With a quick turnaround, the PPA Tour heads from sunny California to the extremely cold Minnesota for the Indoor National Championship. The Round of 64 kicked off today, with Team Selkirk ready to take on the second tournament of the season.
Shimabukuro moves on in singles and doubles
Fifteen-year-old Tama Shimabukuro started the tournament with a win over tour veteran Brandon French. While the games were close at times, Shimabukuro found a couple of key point runs to secure the victory, 11-9, 11-7. He will now face another youngster in the draw, John Lucian Goins, who won a gold medal on the PPA Tour last season.
Shimbukuro pairs up with SoCal’s Luc Pham in men’s doubles. The duo have played together before in local tournaments and will look to bring that success to the PPA. Shimbukuro and Pham took down qualifiers Dale Kim and Danny Miron 11-3, 11-3 today and have a challenging draw ahead. They will go head-to-head with the No. 7 seeds, Tyson McGuffin and Max Freeman. Pham previously paired with a different teen, Will Mackinnon, and defeated McGuffin and Ryan Fu in Vegas. Will Shimbukuro and Pham be able to pull off the upset this time?
Sparta Pro Braham battles in singles
Anouar Braham earned his first victory in Minnesota over Pesa Teoni in a tight three-game battle. Braham needed just 44 minutes to secure the 9-11, 11-5, 11-3 win. He now faces No. 4 Connor Garnett in the round of 32.
Kunimoto on the rise
Kiora Kunimoto was a talent to keep an eye on toward the end of last year, and she is starting her 2026 season strong. Continuing her partnership with Tyler Loong, the duo shut out John Lucian Goins and Mehvish Safdar, 12-10, 11-7, in the round of 64. They will face the No. 1 seeds, Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin, next.
Kunimoto will play Hannah Blatt in her first singles match in Minnesota tomorrow. The two faced off at the Masters, where Kunimoto won handily, 11-5, 11-3.
Sitting out this tournament
Jack Sock had an incredible week at the Masters, wrapping up with a singles silver medal on Sunday. Despite an injury he incurred in the final, Sock had previously decided not to play in Minnesota.
Sparta Pro Rafa Lenhard, who recently signed with the PPA, is also forgoing this tournament. He will return for the Cape Coral PPA in early February.
