, doing your best and enjoying this experience together as a family.”

When he isn’t dominating on pickleball courts with impressive cross-court backhand shots, Tama likes to relax at home or surf at Makapu‘u, Sandy’s and North Shore beaches.

“When I’m back home, I’m kind of just chillin’ because I’m never really home anymore,” says the teen, who also competed as a surfer in his younger days. “I’ll do things like go to the beach, hang out with my family and my cousins.”

Being raised in Hawai‘i has helped him in his pickleball career, he says.

“I think coming from Hawai‘i definitely helps a little bit to be calm and more chill on the court,” Tama says.

He appreciates the hometown support he’s received and says it helped him get through the PPA tournament.

“My phone was blowing up. My text messages were everyone from Hawai‘i,” he recalls. “It was pretty crazy to see.”

So what’s next on this phenom’s to-do list?

“I think definitely being top 10 soon is the goal,” Tama says. “Hopefully, I can get there as soon as I can.”